Benton County sheriff lashes out at calls for an independent investigation

The Benton County sheriff fired back Friday after a series of letters supporting his deputies and their union came out in recent weeks.

Sheriff Jerry Hatcher said the Benton County Deputy Sheriff’s Guild wasn’t ready for the changes he brought to the office and questioned the credibility of the state Fraternal Order of Police and the Benton County commissioners.

“I absolutely care about and value all of my employees,” he wrote in the two-page release. “I have had a long history of having the support of my staff, peers and community.”

The response is part to a string of responses that started in early February with a letter from the guild that called him a tyrant and said they no longer supported him and wouldn’t endorse him if he runs for another term in two years.

They claimed he destroyed the positive culture in the department and replaced it with one that was hostile and negative.

The guild represents the deputies, corporals, sergeants and lieutenants.

Hatcher previously told the Herald that he was blindsided by these complaints. In Friday’s letter he claimed that the guild couldn’t provide any specific concerns for him to address before or during meetings he had with the executive board.

He said he believes the complaints are the result of fulfilling his promise to modernize the office and increase public safety services and capabilities.

The changes included improving response times, targeting gang activity, addressing the opioid problems and finding alternatives to jail for people with mental health issues.

“These changes may have caused a certain amount of anxiety and, in some cases, resistance from employees,” he said. “Managing change in a large organization can be difficult and challenging”

Internal investigation

Hatcher also addressed the Washington State Fraternal Order of Police’s call for an independent investigation of pending criminal and internal “issues” surrounding the sheriff.

Kennewick police detective and state board President Marco Monteblanco and the order’s Executive Director Lynnette Buffington signed the news release sent Wednesday.

“Sheriff Hatcher’s recent actions with respect to the degrading quality of work environment in Benton County Sheriff’s Office and other areas has only served to decrease the trust of the members of law enforcement and the members of the community,” they wrote.

The Fraternal Order of Police is the largest professional organization for members of law enforcement. The state branch represents more than 2,600 officers in the state.

The order stopped short of mentioning the allegations that Hatcher assaulted his estranged wife during an argument about an extramarital affair in 2017. The Washington State Patrol investigated the allegations, and a special prosecutor from Spokane filed charges of witness tampering and assault.

But Spokane County prosecutors dismissed the charges after one week, saying detectives needed more time to investigate.

The sheriff claims the order’s call for an independent investigation is linked to those allegations. He said he brought up the state patrol investigation during a meeting with the guild and an attorney from the Fraternal Order of Police.

“The FOP attorney mocked the state patrol’s ability to do an investigation and inferred they don’t have the expertise to conduct such an investigation. I indicated to him that I didn’t agree and told him this felt like someone’s personal agenda based on the fact they didn’t like the outcome of the original investigation,” Hatcher wrote.

Commissioners letter

Hatcher finished his letter by questioning the Benton County commissioners, who also released a letter earlier this week signed by all three that supported the deputies and other county employees.

“It saddens us that your working environment has been deteriorated so quickly and drastically during Sheriff Hatcher’s tenure and we wish to express our gratitude to you all as you continue to work diligently in the negative environment described in the Benton County Deputy Sheriff Guild’s letter to us.”

Hatcher shot back that the commissioners “have the highest level of turnover in the county due to their poor management and leadership.”

He also brought up that the county needed to pay part of a $1.5 million judgment to a former Benton-Franklin Human Services manager after a Walla Walla jury decided that commissioners from Benton and Franklin counties wrongly fired her.

This story was originally published February 28, 2020 at 12:52 PM.