I would like to clarify an accusation made in Undersheriff Jon Zerby’s response to the current lawsuit filed against the county (“Friday Harbor woman sues San Juan County; alleges police brutality, unlawful search and seizure,” July 21 SanJuanJournal.com). I proposed the question to sheriff candidates at the Lopez forum regarding lawsuits against the department.

The question inquired, “What would you do to reduce civil complaints and lawsuits against the San Juan County Sheriff’s Department in order to reduce the amount of money paid by the tax payers.” I appreciate that Mr. Zerby thinks that there is something more to the question, but there is not. I asked the question because of my concerns about the future of the San Juan County Sheriff’s Department based on many reasons. Here are five specific reasons:

1. When I attempted to locate the first letter about Deputy Jeff Asher written by Mr. Zerby, Mr. Brennan, Mr. Gardiner, and Mr. Johansen, I searched sanjuanislander.com and one of the articles from the search read “County settles $1 million civil rights suit for $35k” (www.sanjuanislander.com/county/sheriff/lawsuit.html. Within the article, I noticed that three of the initial four letter writers were named in the litigation that, according to the sub-article “Family alleges county, sheriff, deputies violated their civil rights”:

“… accuses the county and Sheriff Bill Cumming of negligent employment; the county, Cumming and Undersheriff Jon Zerby of negligence in failing to properly train deputies Scott Brennan, Eric Gardiner and Tad Miniken.” (para. 3)

At this point, I began researching what training the deputies had received after this incident. According to the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission (19010 First Ave. South, Burien, WA 98148), since 2002:

Bradley Fincher completed the Misdemeanor Probation Counselor Academy in 2001. Mr. Fincher does not work for the Sheriff’s Department and has no other records with the commission.

Brent Johnson received training in 2003, three times in 2006, and once in 2007.

Felix Menjivar received training in 2006, 2007, twice in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Rob Nou completed the Basic Law Enforcement Equivalency Academy in 2008 upon joining this department.

Although Jeff Asher has extensive documented training through this commission since 1989, he has not been sent to any training at this commission after 2002. I wonder if the Sheriff’s Department believed that sending Deputy Asher to training after this lawsuit was not necessary because his abilities far surpassed what was needed from a deputy? Yet even so, keeping continuity among all deputies based on the type and amount of training is important. I’m unsure of the reason why the candidates’ training records are so different, but with lawsuits being a concern for any department this is disconcerting. And, at the end of the day there is a feeling that there may be other reasons why Deputy Asher wasn’t sent to training at the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission after 2002, especially since 2002 seems to be a re-occurring year in the eyes of some of the previous letter writer(s).

2. In my capacity as a San Juan County Superior Court clerk, I was able to watch the many victims, criminals, attorneys and civilians in the court in addition to reading letters, documents, search warrants, lawsuits and jury trials. Two cases in particular really concerned me: State of Washington vs. Lars Johnson (case No. 06-1-05047-6), and State of Washington vs. Andreas Johnson (06-1-05048-4).

These cases involved two young men on Lopez Island. This case involved several complaints of unlawful force and police brutality, and one of the candidates was involved. The community was furious. The sheer number of phone calls, letters, and people present for hearings displayed how strongly their tight knit community felt about this incident. According to Hansen and Torres’ sentencing memorandum:

“This very unfortunate incident gave rise to a town meeting attended by the sheriff, the elected prosecuting attorney and his deputy, and approximately 300 individuals who expressed great concern about the amount of force utilized during this incident and similar incidents by the sheriff’s department. Both the prosecution and the defense have worked cooperatively in an attempt to defuse the tension and resolve this case in a positive manner without the polarizing effect of a jury trial that would have pitted many civilian witnesses against the police. If the case had gone to trial, defense witnesses would have testified that the Johnson brothers were defending themselves against excessive use of force by sheriff’s deputies (5).”

3. Approximately eight deputies have left this department since I moved to the islands five years ago. That is a very high rate of attrition. Continually sending deputies through the academy, training, and overtime costs of deputies filling the empty slots are a tremendous cost to this county. In my opinion, based on many books and research, there are always reasons when a specific department has such a high turnover rate. Whether due to improper management, inefficient hiring practices, or any number of other reasons, the new leadership needs to find a way to create a work environment conducive to the retention of deputies. I believe proper education, training, accountability, and leadership are some solutions to this problem.

4. As a Superior Court deputy clerk, I am concerned with the amount of trials the prosecuting attorney’s office is losing. Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Charles Silverman is amazing. With his dedication and ability to educate, he is an attorney I am proud to say represents our county. Keeping this in mind, I want to ensure that Mr. Silverman receives the evidence and reports he requires to effectively prosecute cases. At the end of the day, an attorney is only as good as the quality of the case put in front of him. We all want criminals arrested and prosecuted in a court of law. In my experience as the assistant to the professor who penned a book on report writing, coupled with all of my law enforcement education, I want to ensure the person I vote for holds education and training to a standard as high as mine.

5. I had the privilege of knowing Deputy Jon Larson prior to his death. In his capacity as a deputy sheriff, Jon had filed a complaint against the sheriff’s department. This complaint resulted in being moved to work for the prosecuting attorney’s office due to fault found against the sheriff’s department. I am unsure of the specifics of this decision but I do know how Jon Larson felt about the sheriff’s office and I felt that, at the very least, I was obligated to follow up on something we had numerous conversations about. I know Jon would have supported me in asking the question I did.

Impartiality: The accusation that I posed the question at the Lopez Island forum simply because I support Deputy Asher is incorrect and unfair. I asked that question of my own accord based on my own experiences working with the county. An example of my ability to remain impartial is recorded in San Juan County Superior Court case No. 07-1-05024-5. A relative was being tried for vehicular manslaughter. In most scenarios, another clerk would have had to assume my duties, yet deputy prosecuting attorney Charles Silverman, defense attorney Carla Higginson, Judge John O. Linde, and Clerk Joan White all agreed I was impartial, ethical, and respected the law and our legal system to allow me to clerk hearings but also handle and record documents, exhibits, and evidence in the case.

Mark Kaiman, the attorney in the current lawsuit against the county, has been a friend of mine for five years. I have not had the opportunity to speak with Mark since we attended John O. Linde’s funeral in December. Mark is a dedicated attorney, who won numerous victories in trials against this county. He was a former deputy prosecuting attorney for San Juan County and then worked as an attorney for John Linde until moving off island.

If someone mentioned that “Mark worked for John Linde for approximately five years,” that speaks volumes. John Linde is a well-respected judge who has earned the respect and admiration of the community. That is the primary reason I idolize and believed so deeply in him. That being said, Mark is an attorney. His job as an attorney is to keep the checks and balances of our system. I do not always agree with Mark’s point of view, but in fairness, I don’t agree with a lot of people’s points of view. But this is Mark’s career and I don’t see any logical reason why he would put his ability to practice law on the line by filing a politically motivated lawsuit in federal court.

This case does not affect any of the current candidates. It is unclear why anyone would believe Mr. Kaiman would intentionally endanger his career based on political motivation that would not even help Jeff Asher in the end. Furthermore, I’m unsure what any person would gain from an action of this sort. Based on my experience, I believe Mark has done this for one reason, because it’s his job to represent clients. With regard to the timing of the case, it appears to have followed the regular progression of all cases through the court system, slow and steady.

Important Clarifying Statements: The purpose of this letter is to only inform people of the reasons behind my decision to pose a specific question at an open forum. There is no intent to harm or accuse. Please remember that this is just my opinion based on my experience working in the county and the information put before me during the past five years. It is not my desire to start a debate regarding my opinion. I do hope, however, to motivate people to start looking for their own answers in this much debated race. I would like it understood that my question had absolutely nothing to do with Jeff Asher, nor did it have anything to do with the current lawsuit against the county. In fact, I would have been even more compelled to ask the question if I had known there was a pending lawsuit.

In regards to Mr. Zerby, Mr. Brennan, Mr. Gardiner, and Mr. Johansen, I am referring to each of them without their Sheriff’s Department titles, not out of disrespect to them, but due to the fact they are not representing the San Juan County Sheriff’s Department with these letters. These men are representing their personal opinion and anything more would be against county policy and I believe against the law (http://web.pdc.wa.gov/archive/pdf/04-02Revised092806.pdf). I have had the opportunity to work with all four of the above named men and they have always been respectful to me and I completely support and encourage their right to participate in this election process.

Yes, it is true that I am supporting Deputy Jeff Asher. Deputy Asher and I have been friends and colleagues for about five years. I have always respected Jeff as a deputy and was thrilled to find out that he had submitted his name as a candidate. In my experience, Jeff’s most positive qualities have been his ability to listen, change and grow throughout the time I’ve known him. I was saddened to read the letters written about him and I do not view him in that light. Based on conversations with past and current deputies, it is my belief they do not view him like that either. I believe that he has the ability to make effective and efficient change in our Sheriff’s Department and possesses all of the qualities of a great leader.

The fact that Jeff has always listened, assessed, addressed and changed viewpoints and tactics based on training, education and mere conversation reinforces, to me, that he has the true qualities needed to successfully progress into the future. Please consider this: If you were employed with the Sheriff’s Department and your immediate supervisor (sergeant) and the supervisor above that person (undersheriff) were writing such strongly opinionated letters regarding their dislike of one specific candidate and your union/guild president was another candidate, would you feel safe and secure in that environment to speak up for your beliefs and not feel your job was threatened by speaking out?

I am not writing this letter in order to encourage people to vote for Deputy Jeff Asher. I am writing this letter because this race is extremely important to the future of our communities. Law enforcement, community policing, proper training, police accountability, and after-action reviews are so important. I want to invite everyone in this community to get out there and ask questions. Do your own research. Take control and have a voice in the decisions being made about the future of our Sheriff’s Department. Find out the pros and cons of everyone running and make an educated decision! I encourage you not to vote for someone because you know their wife, because of negative letters written by miniscule percentage of co-workers, or because they are your neighbors. Get out there and learn what the five candidates have to offer!

If anyone has any questions or would like clarification regarding anything I wrote, please e-mail me. I’d be happy to respond to anyone. If you would like to view the documents I have or would like help or direction in order to do your own research, I will donate my time to speak with anyone about why I feel this election is critical and what issues are important to me. I love our system too much to consider pushing my opinion on others, I just want to help other’s participate in an arena that not everyone is familiar with. My e-mail: Jenny98250@yahoo.com.

Personal History Basics: I have included a small segment about my history only for the purposes of letting you as the general public know that I have a mind of my own and a significant interest in, and understanding of, the importance of the upcoming election. I am a former employee of the San Juan County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and a former San Juan County Superior Court deputy clerk. I was Judge John O. Linde’s courtroom clerk from the day Gov. Gregoire appointed him. I have listened to conversations in the prosecuting attorney’s office involving the frustration some of the procedures in the Sheriff’s Department and was in charge of receiving and reading all incoming police reports. In the clerk’s office, I sat in most trials and read most search warrants and court cases, including civil cases. My associate degree education is in Administration of Justice with an emphasis in Law Enforcement and I am in my senior year of my bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice with an emphasis in Homeland Security.

I work in executive protection as a protective agent and security driver traveling to the United States. In addition to being a graduate and member of the Nine Lives Association, I have also begun instructing for the Executive Protection Institute in Berryville, Va. I am a board member of the Puget Sound Chapter of the American Society of Industrial Security and a board member of the San Juan Community Home Trust. I am also a volunteer firefighter for District 3 and in the process of becoming their public information officer. I have managed businesses, been an addictions counselor at a Level 3 detox facility, and am currently certified to teach a six-week parenting course on overindulgence in children.

It is unfortunate and sad that my question was used as a tactic to discredit Jeff Asher. With the above qualifications and the fact that I am raising my children on San Juan Island, I feel that I am qualified to ask questions that I feel are important to this community’s future.

Jenny Benedict
Jenny98250@yahoo.com
Friday Harbor