Benton County swears in new sheriff 2 months after his former boss was recalled

Benton County’s newest sheriff got to work on Monday.

Tom Croskrey, a former Benton County sheriff’s commander and Richland police lieutenant, took his oath of office in front of a crowd of about 100 outside the county’s Justice Center in Kennewick.

Along with dozens of officers, his father and mother attended and his oldest son, Jonathan, 30, pinned on his new badge.

Croskrey told the crowd it’s a new era for the sheriff’s office.

He was picked on a unanimous vote of the three commissioners to serve out the remaining year of former Sheriff Jerry Hatcher’s term. Hatcher was removed from office by voters in recall election.

The Benton County Republican Party picked Croskrey, along with Commander Jon Law and retired Capt. John Hodge as candidates for the top job.

Croskrey told the commissioners that department was in crisis after years under Hatcher’s leadership and it has 13 open positions. He also wants to restructure the department to bring more accountability.

He believes his leadership abilities will help guide the agency.

Croskrey worked at Benton County as a patrol deputy between 1992 and 2004, before moving to the Richland Police Department. He retired from there in 2019.

Hatcher then hired Croskrey as the commander for the Benton County jail.

When the county commissioners took control of the jail away from the sheriff in October 2019, Hatcher asked Croskrey to stay on as a commander in the patrol division.

At one point, Croskrey had asked to be promoted to undersheriff so he could improve the department’s morale issues.

Hatcher refused the request, reportedly saying Croskrey missed seeing the conspiracy against the sheriff and was not deserving of the new title and promotion.

This story was originally published October 4, 2021 at 1:24 PM.