Police officer, resident allege political motivations in Tracy Murphy firing

May 13-The recent termination of Centralia Police Department Sgt. Tracy Murphy spilled into the Centralia City Council meeting this week as two community members, one a former subordinate of Murphy, raised concerns about his recent firing.

Centralia police officer Andrew Huerta and Centralia business owner Aaron Fuller criticized the termination of Murphy during the general public comment portion of the Centralia City Council meeting Tuesday evening.

Both individuals referred to the recent termination as politically motivated and unjust and alluded to - or outright stated - that the local Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET) Murphy once led is not currently operating following his termination.

"The rumors are true," Huerta said. "JNET is currently not operational. That's due to local and federal relationships that have been damaged due to the forced investigation."

During the meeting Huerta identified himself as a member of the local JNET operations and an officer with the Centralia Police Department. The Chronicle was unable to reach Centralia Police Chief Andy Caldwell for confirmation of the team's inactive status.

While both men testified on Murphy's firing, raising concerns about public safety and political motivations, Huerta took it a step further.

The off-duty Centralia police officer was the first of the two men to speak during public comment and attended the meeting in plain clothes. Before beginning his comments, he identified himself as a local officer and later as a former subordinate of Murphy, but stated that he commented as a "citizen and taxpayer" of Centralia.

"I'm here on my own accord and these are my own personal beliefs," Huerta said.

During his testimony, he criticized the conduct of Caldwell during the recent investigation that led to Murphy's firing. As previously reported by The Chronicle, the Centralia Police Department recently terminated Murphy from his position on the force after roughly 30 years of service.

The termination was the most recent update in the local fallout following an anonymous complaint with the Washington state Criminal Justice Training Commission that alleged Murphy had mentioned to members of the community that he was investigating local leaders - among them, Sheriff Rob Snaza - for protecting individuals known to be trafficking narcotics.

The Centralia Police Department ultimately hired a third party investigator to lead an investigation into Murphy to determine if he had violated Centralia Police Department policy. The department ultimately found Murphy to have violated department policy by lying, misleading or not being entirely truthful.

For previous reporting by The Chronicle on the investigation, visit https://tinyurl.com/47aasdj9.

During his comments, Huerta focused on the increasingly strained relationship between Caldwell and Murphy, describing a "visible change" in the relationship between the two. He briefly mentioned a meeting that ended in Caldwell raising his voice at Murphy before the two exited to a separate room where more yelling could be heard.

Huerta also raised concerns specific to Caldwell's conduct during the investigation. He claimed Caldwell had a conflict of interest concerning the firm hired to investigate Murphy and questioned why Caldwell did not publicly recuse himself from the investigation or make himself available to investigators.

"By the end of the investigation, Chief Caldwell was positioned to be the judge during execution with a predisposition of having a bias against Tracy," Huerta said.

Huerta went on to endorse Murphy's behavior and conduct during the recent investigation, stating that he believes Murphy upheld the code of ethics. He added that he believed Murphy to be caught between complying with conflicting policies between the Centralia Police Department and other federal law enforcement agencies.

"I don't believe Tracy lied during the investigation," Huerta said. "I do believe there was a conflicting policy that conflicted with the obligation not to violate federal law."

Fuller took a different tact in a slightly shorter comment, stating that he believes Murphy was terminated over a "definition dispute" and said he is concerned the city may be open to liability lawsuits over the termination. He also alleged that other officers in the department had been reprimanded for more serious issues without being fired.

Both Huerta and Fuller stated their concerns go beyond Murphy's firing and spread to the impact on local investigations and JNET operations. Huerta claimed that the investigation into Murphy damaged the local law enforcement agency's relationship with other agencies.

"Because of the damaged relationship, the citizens of Lewis County are going to lose out on beneficial investigative resources," Huerta said.

After providing comments, both men, and others with them, exited the meeting. Members of the city council did not comment on the statements.

Additionally, Caldwell, who usually attends every City of Centralia meeting, was not in attendance and could not be reached by The Chronicle. According to an automated response, he will be away from the department through next week.

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