PORT TOWNSEND — The implementation of new technology for law enforcement involves both the acquisition of new equipment and overcoming an anti-technology bias, according to candidates for Jefferson County sheriff.
“We have many different generations in law enforcement,” said Wendy Davis, who is running against David Stanko in the Nov. 4 general election.
“Now that the millennials and the X-Box’ers are coming in, we have some very technologically oriented people in the sheriff’s department.
“Part of the problem is that we need to get those who have been around for a while to adapt and learn the new programs.”
Davis and Stanko addressed about 60 people in the Cotton Building on Tuesday at a forum that was a regular meeting of the Rotary Club of Port Townsend.
“We need to look outside and see what we can afford,” said Stanko.
“Body cameras are a good thing to have because there needs to be transparency about everything we are doing, and body cameras can help.
“As an executive, you need a way to get past the ‘he said-she said’ situations, and body cameras help us to do that,”
Stanko, 66, is a retired lieutenant from the Fullerton Police Department in California, while Davis, 47, has worked on patrol for the Bremerton Police Department and worked as a deputy chief and sergeant at the Poulsbo Police Department.
Stanko served as president of the Rotary Club of Port Townsend in 2010 and was named Citizen of the Year by the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce in 2011.
Both candidates are running as Democrats.
Davis has received the endorsement of the Jefferson County Democratic Party, and Stanko has said he will renounce that party affiliation and become an independent if elected.
On gun initiatives
The candidates were asked about the competing gun initiatives on the Nov. 4 ballot.
Initiative 594 would require background checks for all gun sales and transfers in the state, while Initiative 591 would prevent the state from adopting background-check laws that go beyond national standards.
“As far as 594 and 591, we will see what happens and enforce whichever one passes,” Stanko said.
Said Davis: “Gun safety is about education, and I always hate it when they have these conflicting initiatives on the ballot.
“The most important thing that the sheriff can do is to educate people about gun safety and the laws and the rules that apply to guns.”
Preventive programs
Both candidates favor preventive drug programs.
“Drug use is not a criminal justice problem; it’s a public health problem, which affects all of us,” Stanko said.
“We need to have programs in place where we can try to intervene before drug users get into the system.”
Said Davis: “We need to bust the drug dealers, but we need to take a look at what the underlying cause of drug addiction is.
“Jail is no place for drug addicts, but we need to put the dealers in there.”
Training
Throughout this forum and others, both candidates have stressed the need for training.
“We need to give our officers training about how to deal with mental health issues,” Stanko said.
“They need to learn how to handle people and be empathetic toward those who may be off their medication or maybe they are in a diabetic coma.
“There are several experts in Port Townsend about these issues. I’d like to tap that resource and get some of them to talk to our deputies.”
Davis said, “When I started in 1995, there wasn’t any training for mental health.
“If there was a crisis, you’d just put the handcuffs on them, stick them in the back of the car and take them to the hospital.
“Today, it’s about talking to people, achieving a rapport, showing respect and treating them like they are people who are sick.”
The two seek to fill the position left vacant by Tony Hernandez, who did not seek another term and who is now Milton’s police chief.
The interim sheriff is Joe Nole, chief criminal deputy. He is scheduled to step down Nov. 25 when the winner of the election will be sworn in for the remainder of Hernandez’s term and a four-year elected term.
Ballots for the Nov. 4 election will be mailed to registered voters Oct. 15.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
