Paul Rutherford

Paul Rutherford is a guest character in Home Before Dark. He is portrayed by Damon Runyan.

Season 2
In "Not Giving Up", Hilde Lisko enters the Holmes County Sheriff's Department to speak with newly elected Sheriff Trip Johnson. Trip explains there’s a new guy in the office so everyone is on edge. Rutherford wearing a suit walks over and greets Sheriff Johnson. Hilde introduces herself as a reporter. She wants to know if there were any loud noises or flashes of light around 2:00 that morning. Rutherford hopes Trip isn’t leaking information to the small person, and Hilde defends her right to freedom of the press. Trip interrupts that she isn’t leaking anything and was about to call her parents. The man’s name is Rutherford and he carries a badge but he refuses to give his first name to Hilde.

Trip takes Hilde into her office and reminds her that she can’t keep coming in. Trip is the Sheriff now which comes with a lot more responsibility. The man outside was sent by the state attorney general after everything that happened with Sam’s case. He decides who gets to keep their job so, in a way, he’s her boss.

In "I Believe You", following a break-in at her law office, Bridget Jensen files a police report with Lieutenant Frank Briggs Jr. Investigator Frank Rutherford enters the office and Frank introduces the pair. Rutherford is there to audit the department on behalf of the Attorney General. He decides to sit in on the interview.