HomeMy WebLinkAbout072326 email - Public Comment – Sheriff's Office Public Messaging_ Transparency_ and AccountabilityALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
Dear Commissioners,
While reviewing Jefferson County Sheriff's Office records, I ran across and reviewed internal investigations, disciplinary records, personnel-related documents, and agency policies.
I have also compared those records with the Sheriff's Office's official public messaging and social media communications. My concern is not that the Sheriff's Office communicates with
the publicity should. My concern is whether taxpayer-funded communications present a balanced and transparent picture of the agency or simply a carefully selected one.
Sheriff Andy Pernsteiner is ultimately responsible for the direction of the Sheriff's Office and its public messaging. The Undersheriff's official job description designates that position
as the Media Information Officer, departmental spokesperson, and the individual responsible for the completion and review of media releases. These responsibilities place agency leadership—not
just individual deputies—at the center of how the Sheriff's Office presents itself to the public.
On July 13, 2026, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office published an official Facebook post highlighting Deputy Darrin Dotson for assisting a pedestrian across a busy intersection in
Port Hadlock. The post described his actions as "top-notch community policing" and concluded by stating, "that's how we do it in Jefferson County."
This was not an isolated example. On March 9, 2026, Sheriff’s Office again featured Deputy Dotson in an official Facebook post highlighting his participation in a ping-pong game with
a Chimacum High School student, joking that he might need "remedial ping pong training—or just more visits." These posts present Deputy Dotson in a consistently favorable light through
official taxpayer-funded communications. Helping a pedestrian safely cross a busy roadway and interacting positively with students are commendable actions. My concern is not those individual
acts. My concern is that the Sheriff's Office repeatedly highlights Deputy Dotson through carefully selected positive public messaging while the agency's own records document a significantly
more complicated disciplinary and performance history.
In 2008, Deputy Dotson received a five-day suspension following an on-duty incident at a Little League baseball game.
In July 2014, while responding to back up another deputy on a report involving a gunshot and a woman screaming, Deputy Dotson stopped a commercial truck instead of continuing directly
to the emergency call. The internal investigation concluded that he exercised poor judgment, displayed poor emotional control during the stop, and violated Sheriff's Office policy.
September 1, 2016, memorandum, written in the first person by Sheriff David Stanko, explains that former Sheriff Tony Hernandez ordered the investigation but never acted on it before
leaving office. Sheriff Stanko determined that discipline was appropriate but concluded he could no longer impose discipline because the contractual deadline had expired. Sheriff Stanko
wrote that, had the deadline not expired, he would have issued Deputy Dotson at least a written reprimand. That memorandum bears the signature of Undersheriff Joe Nole. I have attached
a redacted copy of that memorandum for the Board's review.
The records continue beyond that incident. They include a 2016 Taser incident that received outside criminal review, documented Performance Improvement Plan materials, Brady disclosure
material, later discipline involving evidence handling, and additional discipline involving body-worn camera compliance.
Before attaching the memorandum, I redacted the complainant's Social Security number, driver's license information, date of birth, and home address because those protected personal identifiers
had been released without redaction. That raises an additional concern regarding the Sheriff's Office's handling of sensitive personal information in response to public records requests.
My concern is not simply Deputy Dotson.
My concern is whether the Sheriff's Office's official public messaging, under the direction of its leadership, presents a complete and transparent picture to the community or instead
selectively promotes favorable images while minimizing significant documented disciplinary history that already exists in the public record.
Public trust is not built solely through positive Facebook posts. Public trust is built through transparency, accountability, accurate public communications, proper handling of public
records, and a willingness to acknowledge both commendable service and documented failures.
Accordingly, I respectfully ask the Board:
* What oversight, if any, exists over the Sheriff's Office's taxpayer-funded public communications?
* How does the Board evaluate whether those communications promote transparency rather than simply enhancing the agency's public image?
* What oversight exists to ensure protected personal information is properly reviewed and redacted before public records are released?
I respectfully ask the Board to discuss what oversight, if any, exists over the Sheriff's Office's official public communications and public records practices, and how those practices
can better promote transparency, accountability, protection of personal information, and public trust.
Attached for the Board’s review is the 13-page redacted JCSO internal investigation record referenced in this public comment.
Amber A
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