Ex-sheriff’s alleged abuse nearly drove top Benton commander to suicide
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Undersheriff Jon Law testified alleged abuseby ex-sheriff nearly drove him to suicide.
- 6 current and former deputies sue Benton County seeking millions for PTSD and career harm.
- Jury hears claims of retaliation, Brady-list threats, and leadership failures during probe
The highest ranking member of the Benton County Sheriff’s Office command staff told a jury Monday that the feeling that he couldn’t protect his employees from his former boss nearly drove him to suicide.
Undersheriff Jon Law was a commander at the time ex-Sheriff Jerry Hatcher was being investigated for allegedly abusing his ex-wife Monica Hatcher. After Benton County residents later voted overwhelmingly to oust Hatcher from office, Law was named interim sheriff in 2021.
Law led the department for about two months until Commander Tom Croskrey was appointed sheriff. Croskrey ran for the office and won a full term, naming Law to be his undersheriff.
Law said he loves his job and his staff, but he had no interest in politics.
Ongoing trial
He is one of six current and former deputies and members of the Benton County sheriff’s command staff suing the county over Hatcher’s behavior.
The group, who are asking for millions in damages, are Law, Mat Clarke, Jason Erickson, Erik Magnuson, Steve Caughey and Todd Carlson. Two of them, Caughey and Carlson, allege they were forced out of their jobs.
Law testified Monday in Walla Walla Superior Court that Hatcher always was tough to work for, but the intensity ramped up to a level he never expected when the domestic violence investigation began. When commissioners stripped control of the jail from Hatcher, Law began to believe it would end in violence.
Law said he was ashamed to have ever supported Hatcher and felt he had to do everything he could to stop their staff from suffering from the fallout.
The toll of Hatcher’s alleged abuse was so bad that he felt it could only end one way, with someone being killed.
“Every conversation was just like a way to leverage you, keep you from doing the right thing. It was just this constant theme of, ‘If you don’t help me with this process, you will pay a price,’” he said. “I just thought, this is going to end in a homicide, this just makes sense.”
That retaliation included hours-long interrogations, being subjected to changes in duties as punishment and attempts to ruin their careers by placing them on a list of police officers considered too untrustworthy to testify at trials.
The potential impeachment disclosure list, more commonly known as the “Brady List” contains witnesses whose integrity and trustworthiness could be questioned if they were called to testify that is normally kept by the prosecutors. It’s often considered a “career-ender” for law enforcement.
Law, Magnuson Clarke and Erickson still work for the sheriff’s office, with Carlson and Caughey choosing to retire rather than continue facing Hatcher’s alleged abuse.
Erickson self-demoted to get away from Hatcher, but has since been promoted to lieutenant again.
Immense pressure
Law said his attempts to try to step in to protect his staff and temper the former sheriff’s retaliation made him a target.
Law believed he would be the subject of Hatcher’s ire, if it turned violent.
The pressure became so intense after an internal investigation that Law said he hid a rifle in his office in case Hatcher tried to attack him, and noticed at least one detective had taken to wearing body armor in the office.
At the trial, Benton County’s attorney Andrew Cooley‘s cross-examination of witnesses has so far focused on inconsistencies in testimony, what was reported at the time and trying to illustrate that the county’s leadership did what they legally could do to stop Hatcher.
He questioned why Law hadn’t reported the safety concerns at the time, and why Law didn’t also wear body armor.
Law said he didn’t wear his body armor, because he felt it wouldn’t make a difference in a close range shooting.
“His hatred for me was so intense, that ... I felt there was a genuine threat to me,” he said.
It also took a deep toll on his personal life. Law said he was struggling to cope and failing to be the husband and father his family needed.
Eventually he began considering suicide.
“I was standing in my office, I had just come out of a meeting with Jerry. I was seeing my co-workers day in and day out the effect it had on them, I didn’t feel like I was doing the right thing to make it better for them. I felt guilty for the effect it had on my family, I just felt lost,” he said.
Law said that as the most senior member of the command staff, he felt an obligation to protect the other employees, but felt like he was failing them too.
“I’m standing here in uniform, (and thought) ‘I bet if I took my gun out and shot myself in the mouth, something would change,’” he continued. “Thank God I didn’t do it, but I was so desperate. I was so desperate.”
He said those thoughts continued until he nearly acted on them, and realized he needed help. He was going to put his gun away after work one night, and while standing in his closet, nearly took his own life.
“One day after a bad day, in the fall, I pulled my gun out, and I literally put it in my mouth and I knew I needed help. I was beyond broken.”
He said it was so bad that even his children knew he was having thoughts of suicide.
“What I thought I was doing to shield my kids, it wasn’t successful,” he said. “I thought maybe I was pulling off some miracle, but they knew. They knew how bad it was.”
While multiple investigations into Hatcher’s behavior didn’t result in changes, the deputies eventually organized and led a successful public campaign to remove Hatcher from office. He was the first elected sheriff in Washington state history to be recalled.
Cooley has stressed to the jury that the only remedy available for Hatcher’s behavior was the recall process, and that it worked.
Nearly two years later, Law was still struggling with the emotional fallout. Notes from an October 2023 counseling update showed his family life was still being impacted due to his PTSD.
He told the court Monday that he felt like he still had a long way to go, but was slowly getting better.
The other deputies involved also received a diagnosis of PTSD or chronic adjustment disorder, according to their attorneys.
The trial is expected to continue through early December. Upcoming witnesses include Benton County leaders, financial and mental health experts and the remaining deputies who have not yet testified.
This story was originally published November 18, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
