Over the past few weeks, seemingly weekly, there have been disappointing stories about public employees in the news.
I don’t think this kind of behavior is new, but it does seem to be more common across the country and, sadly, locally, as well.
An elected commissioner for the Lewis County Public Utility District (PUD), Michael Kelly, was arrested for felony bribery after allegedly asking PUD Manager David Plotz to create a high-level job at the PUD in exchange for supporting his pay increase.
That’s not something I expected to read about locally. Of course, public officials in many places have this kind of thing happen all the time, but I never expected to see something like that alleged here in Lewis County.
Kelly reportedly told The Chronicle during his election campaign that “he was there to look out for the ratepayers,” which now certainly rings hollow.
These of course are just allegations until his trial or the case is resolved, but in the meantime, for the benefit of the ratepayers he says he wants to look out for, he should resign.
The PUD doesn’t need the distraction.
While Kelly’s allegations are troubling, these next two are even more so because they impact my former career — law enforcement — and do nothing to improve the law enforcement profession.
Former Morton Police Chief Roger Morningstar has been charged with some serious criminal allegations, but beyond those legal troubles there were many other concerning allegations in the past, including sexual harassment and lying on his application to become police chief.
It resulted in his peace officer’s certification being revoked by the Washington state Criminal Justice Training Commission.
That’s not an insignificant decision.
Time will tell what all the facts are, but he resigned rather than be terminated, and his peace officer license revoked, so it looks like he won’t be in law enforcement here anymore, and that's a good thing.
But the damage to the local law enforcement image (and trust) was done.
Finally, and most disappointing of all, is the arrest of a Lewis County Deputy Jeff Humphrey on allegations related to domestic violence. I say “most disappointing” because I spent a good portion of my adult working life working at the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
It’s also disappointing because I’ve known Jeff for many years. We aren’t close, or friends, but we were friendly.
The front page stories are not flattering.
Here again, Humphrey is entitled to due process and his day in court. But that's different than being held to a standard of conduct that doesn’t cause embarrassment or loss of confidence to the agency he works for.
That standard is or should be high, and his conduct — if true — needs to be addressed. The sheriff’s office says they are investigating the matter, and Humphrey was on paid leave until the investigation is completed. But he resigned on Monday after pleading not guilty in Lewis County District Court last week.
In addition, Humphrey had a DUI after an accident in 2013, according to the news story, so this isn’t his first brush with the law he swore an oath to uphold. And at least with the new allegations, it was not his first bad decision involving alcohol.
So based on whats in the record so far, I am struggling with what it is they are investigating internally that is taking so long to decide?
As sheriff, I frequently said not everybody could work for me, and those we hire are expected to meet a standard of conduct. Again, from what's in the record so far, I can’t imagine what the questions holding up a decision by the sheriff might be.
On a recent page in The Chronicle — just one page — there was a man arrested for a shooting, another for a rape and yet another for allegedly strangling his girlfriend.
Sadly, these types of cases are far too frequent.
Public trust is essential for investigations, so on those rare occasions (and they are rare) when an officer appears to have violated that trust, it should be quickly and fairly addressed.
Good officers deserve it. too.
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John McCroskey was Lewis County sheriff from 1995 to 2005. He lives outside Chehalis and can be contacted at musingsonthemiddlefork@gmail.com.
