Proposed ballot measure to recall Benton County sheriff alleges 8 charges

Benton County voters may have eight alleged charges to consider in deciding whether to remove Sheriff Jerry Hatcher from office.

Prosecutors on Friday filed a ballot synopsis and called for a court hearing within two weeks.

A Superior Court judge must determine if the allegations that Hatcher committed misfeasance, malfeasance and violated his oath of office are factually and legally sufficient to support a recall.

That includes intimidating witnesses and public servants, and tampering with physical evidence.

Both Hatcher and sheriff’s Sgt. Jason Erickson who filed the petition will have the opportunity to address the judge at the hearing.

If any or all of the charges are approved on the proposed ballot synopsis, Erickson then will have up to six months to gather nearly 14,000 signatures from registered Benton County voters in order to qualify for a special election.

Friday’s move by prosecutors is part of the standard legal process when a recall petition is filed against an elected official.

Deputy Prosecutor Reid Hay noted that he was bringing the petition for approval of ballot synopsis and determination of sufficiency of charges, along with the memorandum of law as a “friend of the court.”

Hay added that his office “takes no position as to the merits or sufficiency” of the charges brought by Erickson against his boss.

Term expires 2022

While the hearing for “judicial scrutiny” must happen within 15 days of Friday’s filing, it is not clear if all seven of the Benton-Franklin Superior Court judges will recuse themselves and step aside.

Hatcher has 2 1/2 years left in his current four-year term. He has been the Benton County sheriff since May 2017 following the retirement of Steve Keane.

As an elected official, Hatcher can only be removed from office in a county election. He also can step down voluntarily before his term is up.

Erickson filed the recall petition two weeks ago with the Benton County Auditor’s Office. He is a county resident and is registered to vote.

Erickson, who self-demoted from lieutenant to sergeant in mid-February, accuses Hatcher of committing illegal acts and performing the duties of his office in an improper manner.

His 317-page petition, including attachments and exhibits, alleges 26 violations of Washington state law and the sheriff’s oath of office.

“Sheriff Hatcher has demonstrated a pattern of willful misconduct by ... discrediting and disgracing the Benton County Sheriff’s Office and degrading the public’s trust,” wrote Erickson.

Denies any wrongdoings

His petition came one month after more than 90 percent of the Benton County Deputy Sheriff’s Guild voted unanimously to have Hatcher removed from office.

The guild consists of patrol deputies, detectives, corporals, sergeants and lieutenants. Commanders recently were added to the membership.

That union vote cited an independent investigator’s findings that Hatcher retaliated against a whistleblower and two witnesses, engaged in anti-union activity and threatened employees who failed to support him.

Hatcher previously told the Tri-City Herald that the union was not ready for the changes he brought to the office three years ago.

He said the guild’s recall vote is organized labor’s attempt to take over his office and diminish accountability.

Hatcher has denied any wrongdoing and vowed to fight, saying Benton County voters will see through it and keep him in office.

8 proposed charges

Prosecutors, in preparing the ballot synopsis for a judge’s approval, had to keep it to a 200-word limit based off Erickson’s allegations in the recall petition.

The eight charges on the proposed ballot synopsis are that Hatcher:

▪ Illegally appropriated for his own use 14 cases of ammunition belonging to Benton County.

▪ Illegally tampered with physical evidence by directing the distribution of ammunition that was potential evidence of his own alleged unlawful acts

▪ Interfered in an investigation into his conduct by acting to prevent witnesses from being interviewed.

▪ Violated county anti-discrimination policy by hindering an investigation into his conduct and retaliating against the complainant and witnesses to the investigation.

▪ Illegally intimidated public servants and witnesses in investigations into his conduct by raising false allegations of impropriety and threatening witnesses’ jobs.

▪ Illegally made false or misleading statements to law enforcement and the court regarding the number of firearms he needed to surrender pursuant to a court order.

▪ Illegally made false or misleading statements to public servants claiming that he had initiated a criminal investigation into his own conduct when he had not.

▪ Falsified a public record by placing a false date on an investigation request.

Voters then will be asked, “Should Jerry Hatcher be recalled from office based upon these charges?”

In Thurston County, a judge ruled last Wednesday that a petition can move forward in an effort to recall Sheriff John Snaza for not enforcing the state masking mandate.

The visiting judge rejected the arguments of Snaza’s lawyer that the sheriff was exercising his discretion, and called it “a classic violation of the oath to follow the law,” The Olympian reported.

Citizens form committee

If it meets a judge’s approval, Erickson then must collect the valid signatures for a special election ballot.

The number of required signatures must equal to 25 percent of the votes cast in Hatcher’s last election.

While Erickson filed the petition, a “Committee to Recall Sheriff Hatcher” has formed to support the efforts of the sheriff’s sergeant and his union.

The committee includes “a diverse group of citizens from the community” — none of whom are sheriff’s office deputies or staff— who say they heard the concerns of those employees.

In a statement sent to the Herald, the committee said Hatcher “has attempted to misdirect the public by claiming that the whole situation is a labor matter; this could not be further from the truth.”

The documents filed with Auditor Brenda Chilton include allegations of theft, intimidating a whistleblower and making false statements to a public servant. And each claim is supported by detailed evidence, said the committee.

“This is NOT a labor issue. THESE ARE CRIMES,” the statement said.

“The deputies of the (Benton County guild) are a group of dedicated men and women who are committed to upholding the law and supporting the Constitutions of the United States and the State of Washington,” it continued. “They are the ones who respond to your calls for assistance of any kind. They are the ones who willing put their life on the line to ensure that justice is done, to the best of their ability.

“They are also committed to ensuring honor and integrity among those who are sworn to uphold the law, even if it means going against one of their own.”

The committee said it does not deny that Hatcher “has done good for our community and that he has stood up for our rights.”

But the group also recognizes that the sheriff “has not upheld the ethics that are demanded of law enforcement personnel. ... His choices have also left him unable to lawfully carry a weapon, even in the course of his official duties.”

“We as citizens of Benton County will not stand for this lack of leadership in our community. We elected Sheriff Hatcher and we will be the instrument which orchestrates his removal him from office,” the committee said. “We applaud the ladies and gentleman of the law enforcement community, the members of (guild), and Fraternal Order of Police for the courage it took to take a stand against Sheriff Hatcher and ‘do the right thing.’”

The committee signed off by saying, “We will take it from here.”

3 separate legal matters

The upcoming petition approval hearing is now Hatcher’s third separate legal matter before a judge.

His estranged wife, Monica Hatcher, filed for divorce in September. It’s in that civil case that Monica Hatcher sought a temporary protection order — forcing Jerry Hatcher to surrender all of his guns, including his service pistol — by alleging she was the victim of domestic violence and threats.

Jerry Hatcher briefly was charged with a felony and a misdemeanor, but the case was dismissed to give investigators more time.

And recently, the Benton County commissioners granted a request by the Benton County Deputy Sheriff’s Guild’s law for a fact-finding hearing before an administrative law judge.

The lawyer, Alan Harvey of Vancouver, Wash., wants the judge to decide if Hatcher retaliated against two whistleblowers and three witnesses — all employees.

The employees filed complaints in June seeking a remedy under the county’s Whistleblower Protection Policy.

Commissioners said they would apply for the hearing with the Office of Administrative Hearings since the county board has no authority to fire or discipline the elected sheriff.

This story was originally published August 1, 2020 at 2:00 PM.