Harsh words from Washington’s Supreme Court in Hatcher recall ruling

PASCO, Wash.-- While the Washington State Supreme Court initially ruled on the case related to the effort to recall Sheriff Jerry Hatcher back in November, the court only recently handed down its full written opinion to explain why they ruled that all eight counts of the recall can move forward.

The judges write regarding one of the charges, that if the evidence provided by the recall petitioners is true, it could amount to a felony.

"The voters could find that Sheriff Hatcher did falsify the letter when he dated it for a date prior to the actual date the file was created. Although Sheriff Hatcher claims that it was backdated to when he had the initial conversation, we do not weigh the evidence. Further, this is not simply an act of changing a date. Sheriff Hatcher falsified the date on the administrative review of himself, which he sent to his political ally. This act, when viewed in context with all of the wrongful actions taken by Sheriff Hatcher, is a substantial act. This violation is also a class B felony, and could result in up to 10 years in prison. That the sheriff, who has been elected to uphold the law, would also intentionally violate it, is substantial."

Supreme Court Opinion re Charges Against Benton County Sheriff Gerald D. Hatcher, Page 45,

Attorney George Telquist, who has represented Sheriff Hatcher during the recall, says the opinion from the court is based only on information from the recall petitioners.

"The Sheriff, or any other elected official, doesn't get the opportunity to refute or dispute the facts," Telquist said. "The analysis for the court is if the allegation is true, is that enough for the voters to consider for purposes of a recall vote."

While Telquist says Hatcher did not get a chance to dispute the facts, the court does mention the Sheriff's explanation for the actions he is accused of taking.

Related Story: Benton Co Deputy's Guild votes to recall Sheriff Hatcher

In the charge related to Hatcher allegedly illegally taking 14 cases, or more than 13,000 rounds, of ammunition belonging to Benton County, the court acknowledges that Hatcher "claims that because the operating procedures provide no limits as to the amount of practice rounds one may possess, he is within his discretion to store the ammunition at his house."

Hatcher's explanation contradicts the testimony of multiple other officers that the "amount of ammunition possessed was highly unreasonable," and "incompatible with department-issued firearms." In other words, there were 6,700 rounds out of the of County-owned ammunition that did not match the service weapons that had been issued to Hatcher, but that were compatible with firearms that were a part of his personal collection.

"Sheriff Hatcher really doesn't make arguments about the legal sufficiency of these charges," said John Weirschke, one of the leaders in the recall effort. "All of his arguments are not that 'I did not do any of this,' but that 'this is within my discretion to be able to do these things.' And the Supreme Court said no, you are way outside your discretion."

The group working to recall Hatcher continues their effort to collect petition signatures. Kathlen Wierschke says volunteers have been manning signature collection stations in several high traffic locations in Benton County, and have encountered supporters of Sheriff Hatcher in the process.

"It's definitely unnerving because when people are that emotional it makes you nervous of how they're going to respond," Kathlen said. "There's been people yelling at us, flipping us off, screaming at us. It definitely hasn't swayed any of our supporters-- the people who are helping us. It emboldens me to get the job done and to get it done faster."

Telquist says he was not aware of the harassment that has taken place, and said he does not condone it, and doesn't believe Hatcher would, either.

The committee working to recall Hatcher has posted customized sign, thanks to financial backing from the Wierschkes and several police organizations. They also recently produced a series of videos explaining each of the allegations against Hatcher that prompted the recall.

There has not been much public effort on the part of Hatcher to fight the recall in the court of public opinion, but Telquist says that will change in the coming weeks as Hatcher makes an effort to get out into the public to start telling his side of the story.

"He believes that he serves the people of Benton County well, and he thinks he's a good leader of that organization," Telquist said. "He thinks this is a conflict with a disgruntled former member of his command staff. I think the public is going to realize that this is a coups attempt by a couple of members of his command staff, rather than something horrible."

The organizers of the recall say they'll continue collecting signatures three days a week, with a goal of collecting 16,000 signatures before the deadline to submit them the first week of May.