Exclusive | Embattled Benton sheriff seeks $4M from taxpayers 1 month before recall

Sheriff Jerry Hatcher believes Benton County owes him $4 million for failing to meet its “legal, moral and ethical responsibilities and obligations.”

The allegations center around his ongoing divorce proceedings and his estranged wife’s filing for a protection order, as well as the effort to oust him from elected office.

Hatcher specifically names the county commissioners, prosecutor’s office and human resources office in his 17-page tort claim served on Benton County.

The intent of his claim, he states, is to expose what he considers those officials’ deliberate use of county positions and the justice system for political favor and personal agendas.

“County Officials have been involved in unethical behavior and tactics to undermine my ability as the Elected Sheriff to maintain accountability and manage the Sheriff’s Office,” Hatcher wrote. “County Officials have made attempts to eliminate the Office of Sheriff or take control of its Law Enforcement functions from the citizens of Benton County.”

“The county has failed to represent the office of Sheriff and me acting in my official capacity,” he continued. “County Officials have violated their Oath of Office by using Social Justice allegations vs following the Constitution they swore to do and have engaged in this tactic to destroy my credibility and reputation.”

The Tri-City Herald received a copy of the tort claim from the county through a public records request.

Deputy claims denied

Hatcher’s demand for money came almost two months after seven of his current and former sheriff’s office employees served the county with their own tort claims totaling $22 million.

Six of those claims demanded $3.5 million, while the seventh asked for $500,000 to $1 million.

They said county leaders did not do enough to protect them against Hatcher’s alleged intimidation and retaliation tactics after the seven men filed whistleblower complaints or brought up allegations involving their boss.

The deadline has passed without any response by the county, meaning the seven tort claims are deemed denied and the deputies now can file a formal lawsuit.

Hatcher, 58, must wait 60 days for a response from Benton County before he can decide whether to take legal action.

In the meantime, he is facing an Aug. 3 recall election.

The ballot synopsis has eight charges, including retaliatory acts involving employees, intimidation, abuse of discretion, and tampering with and destruction of evidence.

His employee, Sgt. Jason Erickson, started the effort a year ago. Erickson is supported by a vast majority of the Benton County Deputy Sheriff’s Guild, along with the Washington State Fraternal Order of Police, both of which have called for the sheriff to step down.

Hatcher has vehemently refuted the allegations — in his estranged wife’s restraining order and the recall petition.

He says he has been falsely accused and that “organized union labor” is trying to take over the sheriff’s office by misleading the citizens of Benton County.

He also says his wife, Monica Hatcher, was “inappropriately forced” by county officials in 2019 to file a police report against him to intentionally damage his reputation.

He had to surrender all of his guns and dangerous weapons as part of the protection order, which has been extended several times over the past 1 1/2 years.

Criminal charges were filed against Jerry Hatcher in October 2019 for felony witness tampering and fourth-degree assault, but dismissed after one week. Prosecutors were told they could re-file at a later date if additional evidence came to light.

Investigation reopened

The Washington State Patrol reopened its investigation this spring into allegations Hatcher coerced his wife to recant her statements of prior domestic abuse. No charging decision has been made yet.

Hatcher is an independently elected official, who has held the position since May 2017. His current term is up at the end of 2022.

Elected officials can only step down voluntarily or be removed from office by voters.

In filing his tort claim late last month, Hatcher said it was only a “draft overview” because he was still needs to choose an attorney to file “a more detailed and formalized allegation list.”

Hatcher said the actions by the other county officials started Oct. 4, 2019, and are ongoing.

Protection order

The start date coincides with when Monica Hatcher filed her petition for protection order in the couple’s divorce case in Benton County Superior Court.

Prosecutor Andy Miller and county Commissioner Jerome Delvin are named throughout his tort claim.

He has targeted those two elected officials because Monica Hatcher first went to Delvin, who also is a retired Richland police officer, with her allegations of domestic violence that dated to 2017.

Delvin relayed the information to Miller, and both men spoke with Monica Hatcher for about an hour before the prosecutor contacted state patrol Chief John R. Batiste to start an investigation.

Jerry Hatcher, in his tort claim, said “certain county officials” violated Benton County’s anti-harassment/discrimination policy or used a double standard in enforcing the policy. He also accused them of failing to follow the law, and said in some cases they violated various laws.

“Certain County Officials have engaged in blatant defamation of character done with Slander and Libel, engaged in malicious prosecution, covered up violations of the County Anti-Harassment policy,” he wrote, “blocked investigation that would expose facts and information they did not want out to the public, violated attorney client privilege, violated the public disclosure law, and engaged in acts of retaliation.”

Miller, upon receiving Hatcher’s complaint, submitted a lengthy response to the commissioner’s office with copies of emails to support his statements.

He said Hatcher made “a number of factually incorrect allegations” about the domestic violence investigation and prosecution.

Miller points out that the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs has a written policy on domestic violence allegedly committed by law enforcement officers. When those allegations involve the elected sheriff, prompt notification must be made to the county prosecutor, who then must contact an outside law enforcement agency to investigate, he said.

Hatcher failed to acknowledge that when he said the prosecutor did not have the authority to contact the state patrol, said Miller.

The prosecutor also made clear that he had nothing to do with Hatcher being briefly charged in October 2019, saying the decision and filing were handled by the Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office.

Miller also called out Hatcher for identifying whistleblowers in his tort claim, which is contrary to law.

Denied legal fees

The Benton County commissioners removed the jail from Hatcher’s control in October 2019, and made the corrections department a separate county department.

Board members have repeatedly said over the past 1 1/2 years that they stand behind sheriff’s office employees, including after the Benton County Deputy Sheriff’s Guild’s “no confidence” vote in the sheriff and its call to have Hatcher removed from office.

Commissioners also denied a request from Hatcher last summer to cover his legal fees in fighting the recall petition.

Hatcher said in the tort claim that it cost him $35,000 in legal fees. He unsuccessfully appealed the Washington state Supreme Court to toss out the petition.

The sheriff accuses the prosecutor’s office of failing to represent him “on numerous matters in accordance with their responsibilities,” but also said Miller should have excused himself from matters involving another elected official, Hatcher.

He claims Miller used his authority and office to block an investigation requested by Hatcher that would have provided “all the facts and information needed to clarify allegations” against the sheriff.

“Imagine for a moment a prosecutor denying a request to have a fair, accurate and complete investigation that makes sure all evidence and material is documented and investigated,” he wrote. “This is a clear misuse of authority.”

The union, state Fraternal Order of Police and county commissioners have called on Hatcher for criminal investigations into the domestic violence claims made by his estranged wife and the huge stash of county-owned ammunition that was seized from his former Kennewick home.

He has denied those requests, noting that the sheriff is the only one who can authorize an investigation into himself.

Hatcher said in the claim that he has “tried every means within my power to have everything investigated for transparency and accountability.”

“I have spent my almost 30 years working for the county and trying to protect its interest and the taxpayer’s interest. It pains me greatly to have to look at litigation to resolve or expose the situation here at Benton County,” wrote Hatcher.

“The actions or lack of by certain County Officials have damaged my reputation beyond repair, jeopardized my employment, cost me significantly financially and placed Benton Counties public safety in jeopardy.”

This story was originally published July 13, 2021 at 5:00 AM.