FORKS — Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict has asked the city of Forks to consider allowing the West End deputies to rent space at the Forks Police Department.
Mayor Nedra Reed — whose is serving her final term — said that as long as she is mayor, it won’t happen.
Benedict made his request before the Forks City Council on Monday, saying it made financial sense and would be more efficient for both departments.
The council took no action.
“In times when the city is strapped for money, I think this is a good solution for both of us,” Benedict said.
“We would benefit from being closer to the jail, district court and being able to work in conjunction with the police, and they would benefit by the rent we would pay, our IT department coming in and the help we could provide on cases.”
Reed, who is not seeking re-election in the Nov. 3 election, said Benedict also had spoken with a couple of the candidates for City Council and mayor and she took issue with that.
“It is so disrespectful for him to go out into the community and lobby people you think are going to get elected just because the City Council and mayor say, ‘nu-uh,'” Reed said.
“This is all part of a coup that he wants to take over the law enforcement of the city, and as long as I am mayor, it will not happen.”
Benedict said he plans to bring the issue up again after those who are elected take office in January.
The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office deputies on the West End shared offices with the Forks Police Department under a 25-year lease that ended in 2003, at which point Reed requested the deputies be relocated.
Reed said the Forks officers had been subjected to disrespect and had to pick up work for deputies who were unproductive.
She said she was disappointed in Benedict for speaking with the candidates for office as well.
“What Sheriff Benedict tried to do is totally and completely inappropriate, underhanded, dishonest and every other adjective in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary,” Reed said.
She said Benedict had phoned her about a week ago to tell her he planned to write a letter to the editor of the Forks Forum, a weekly newspaper, about her refusal to allow the deputies to move in.
“He had not talked to me about this all year,” she said.
Benedict said he had talked to Reed “at least a dozen times” since his election in 2006.
Benedict said in 2007 he had allowed one of his deputies to work for the Forks Police when the group was short staffed.
Contract services?
At the time, he said he suggested to Reed that police services could be contracted through the county.
Reed said that was still his intention, calling it a “coup attempt.”
“This is all part of a plan to take over the law-enforcement services of Clallam County, which I believe is not in the best interests of the citizens of Forks,” she said.
“I do not support a county police state, just as I do not support a state police state.”
Benedict said the arrangement could be bene-ficial, but that was not his plan.
“I am not actively pursuing that,” he said.
“That isn’t even something I could do. It would have to be a request from the city.
“I do support regionalization and have worked very hard to combine with the city of Port Angeles evidence storage and to locate offices with the Sequim police.
“At this point, I’m not interested in anything more than co-locating with the Forks Police Department.
“I asked back in 2007 if they needed that help. Mayor Reed said no, and I’ve never brought it up again.”
Personality conflicts
Reed said she was concerned that personality conflicts between Forks officers and Clallam County sheriff’s deputies would get in the way of work, specifically saying that two deputies who had previously worked in Forks and now work at the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office.
Although she did not specifically name the deputies, both Deputy Bill Cortani and Deputy James Dixon have previously worked for the city, and no others on the sheriff’s staff have worked for Forks.
Dixon sued the city for $100,000 in overtime for taking care of the department’s K-9, Robyn. He and the city settled for $19,818.55.
“If he had those two out of another office, we might have a different story,” Reed said.
“Would you want to work with someone the city had just been forced to pay a lot of money to? I don’t think so.”
Benedict said he was confident in his ability to ensure a professional environment was maintained.
“There are personality conflicts in workplaces all the time. I deal with it every day,” he said.
“But my people know that they can either leave the personal conflicts alone and do their job or they can find a new job.”
West End deputies
The eight sheriff’s deputies and one sergeant currently have an office in a 150-square-foot A-frame building on Forks Avenue on the south end of town.
Benedict said he wanted to move because the building is unsuitable for law enforcement.
“It was a former real estate office and was simply not built for law enforcement,” Benedict said.
“It has windows all over, and the door stops and locks are in need of repairs.”
He said if the request is not granted, he will suggest the county consider constructing a building specifically for the deputies.
Undersheriff Ron Peregrin said that would cost about $220,000.
The Sheriff’s Office now pays about $790 per month in rent. Benedict said he would be willing to pay about $1,000 per month in rent to the city of Forks.
Modular unit
Reed said she was willing to allow Benedict to set up a modular unit outside the city offices.
“He is welcome to do that, and I’ve offered that before, and he’s said, ‘no,'” she said.
The modular unit wouldn’t be as effective, Benedict said.
“It is something we can consider in the future, if co-locating doesn’t work out,” he said.
“But in reality, that wouldn’t be much better than where we are now.
“The other thing we would be missing out on is the synergy that is created between law enforcement when different departments work together.
“I refer to the city of Sequim as a model of what I’m talking about.
“We have nine deputies who work out of the Sequim Police Department almost all the time, and the synergy and cooperation that is created is huge.”
Asked to move in 2003
Reed said the deputies were asked to move out of the police office in 2003 because officers were routinely picking up duties and the city was asked to track down deputies when not in the office.
“In law enforcement, we are always helping each other out,” said Benedict, who was not sheriff until 2006.
“During the most recent murder investigation in Forks, I had some detectives down there helping out, and I had deputies taking in-city calls so that the police officers could focus on the investigation.
“As for all of the other stuff, things that deputies may or may not have done five or 10 years ago is irrelevant to me.
“Let’s move on and start working together.”
Reed said that she was not pleased that Benedict had talked with political candidates.
‘Meddle in politics’
“It is completely underhanded to meddle in the politics of my town like that,” she said.
Benedict said he was conversing with the candidates as a dialogue among cooperating agencies.
“The bottom line is that my one and only concern is public safety,” he said.
“Whatever I can do to improve the efficiency of that I will. I could care less about any internal politics that are going on.
“I don’t have a dog in that hunt in any of the races.
“I just want this to air out in public, and I think it is a legitimate campaign issue.
“Let the people decide.
“I am an elected official, and I view it as part of my duty to talk with other elected officials as well as citizens about things I believe will make law enforcement better.
“I have only one issue, and that is public safety.”
__________
Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladaily news.com.
