Security footage shows Benton sheriff cleaning out office before recall votes were counted

One day before Benton County voters resoundingly called for his removal, Sheriff Jerry Hatcher was seen clearing out his Kennewick office.

Security cameras captured the embattled sheriff carry seven boxes and a mini refrigerator to his personal vehicle on Monday evening, according to Benton County Commission Chairman Jerome Delvin.

Officials had footage from the sheriff’s office and around the Benton County Justice Center checked earlier this week for “anything unusual” after hearing that Hatcher had been in there while the agency was officially closed, Delvin told the Tri-City Herald. The sheriff told employees who saw him to leave the office.

Hatcher has not made a public statement since he lost Tuesday’s recall election and has not returned calls from the Herald.

It is not known if he was just cleaning his office or emptying it.

The Herald also has learned that the Lewis County prosecutor is currently reviewing a criminal investigation by the Washington State Patrol into allegations of obstruction by Hatcher.

He will remain the county sheriff until Aug. 17, when the vote is officially certified. At that point, Hatcher will have to vacate his office and an acting sheriff will take over.

New leadership

The interim sheriff must be currently employed in the sheriff’s office, and will serve until an appointed sheriff is named within a couple months by the county commissioners.

Usually the undersheriff or one of the command supervisors would the interim choice.

However, Delvin told the Herald that he and his two fellow commissioners may choose someone else within the department after receiving letters Wednesday about “no-confidence votes” against Undersheriff John Clary and Commander Jon Schwarder.

The letters from the Benton County Deputy Sheriff’s Guild were sent to the commissioners and county Administrator Jerrod MacPherson by union lawyer Alan Harvey.

Copies of the letters were provided to the Tri-City Herald by Delvin.

They state that the guild membership in July voted and approved the motions of “non-support” on Clary and Schwarder. The two were promoted by Hatcher in July 2020.

“The body of the BCDSG has experienced in the last year poor communications, a legitimate basis for the filing of unfair labor practices, and other issues based upon performance, which have led to a conclusion as to the inability to effectively lead,” both letters said.

Delvin, a former Richland police officer, said he has never seen dissension to this degree among law enforcement officers and their supervisors.

“I would say what comes to mind that you see in sheriff’s departments or police departments sometimes is an old boys network, to use that term, especially where you have an elected person,” said Delvin.

“Whoever that elected person is going to appoint are people who are loyal to them or they can count on them. I don’t think it’s unusual in that sense,” he added. “But it speaks to the people that Hatcher put in there, they don’t have the respect of the deputies since they’ve been in those positions.”

‘Caused own downfall’

Hatcher — who’s been in position since May 2017 — may be the first elected sheriff in Washington state to be recalled by the voters.

He also reportedly is the first government official in Benton County to lose their office in a recall election.

Because Hatcher is a Republican, the Benton County Republican Party will recommend three names to the Benton County Commission for consideration to fill the vacant spot.

Commissioners have up to 60 days from the date of election certification to appoint someone.

Delvin said he’s been told that the local party already is working on the list of recommended candidates.

The appointed sheriff will serve out the remainder of what would have been Hatcher’s term through 2022. A new sheriff will be elected to a four-year term in November 2022.

The county commissioners put out a news release following the historic election to say they “recognize all the deputies, command staff, and support staff in the Sheriff’s Office for their steadfast dedication to their community. We thank them for their dedication and continued commitment.”

Delvin separately told the Herald that it’s “a great day for Benton County” and said the recall results are “a strong signal sent from the community.”

He commended the Committee to Recall Sheriff Jerry Hatcher for its hard work and efforts.

“It paid off. It’s the only way he was going to be taken out of office,” said Delvin. “I think it’s good especially for the men and women of the department now. They can start getting back to normality here in the next couple weeks and have hope for their careers and such.”

He added that Hatcher “had all kinds of opportunities to change or to make things better, but his personality, his narcissism wouldn’t allow him to admit that he was at fault. It was always someone else. He caused his own downfall, and he has no one to blame but himself.”

Updated ballot results

Hatcher picked up 3,449 more votes in last-minute postmarked ballots and those dropped off Monday night and Tuesday before the drop boxes closed.

That places him at 10,589 overall votes for 25.63% as of Friday.

Meanwhile, the “yes” category increased 9,291 votes to 30,727, or 74.37%.

The auditor’s office anticipates having about 500 more ballots to count.

The election will be certified Aug. 17 by Auditor Brenda Chilton. Once that is done, Hatcher will have to leave his office immediately.

The sheriff’s offices in both Kennewick and Prosser had been closed until Aug. 16 because of a staff shortage due to “COVID exposure,” and employees either have been working remotely or from their patrol cars.

The agency announced Thursday, Aug. 5, on its Facebook page that the Kennewick office “has reopened for lobby contacts.”

Case under review

The recall effort was started in mid-2020 by sheriff’s Sgt. Jason Erickson.

He was backed by the Benton County Deputy Sheriff’s Guild and the Washington State Fraternal Order of Police, along with a recall committee that gathered the nearly 14,000 signatures necessary to get the issue on the ballot.

Hatcher was accused in eight charges of intimidating witnesses and public servants in investigations, retaliating against them, tampering with physical evidence and violating his oath of office.

The sheriff repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, and tried to appeal Erickson’s petition to the Washington state Supreme Court but lost.

Meanwhile, the question of whether Hatcher will face criminal charges for allegedly coercing his wife to recant domestic abuse statements is now in the hands of prosecutors.

Hatcher has twice been under criminal investigation by the Washington State Patrol for his alleged actions in October 2019, in the early days of his divorce case with estranged wife Monica Hatcher.

He was charged that same month with felony witness tampering and fourth-degree assault, but the case was dismissed after one week because investigators reportedly needed more time.

Then this past spring, the state patrol confirmed to the Herald that it had reopened the investigation into the original witness tampering case, 1 1/2 years after charges were dropped.

Detectives interviewed several witnesses who are or previously were employed by the sheriff’s office as part of the investigation.

Capt. Neil Weaver, a state patrol spokesman, could not release any information on the investigation but told the Herald it recently was turned over to Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer for review.

Meyer, based in Chehalis, also is the current president of the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys.

It will be up to him whether criminal charges are warranted against Jerry Hatcher based on the interviews, evidence and reports provided by the state patrol.

Over the past 1 1/2 years, the Benton County commissioners, Deputy Sheriff’s Guild and Washington Fraternal Order of Police have called for a separate criminal investigation into the nearly 14,000 rounds of county-owned ammunition seized from Hatcher’s former home.

The stockpiled ammo was found after Hatcher had been ordered by a judge to surrender all of his firearms as part of a protection order sought by his wife in their divorce case.

The Washington State Patrol, the state Attorney General’s Office and the Kennewick Police Department all declined to look into the found ammo, claiming jurisdictional conflicts.

Hatcher has said that as an independent elected official, he is the only one who can authorize an investigation into himself. He refused, saying there was no ill intent in having the extra ammo.

Local GOP seeks resumes

On Friday, the Benton County Republican Party’s Nominating Committee put out a call for “expressions of interest” in the Benton County sheriff position.

“Either submit your own name for consideration or submit the name of someone else who has given you their permission to do so,” said the letter directed to precinct committee officers and fellow Republicans.

“The primary duties of the Benton County sheriff are specified in RCW 36.28. The sheriff is the chief executive officer and conservator of the peace in Benton County.”

The party says any potential candidate must be a declared Republican and a registered voter in Benton County to be eligible. They also must indicate their willingness to be nominated and to serve the county if appointed.

People seeking consideration need to submit a resume stating their qualifications for sheriff. The information can either be sent by email to bcrpwa@gmail.com, or by mail to BCRP Nominating Committee, P.O. Box 2141, Richland, WA 99352.

Resumes must be received — whether via email or mail — by 5 p.m. Aug. 16.

The committee will interview potential candidates, then announce the names of the vetted candidates to the Benton County Republican Party precinct committee officers in advance of a Sept. 2 meeting.

The top three nominees will be selected at that meeting and presented to the county commissioners, who then will do their own vetting process before appointing a sheriff to serve the remainder of Hatcher’s unexpired term.

This story was originally published August 6, 2021 at 5:00 AM.