Benton commissioners try to smooth out jail takeover after bumpy start

Three weeks after seizing the jail from the sheriff’s control, Benton County commissioners say they are open to meeting with him in an attempt to smooth out the bumpy start.

Relations between the two county offices have been strained, as well as publicly and personally contentious, since the Oct. 22 takeover.

The commissioners, who voted 2-1 in favor of the decision, gave the sheriff’s office and corrections department just 14 hours to make the switch.

During a special board meeting Friday, Commissioners Jerome Delvin and Jim Beaver suggested they approve a letter to Sheriff Jerry Hatcher that outlines the steps needed to move forward.

The letter was drafted by Delvin, who said he received some letters from Hatcher in the weeks after the takeover while Delvin was out of the country on vacation.

He said the board needs to give Hatcher a response, especially with the fast-approaching Nov. 30 deadline on the limited commissions granted to corrections officers. The commissions temporarily allow jail officers to perform law enforcement duties in the jail and courtrooms.

However, Commission Chairman Shon Small called the draft letter “a little rough” and suggested it be “softened up a little bit” if they want all parties to reach an agreement.

“We need to draw the line in the sand and actually go, ‘Look, we’re taking over the jail,’” he said during the meeting. “’Work with us, we’ll work with you. Give us limited commissions.’”

All three commissioners then agreed the next best step is a public meeting with Hatcher to collaborate on the full transition.

Hatcher did not attend Friday’s meeting.

Beaver, who was out sick earlier this week, said he met with Hatcher two hours earlier on Friday and said they all need to “work together for the betterment of the people ...”

He said he preferred a sit-down over sending letters back and forth.

They scheduled a session with Hatcher for Tuesday, Nov. 19, toward the end of their regular commission meeting.

The meeting starts at 9 a.m. in the Benton County Courthouse in Prosser.

“The thing is that I don’t care if I like him or he don’t like me or whatever the case. It’s bigger than us,” said Small, a former sheriff’s deputy. “I’m looking at the employees here. I’m also looking at the citizens. I’m looking at the judges. I’m looking at the multitude of different areas here from when we first started this endeavor.”

Small, who voted against the takeover, said he wished they’d had a transition period instead of moving so abruptly, but “it is what it is.”

“We have a great opportunity to work with the sheriff right now one-on-one,” he said.

Hatcher initially removed the officers’ authority to carry out some law enforcement duties, like arresting people who turn themselves in at the jail, taking defendants into custody on judges’ orders and serving people with court papers. That involved turning in their credentials, badges and patches.

After the county raised concerns about courtroom safety — including the security of judges, court employees and the public — Hatcher agreed to reinstate the limited commissions of the about 85 jail officers for one month.

Since then, board members have been trying to work out whether they want to keep those duties within the jail and continue the limited commissions, or rely on other law enforcement agencies for those tasks.

They said Friday that of the six other Washington counties with a jail that operates independently from the sheriff’s office, some operate with commissioned corrections officers and others do not.

Small said they need to keep the limited commission a while longer until they receive the transfer diplomas from the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission for full-time, unlimited commissions.

Delvin said he wants to reassure Hatcher that the county will maintain the same standard on hiring practices and other duties that have been in place for decades.

Delvin also said to the nearly two-dozen people attending Friday’s meeting that the jail is not going back to Hatcher’s control.

“That would be devastating to (the correctional officers),” he said. “So I’m going to assure them right now here in public that that’s not going to happen under my watch.”

At the end of the meeting, Small said he appreciated his colleagues agreeing to the sit-down with the sheriff.

“I think we’re going in the right direction, gentlemen,” he said.

This story was originally published November 16, 2019 at 5:00 AM.