Fired Centralia Police Sgt. Tracy Murphy will take the next step in his grievance process against the city in an arbitration hearing scheduled for Nov. 19 and 20.
Centralia City Manager Michael Thomas confirmed the dates in an email to The Chronicle on Thursday, as did Murphy, though he said the dates were Nov. 18 to 20.
Meanwhile, Centralia Police Chief Andy Caldwell continues to add memorandums to the administrative investigation file supporting the reasons for Murphy’s firing in April after over 30 years with the department.
Murphy, former leader of the defunct Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET), was terminated after Caldwell concluded he’d made false statements while omitting material information during an internal investigation.
The investigation sought to determine whether Murphy had violated department policy by either disclosing protected information to people outside the department, or else using his position to gain influence or authority for a non-business activity.
Murphy was — and still is — running to become Lewis County’s next sheriff. He finished second in the August primary election behind Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Special Services Chief Gabriel Frase.
The investigation, conducted by an outside private investigative agency, stemmed from an anonymous complaint submitted to the Washington state Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) in January. The complainant alleged Murphy had made “repeated statements” claiming Lewis County Sheriff Rob Snaza acquires and protects drug dealers, who then distribute cocaine to prominent area Republicans, specifically Lewis County Commissioner Sean Swope, state Rep. Peter Abbarno and Chronicle Publisher Chad Taylor.
The complainant believed Murphy was spreading the unverified information to possibly “gain leverage” in his active campaign to become sheriff after losing to Snaza in the 2022 general election. And though the private investigator determined he could not sustain the allegations against Murphy, he did take issue with Murphy’s “categorical denial” that he made statements suggesting Snaza protected drug dealers.
The denial contradicted several witnesses within the department, who reported having discussions with Murphy about associates of Snaza possibly being involved in drug activity, as well as discussions about Snaza either protecting or choosing a policy of “non-enforcement.”
Murphy was more forthcoming in a follow-up interview with the investigator, and cited a non-disclosure agreement he’d signed with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) prohibiting him from disclosing information without authorization.
At the time, the DEA was part of JNET. Murphy told The Chronicle after his firing that the information he’d initially withheld pertained to a federal investigation, not a JNET investigation.
Caldwell maintained that Murphy was, at all times, obligated to follow Centralia Police Department policy, procedures and chain of command.
The police chief ultimately fired Murphy for exhibiting “dishonesty” during the investigation itself, as he noted in a subsequent memorandum.
Arbitration hearing looms beyond election
As Murphy prepares to face off against Frase in the November general election, he awaits the next step in the grievance process led by his union representatives at Teamsters Local 252.
During a grievance meeting with the City of Centralia on May 28, the union requested Murphy be returned to duty and “made whole for any and all lost wages and benefits,” while maintaining his seniority standing.
“The allegations of the complaint are substantially rooted in a contested election for the position of Lewis County Sheriff, in which Sgt. Murphy is a candidate,” the union said in a statement. The union added the city had “failed to provide credible evidence to establish just cause to discharge Sgt. Murphy.”
Thomas, the city manager, disagreed with both union positions in a written response dated June 9, and said the police department acted in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the city and the union.
The city manager’s response effectively sustained Murphy’s termination, clearing the way for an arbitration hearing in November — roughly two weeks after election day.
Thomas told The Chronicle an arbitrator was assigned in June. He said the agreed-upon dates of Nov. 19 and 20 were decided at the end of August. Thomas indicated the hearing could’ve begun as early as August, but the union declined all offered dates except for Nov. 19 and 20.
The city manager said both the city and union declined Oct. 26 to 30 and Nov. 23 to 27.
Dane Bonnell, union representative for Local 252, declined to comment about the grievance process in an email to The Chronicle on July 30.
Murphy has said publicly that he wanted the arbitration done “months ago.”
“I know that the union wouldn’t be spending as much money as they’re spending to defend me and get my job back if they even thought that I was in the wrong,” Murphy said in a video posted to his campaign’s Facebook page Thursday. “So, we know the truth, and we know that it will come out.”
According to the CBA, the arbitrator’s decision is “final, conclusive and binding.”
An ever-growing Murphy file
Caldwell has made several additions to Murphy’s administrative investigation file since he terminated Murphy’s employment after more than 30 years with the department.
In a May 7 memorandum, Caldwell detailed a recorded conversation he’d had with Port of Centralia Commissioner Ally Pickard.
In Pickard’s May 7 interview, the port commissioner described two conversations she’d had with Murphy’s spouse — one in person and one on the phone — that substantiated the claim that Murphy had improperly disclosed allegations against Snaza by talking outside of JNET.
During the phone call, which Pickard said occurred in late summer 2024, Murphy allegedly “chimed in” to affirm that what his spouse had told Pickard regarding Snaza was true.
Pickard described speaking to Murphy’s spouse again at an event in the fall of 2024.
“I know specifically she said ‘protecting drug dealers.’ I do, I do remember her saying that,” Pickard said in the interview.
Six days later, Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer cited Pickard’s statement in a potential impeachment disclosure (PID) regarding Murphy.
A PID, known informally as a Brady letter, is used to disclose to a criminal defendant information about a government witness that may be exculpatory or impeaching.
Brady lists are used by prosecutors to track officers who may be involved in a particular case. They also serve as an unofficial record of those found to have engaged in misconduct.
Both Meyer and Caldwell used Pickard’s statement to contradict Murphy’s position that he had not spoken about Snaza protecting drug dealers outside of the Centralia Police Department.
On May 20, Caldwell filed another memorandum, this time detailing a phone conversation he’d had with Toledo resident and former Lewis County commissioner candidate Kyle Wheeler, as well as messages between Wheeler and Murphy’s spouse.
In a Facebook post, Wheeler alleged “a Murphy” had helped Lynnette Hoffman — editor of the Lewis County News — craft a 2023 anonymous complaint levying similar claims against Snaza.
According to Caldwell, Wheeler’s testimony supported his belief that Murphy had discussed protected information outside of the department.
In response to The Chronicle’s story on Wheeler and Caldwell, Tracy Murphy requested a retraction and denied any involvement with the anonymous complaint.
“The article reports, either directly or by implication, that I participated in drafting, preparing, assisting with, or filing that complaint. Any such claims are false,” Murphy wrote.
Caldwell wasn’t finished. He made more additions to the file in June and July.
On June 30, Caldwell detailed a phone conversation he’d had with Lewis County Clerk Scott Tinney. According to Caldwell’s memorandum, Tinney explained that in 2022, when Murphy was running for sheriff against Snaza, Murphy told Tinney about a “member of Sheriff Snaza’s family being connected to illegal drugs and the sheriff allowing or ignoring it.”
“I asked Tinney why he felt Murphy was telling him about Snaza being connected to drugs in any way, and Tinney said he (Murphy) was trying to get Tinney to support him for Lewis County Sheriff rather than supporting Snaza,” Caldwell wrote.
Snaza would go on to beat Murphy in the contentious 2022 race.
According to the memo, Tinney first told Snaza about the 2022 conversation he’d had with Murphy. Snaza then told Caldwell on June 23.
On July 6, Caldwell wrote a memorandum detailing an appearance by Swope on Taylor’s local radio show. During the show, Swope answered a question from a caller asking if Murphy had ever told Swope that Snaza protected drug dealers.
“So in 2022, during the election, he absolutely told me that the sheriff was protecting drug dealers,” Swope said, before adding that he later questioned Snaza, who denied the allegations.
Caldwell said Swope’s statements offered additional evidence of Murphy’s dishonesty.
The Chronicle emailed Murphy on Thursday and asked if he’d had the reported conversations with Tinney and Swope — and if he’d made the claims about Snaza they are alleging.
Murphy responded “no and no” to both questions.
In his July 6 memo, Caldwell addressed two “issues of concern” that arose during a Republican Party sheriff candidate forum on June 13. During the forum, Murphy reportedly denied sharing information about Snaza with Pickard and Wheeler.
Later, Murphy addressed whether any related information had been sent to the FBI.
“Is the FBI aware of some stuff and looked into some stuff? Yes. Do they have all the information? No. All the information wasn’t provided to them. So to say that they’ve actually done a thorough investigation, that’s not true,” Murphy said.
Caldwell said these statements support one of the chief concerns expressed in January’s CJTC complaint, “That the allegations may have some basis in fact, yet Mr. Murphy is not reporting them through appropriate legal or professional channels and may instead be using this information to influence or gain leverage in an upcoming election.”
The Chronicle obtained a June 30 email sent to Caldwell by Greg Rohr, chair of the Lewis County Republican Party, through a public records request. The email included an attached document describing a September 2025 visit Rohr had with Murphy and Murphy’s spouse.
“During this conversation several comments were made critical of the current Sheriff and his job performance,” Rohr wrote. “I asked for specifics and was given a comment about how the Murphys knew things about Sheriff Snaza that they couldn’t share.”
Rohr went on to reference the June 13 candidate forum and accused Murphy of “actively attempting to influence the court of public opinion” and “providing misleading comments.”
Have the underlying allegations in the CJTC complaint been investigated?
The internal investigation into Murphy focused solely on whether Murphy violated department policy by improperly disclosing protected information or using his position to gain influence outside the department — not whether the underlying allegations against Snaza were true.
All four men implicated in the CJTC complaint — Snaza, Swope, Abbarno and Taylor — made blanket denials to The Chronicle in February. In multiple interviews during the internal investigation, Murphy denied ever discussing or investigating Swope, Abbarno and Taylor, as did other witnesses within JNET and the Centralia Police Department.
In a February news release, the “Tracy Murphy for Sheriff” campaign called the anonymous complaint “politically motivated.”
Murphy eventually admitted to having discussions within JNET about Snaza’s possible association with individuals suspected of narcotics activity. He even had sticky notes on his cubicle wall listing possible suspects, from drug users to transporters to money launderers.
One witness during the internal investigation mentioned an individual associated with Snaza who’s rumored to “host parties where there’s suspected open cocaine use.” The witness described the informal theory as landing “between a hunch and reasonable suspicion.”
According to Murphy and the witnesses, no investigation was ever formalized within JNET or the Centralia Police Department to confirm the unverified information.
The Chronicle has not independently confirmed whether the FBI has ever conducted an investigation into allegations against Snaza or any purported associates.
Snaza responded publicly in July, announcing he’d requested state and federal investigations into allegations of his own involvement in organized crime and narcotics trafficking.
Snaza made the announcement in two letters addressed separately to the CJTC and the Lewis County Board of Commissioners (BOCC).
In his letter to the BOCC, Snaza said he’d requested the FBI, the DEA Seattle Field Division and the CJTC “look into this matter and determine if a thorough investigation is warranted.”
Snaza told the CJTC he’d requested the investigation “in the interest of restoring public trust.”
“These unfounded allegations of criminality and corruption have eroded the public faith and confidence in the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office,” Snaza said.
In his letter to the CJTC, Snaza noted that Murphy still holds a peace officer certification with the state and “should be adhering to the law enforcement code of conduct.”
What is the status of the CJTC complaint?
As of Thursday, the January CJTC complaint that led to Murphy’s firing remained in the “intake review” stage. In other words, the state agency has yet to decide whether to pursue a certification investigation or close the case.
A CJTC spokesperson said the case was awaiting the assignment of a case review specialist.
Any potential CJTC investigation is followed by an administrative review, a statement of charges, if necessary, and, finally, an administrative hearing where the officer can argue against the commission’s decision to revoke or suspend their certification.
State legislation passed this spring sought to strengthen eligibility standards for elected sheriffs, and paved the way for decertified officers to be removed from office. The controversial law was blocked by a Thurston County Superior Court judge in April.
For now, the issue of decertification is a moot point for Murphy and hasn’t affected his campaign. Both Murphy and Frase far outpaced their competitors in funding in the lead-up to the August primary election, and advanced comfortably to the general election.
The Brady letter also doesn’t prohibit Murphy from being elected sheriff, even if Senate Bill 5974 were to clear its legal hurdles. Only a Brady letter based on criminal conduct could disqualify a candidate. In that case, the underlying conduct would serve as the grounds for disqualification.
Murphy has said publicly that no investigative information should have been released by the City of Centralia during the fallout of his termination. The information — which contained some failed redactions — was provided to The Chronicle and others as part of records requests.
“We don’t know if it’s true, we don’t know if it’s not true, because it’s in an investigation,” Murphy said during a June 16 meet-and-greet at the Mossyrock Community Center.
As for the person who submitted the January CJTC complaint? They remain anonymous.
