Beloved WA corrections officer fighting aggressive cancer. Prosser rallies
What started as leg pain on Christmas Day has turned into a dire prognosis for a beloved Prosser probation officer.
Since then Ross Esparza has “perplexed the medical community with unexplained lesions, masses, blood work and biopsies,” said Tammy Rehms in a GoFundMe campaign that she set up to help cover the costs of her ex-husband’s medical care.
“On Wednesday, Jan. 14, he was transported to Portland to begin treatment for what is believed to be lymphoma with confirmed anaplastic multiple myeloma that has spread to his brain lungs, pancreas and liver,” Rehms said.
As news of Esparza’s condition came to light the community of Prosser, police agencies and many others rallied around the Department of Corrections community corrections officer.
Esparza, who is in a Veteran’s Administration hospital in Portland, told the Tri-City Herald that he appreciated everyone who had sent messages of support.
“We were able to visit him today and deliver all the notes and cards from the community and even a hoodie donated by Bern’s (Tavern),” Prosser police said in a Sunday Facebook post. “Ross was truly touched and moved by all the kind an encouraging words everyone has sent.”
The longtime community officer has been a fixture in local police departments for more than 20 years — first in Richland and then in Prosser.
Prosser police said Esparza is the “absolute definition of kindness,” in a Facebook post.
When the word of Esparza’s condition made it to social media, retired Richland police Capt. Mike Cobb shared his support for the community corrections officer.
“Ross is a fine human being. ... He is very kind and very giving,” Cobb told the Tri-City Herald. “Just because you’re those things doesn’t mean that you’re not an effective CCO. When he needed to hold someone accountable, he always did.”
32 years in law enforcement
Esparza has his roots in Eastern Washington. He grew up in Sunnyside before joining the U.S. Navy.
Before he left for the Navy, his father told him, “it’s OK to be scared, but don’t be scared of life.”
It’s a lesson he kept with him as he served in the Navy for seven years. When he left the military, he was majoring in political science when his faculty counselor, a retired probation officer, suggested the career to him.
He spent seven years working in the juvenile court system before moving on to the Department of Corrections. Much of his career has been as a community corrections officer. The position is more commonly known as a probation officer.
He was among the first group of correction officers to be embedded at police departments. He first worked in the Richland Police Department before moving to the Prosser Police Department.
His goal was to get people to leave crime behind and be better members of society.
“I’m just a blue collar guy doing the best I can,” he said.
Surprise Diagnosis
Esparza started to have pain in his legs on Christmas. While he went to the Prosser emergency room, they couldn’t find anything immediately wrong.
Since he started taking new medication recently, doctors believed it might be tied to that, Esparza said.
But the pain and weakness continued returning through the beginning of the new year, he said.
The symptoms hadn’t stopped by Jan. 5, when he went back to the hospital and a doctor decided to conduct a scan. While they weren’t able to identify the specific type of cancer, a doctor recognized that he did have cancer.
This led him being flown out to Virginia Mason hospital in Seattle, where doctors confirmed the cancer diagnosis.
Now, he’s at the VA hospital in Portland where he’s expected to spend the next five weeks receiving radiation and immunotherapy treatments. The cancer has spread to his brain, lungs, pancreas, liver and bones.
His ex-wife has been leading efforts to help him, including providing a home in Vancouver for him to stay when he’s released.
“I have great family support,” Esparza told the Tri-City Herald.
Rehm’s husband and Esparza’s girlfriend have also been helping him, and he has three children.
People across the Tri-Cities have also sent their support to Esparza. Prosser officers delivered those gifts to the VA hospital on Sunday — including a heated blanket, UNO cards and “very beautiful cards from Prosser citizens,” Prosser police said in a Facebook post.
The medical bills, transportation costs and other expenses have drained his savings, and Rehms has set up a GoFundMe campaign to help cover costs.
This story was originally published January 22, 2026 at 6:05 AM.