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Why Capitol Hill needs a Sheriff, anyway

Why should anyone on Capitol Hill care about the King County Sheriff’s election? The King County Sheriff’s Office, after all, is responsible for policing in the unincorporated areas of eastern King County. But the sheriff’s office does much more than that, including shouldering quite a few responsibilities in the neighborhood.

Incumbent John Urquhart, 69 of Mercer Island, has been sheriff since 2012 and involved in law enforcement in some capacity for 42 years. His opponent Mitzi Johanknecht, 58 of West Seattle, is a major in the sheriff’s office has been in law enforcement for 33 years.

One of the largest issues emerging in the campaign doesn’t have as much to do with law enforcement as much as it does with management style. Johanknecht, commander of the southwest precinct, said one of the top reasons she’s running is to reverse what she said is a decline in morale over the past few years that Urquhart has been sheriff. She said she hadn’t actually considered running until she was approached by people inside and outside of the sheriff’s office who encouraged her to run.

Urquhart said he is running for re-election because he’s done a good job, and would like to continue. He credits himself for working to change the culture of the shreiff’s office, pointing out that he’s fired 22 people for cause. And has worked to “dismantle the blue wall of silence.”

“We are a much different sheriff’s office than when I took over,” he said.

The sheriff’s office handles law enforcement for both King County Metro and Sound Transit, so if there’s a problem at the light rail station, on the streetcar, on a bus, or at a bus stop, it’s up to a sheriff’s deputy to respond – with help from Seattle Police when appropriate or needed. The sheriff’s office handles search and rescue operations for people who get in trouble or lost when hiking in the eastern part of the county.

Sheriffs are responsible for security in the public areas of the King County Courthouse and the Juvenile Detention Center. They act as the contract police department for 12 cities scattered around the county, as well as Boeing Field and the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe.

It’s a big job, and an expensive one. In terms of money spent, it’s one of the largest items in the county budget with $347 million in spending and more than 1,000 employees approved in the 2017-2018 budget. Much of that money, however, is recouped through payments made by the entities (the contract cities and transit agencies) for which the sheriff’s office provides services. As a result, the net expenditure is closer to $140 million.

Management issues
Urquhart has been dogged by numerous allegations of impropriety since he’s been in office. He been sued by numerous female employees saying his office is sexist, and several of those cases have been settled. Urquhart denies the allegations and has said he wished the cases would have gone to trial.

He points to his record of promoting female officers, saying that 67 percent of division chiefs are female, and 44 percent of customer-city police chiefs are female.

He did acknowledge he made a mistake in the handling of a different case. A former employee alleged that he had raped her 15 years ago. The case was investigated by the FBI and the Seattle Police. King Prosecutors did not bring charges, noting that the statute of limitations had expired, and even if they hadn’t, there was insufficient evidence to merit any charges. Around the time of the investigation, the sheriff’s office’s internal affairs department came to Urquhart and asked if the case should be formally recorded. He said he should not, which he now says was a mistake.

“I should have let them document the initial report,” he said. “I’ve learned from my mistake.”

Besides those issues, Johanknecht faulted Urquhart for more nuts-and-bolts style management issues. She said the sheriff’s office has a failed accounting system, needs to develop a strategic plan, and needs a staffing assessment. She has also said her perspective as a lesbian would bring new vision to the office.

Urquhart stands on his accomplishments. He said he implemented a new records management system for the first time in nearly 20 years, increased the number of heart defibrillators from 53 to 400, and increased the rate at which crimes are solved from 11.8% to 21%, among a list of other accomplishments.

On the issues
One of the biggest distinctions between the pair on law enforcement-related issues is the question of safe injection sites. Johanknecht opposes the sites, while Urquhart said they may be worth trying.

Safe injection sites are locations where drug users can go to use their drugs in an environment that is staffed with people who can help them in the case of an overdose.

Seattle is considering spending $2 million to open such a site next year. King County is also, though many cities around the county have passed ordinances forbidding them.

Johanknecht is opposed to the sites, citing the uncertainty surrounding them. The sites create a potentially confusing situation where as the drug user is on the way to the site, they are committing a crime simply by being in possession of the drugs, but once they enter, they need not fear arrest. She notes the sites may run afoul of federal law and some in law enforcement have said the sites could become a magnet for human trafficking.

“There’s so much we don’t know,” she said. “We need to collectively figure out how this whole thing interacts. Across the nation, we need to figure out how to deal with this.”

Instead, she advocates equipping all sheriff’s deputies with Naloxone, a drug that can be used to help someone who is overdosing. She also supports continuing needle exchanges and stepping up diversion programs to get addicts counseling and support.

Urquhart said that in spite of having spent some time as a narcotics officer, he’s ready to try safe injection sites, should one be cited within the sheriff’s office jurisdiction. While he would expect his deputies to enforce the laws outside of the sites, he also wouldn’t want them standing in the doorways, waiting to make arrests.

In the end, he believes the sites could be a benefit, since they could help save lives, and helping people is at the core of law enforcement. What has been happening up until now hasn’t done anything to reduce the number of drug users or deaths, he said.

“We have to look at other alternatives,” Urquhart said.

On other issues, Urquhart and Johanknecht are generally in step. Both acknowledge there have been problems across the country, and locally, between law enforcement officers and communities of color. Both say part of the solution is to find ways to reach out to those communities, and to hire more women and people of color.

“We have to look like the community,” Urquhart said.

He pointed to his efforts to give bonus points in hiring decisions to people who speak a second language, or who have served in the Peace Corps.

Johanknecht also agreed the office needs to do community outreach and also called for additional training of officers in de-escalation techniques. She’d also like the office to buy and implement more non-lethal options.

Both are in favor of body cameras on sheriff’s deputies, but note they need to get a better idea about situations when it would be appropriate to turn them off. Since the recordings are part of the public record, there are situations – such as if there’s a dead body in the picture, if a juvenile is involved, or in a domestic violence situation – when a person’s identity might need to be obscured.

“We need to work with the state to get more clarity,” Johanknecht said.

Both also want to maintain the county’s policy when it comes to “sanctuary” status. Neither wants sheriff’s deputies hauling in undocumented people for immigration-related issues. Both argued that in order for law enforcement to be effective, they must be able to have victims and witnesses of crimes be able to talk to officers without fear of deportation. They both said they would order deputies not to comply with requests from federal immigration authorities to hold a person, unless that request comes with a warrant signed by a judge.

For more information on Urquhart or Johanknecht, visit their websites.

Election Day is Nov. 7. Ballots must be postmarked or turned into drop boxes – like the one on Broadway in front of Seattle Central Community College – by that date. Ballots were mailed out weeks ago. If you didn’t get yours, or you lost it, visit King County Elections.

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