Benton jail far safer after takeover, say unions. ‘No confidence’ remains in sheriff

The Benton County jail is significantly safer since the county seized control of the facility from the sheriff last month, say union officials.

Three unions representing employees at the jail in Kennewick issued a statement Monday in support of the county commission’s decision.

“In the short time that the commissioners have assumed that responsibility, the employees have observed an improvement in their working environment and a significant improvement in their workplace safety,” said the statement.

In particular, the commissioners allowed jail administrators to temporarily cut the number of state and federal inmates being held on contracts within the 760-bed facility.

“The high number of inmates, and specifically the number of high-risk offenders that were previously being held, has been a concern expressed numerous times in the past with the sheriff’s office administration, which was not being adequately addressed,” said the statement by Russell Shjerven, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 839, which represents corrections officers and clerks.

The commissioners, who voted 2-1 in favor of the decision in October, gave Sheriff Jerry Hatcher and the corrections department just 14 hours to make the switch.

On Monday, the union statement said they also wanted to address any public concerns about a “supposed lack of experience” in running the jail.

“We want to assure the citizens of Benton County that the current management of jail facility is essentially the same management staff, with the same high level of expertise in corrections management, that existed while under the administrative and operational control of the Sheriff’s Office,” said the statement.

The county takeover has allowed “the existing management staff to implement necessary changes to reduce the inmate population levels and to improve the safety within the facility for both the officers and the inmates.”

“We stand by our previous letter expressing no confidence in the sheriff, and we are issuing this letter of support for the commissioners’ action in order to inform the citizens of Benton County of our members’ support, and to assure them of the continued safe and professional operation of the Benton County jail ... under the direction of the Benton County commissioners.”

In October, four unions representing Benton County Sheriff’s Office employees called for Hatcher to immediately resign in the wake of some criminal charges.

Those charges, including witness tampering and domestic violence, were later dropped pending further investigation. They stemmed from allegations made by his estranged wife, who was seeking a protection order as part of their divorce.

Hatcher continues to strongly deny any wrongdoing.

The three unions in Monday’s statement include Teamsters Locals 839 and 760, representing jail officers and clerks and jail sergeants and corporals, and the Fraternal Order of Police representing the jail lieutenants.

The sheriff 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, county commissioners 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.

The commissioners are trying to work with Hatcher to allow the limited commissions to stay in place a while longer until they receive the transfer diplomas from the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission for full-time, unlimited commissions.

No public meeting is scheduled on the issue this week.

This story was originally published November 25, 2019 at 12:10 PM.