PORT ANGELES — Clallam County Undersheriff Ron Peregrin has announced his retirement.
The 69-year-old lawman will step down Tuesday, marking the end of a 48-year career in public service.
Peregrin will be recognized for his eight years of service to the Sheriff’s Office with a ceremony that will begin at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Clallam County commissioners’ meeting at the county courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles.
“It’s been an absolute pleasure and a joy working with him as a No. 2 guy for the last eight years,” Sheriff Bill Benedict said Friday.
“He brings an incredible wealth of knowledge and skill to the position.
“He’s known throughout the state for his law enforcement expertise and professionalism.”
New undersheriff
Chief Criminal Deputy Ron Cameron will be promoted to undersheriff in early March.
“The promotion comes with a cost because the department is really going to miss him,” Cameron said of his soon-to-be predecessor.
“The guy’s a legend.”
As part of the shuffle, West End Sgt. Brian King will be promoted to chief criminal deputy.
Deputy Jim Dixon will be promoted to West End sergeant, and Benedict will hire an entry-level deputy to replace Dixon.
Meanwhile, Peregrin and his wife, Sharon, will continue to live in the Sequim area.
“We’re going to take short trips, but we always want to come back to Sequim because this is a wonderful place to live,” Peregrin said Thursday.
“With my knowledge in law enforcement, this is an exceptionally safe place to live, too.”
Peregrin was responsible for getting the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office accredited under new Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs standards, Benedict said.
Outstanding leadership
“His outstanding leadership instilled pride and professionalism through a daily example of thoroughness and attention to detail,” the sheriff added.
A New York native, Peregrin moved frequently as a youth and discovered the Pacific Northwest by chance.
His father, a master sergeant in the Army, was stationed at Fort Lewis — now Joint Base Lewis-McChord — when Peregrin graduated from high school and enlisted in the Navy.
Peregrin returned to the Washington and became a state Department of Fish and Wildlife officer in 1967.
He was stationed in Yakima, Moses Lake, Puyallup and Olympia, working as an officer, detective and deputy chief.
In 1999, Peregrin returned to active duty as a special agent in the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service in Port Angeles.
He was hired as Clallam County undersheriff shortly after Benedict took office in 2007.
“I had known him for five or six years,” Benedict said.
“I actively encouraged him to interview for the position.”
Cameron also had a history with the Coast Guard agent in charge. They spent “many late nights out in the field” looking for drug smugglers crossing the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
“He actually went from working for me to me working for him,” Cameron said.
‘Blue collar’ lawman
Cameron described Peregrin as a “blue collar” undersheriff who arrived early, worked late and “really connected with the guys.”
“He wasn’t afraid to get dirty and help out in the field,” Cameron said.
Law enforcement standards have become increasingly stringent in Washington state to the benefit of its citizens, Peregrin said.
“With the increasing demands of the courts and the increasing demands on evidence processing, we have caused our law enforcement officers to become some of the best that there are in the business,” he said.
Well-protected
“Rest assured, we are well-protected,” Peregrin said.
On the North Olympic Peninsula, partnerships among city, county, state, federal and tribal authorities provide an additional layer of protection, he added.
“Up here, we have a very, very good, cooperative working relationship will all the agencies,” Peregrin said.
“It’s almost like we’re one big agency.”
Looking back, Peregrin said one case that stands out during his time as undersheriff was the 2013 double-murder conviction of Darold Stenson.
A Kitsap County jury convicted Stenson for the 1993 murders of his wife and business partner near Sequim.
The original conviction in 1994 was overturned on appeal, in part because a former sheriff’s sergeant was photographed wearing Stenson’s bloodstained pants.
“In that day, that was common practice,” Peregrin said. “All of a sudden, that became a mortal sin.”
Peregrin and others from the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office made regular trips to Port Orchard to support then-Prosecuting Attorney Deborah Kelly at trial.
Stenson is serving a life sentence at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla.
“The thing that I really liked the most about that case was that 20 years ago, this department had done everything right,” Peregrin said.
“He was re-convicted by a different jury. That was a testament to how the Sheriff’s Office did business. I was very gratified with the outcome of that trial.”
In retirement, Peregrin said he is willing to serve as a volunteer deputy when needed.
He said he will miss the day-to-day interactions with the public.
He recalled a Wednesday incident in which Deputy Jeffery Waterhouse scaled a chain-link fence to come to the aid of a man who had collapsed.
“As I watched that happen, I thought, ‘That’s what we do,’” Peregrin said.
“It’s demanding, but it’s very satisfying.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
