PORT TOWNSEND — Candidates for the Jefferson County sheriff and prosecuting attorney offices discussed law enforcement issues ranging from the use of technology to officer accountability to youth services during a forum Tuesday.
The mid-day forum, sponsored by the Jefferson County Bar Association in the Superior Court’s chambers, was in two segments: the first with sheriff candidates Wendy Davis and Ken Przygocki and the second with Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Scott Rosekrans and challenger Mike Haas, a Port Townsend attorney.
About 80 people — a mix of county employees, attorneys and the general public — attended.
“It’s important for the sheriff to build collaborative relationships with the managers of the school districts to support prevention and early intervention,” said Davis, 47, a Democrat and former Bremerton and Poulsbo police officer who lives in Port Ludlow.
“One of the big issues with these recent school shootings is that people say ‘I saw it coming,’ so having those resources ahead of time, having a connection with other managers is very important to prevent his type activity form happening,” she said.
Przygocki, 63, who filed with no party preference, wants officers in the schools “and I want the interaction to be friendly.
“I don’t want the officers to be authority figures. I want them members of the community that kids can talk to, confidentially if need be,” said the Chimacum resident, a retired State Patrol sergeant.
“I want to head off this ever happening in this county,” he said.
Haas, 53, a Democrat, advocated working to change a young person’s direction early and making sure that child support laws are enforced.
“Just because a young person has made a mistake it doesn’t mean that we need to beat them down,” Haas said.
“When a young person first appears in juvenile court, this is the best opportunity to get them to change so they don’t continue down a negative path.
“That and the establishment and enforcement of child support are among the most important functions of the prosecutor’s office in the prevention of future criminal activity.”
Rosekrans, 62, who is also a Democrat, said that “juvenile court is the entry to the criminal justice system.
“When someone comes into drug court, the first thing I ask them is how old they were when they started taking drugs or dropped out of school and the answer is often that they were 10, 11, or 12 years old.
“We need to have a positive influence on youth.”
Neither race includes a primary contest, in which the top two vote-getters on Aug. 5 would advance to the Nov. 4 general election.
Dave Stanko, 66, a retired California police lieutenant, is on the ballot for the sheriff’s race in the primary election but has withdrawn from the contest.
At Tuesday’s 90-minute forum, each candidate pair was asked 10 questions Questions were from both Bar Association members and the audience.
The Bar Association will distribute a weighted poll to its approximately 50 members, grading the candidates on their judicial strengths and weaknesses around July 20, according to Rafael Urquia, the organization’s president.
Davis and Przygocki both said that officers need to be held accountable for their actions, and in some cases monitored to ensure proper behavior.
“Video records of police interaction with the public can not only protect the trooper against false complaints but protects the public as well,” Przygocki said.
“It’s been on the news where officers have acted inappropriately and they’ve been caught on tape,” He said.
“We don’t want our officers beating up on innocent people and this holds them accountable.”
Davis said that car-mounted cameras are out of date, and that every officer should use body cameras that record every second of public interaction.
“It’s fine to have a camera on your vehicle during a DUI but you can’t take your vehicle into a house,” she said.
“These body cameras are turned on when you investigate a DV call and everything is recorded for posterity.”
Both prosecutor candidates said that judgement is an important tool but disagreed on its implementation.
“The actions that a prosecutor takes can change people’s lives,” Haas said.
“Whoever occupies this office needs to do so with a tremendous amount of humility. The decisions are just too crucial.”
Perpetrators must be held accountable, Rosekrans said.
“If you break the law, I’m going to do my best to hold you accountable,” Rosekrans said.
“It’s not about just making a mistake. Making a mistake is walking into the wrong restroom.
“Getting behind the wheel of a 3,000-pound vehicle (impaired) is not a mistake,” he added.
“If you do that, you will need to take responsibility.”
Not mentioned was the Michael J. Pierce murder retrial, although Haas made an indirect reference to the case during his closing statement.
“A good prosecutor needs to be very well schooled in the laws of Washington state,” Haas said.
“Otherwise they can make mistakes, like blowing the speedy trial provision or making statements during a closing argument that are so off the mark that you get cited for prosecutorial misconduct that results in reversal in a double murder charge.”
The 2010 double-murder conviction of Michael J. Pierce, 39, of Quilcene for the 2009 killings of Pat and Janice Yarr of Quilcene was overturned by the state Court of Appeals on the grounds that Pierce’s constitutional rights were denied after his arrest and that Rosekrans’ closing argument represented prosecutorial misconduct.
Since then, two retrials have ended in mistrials. A third retrial is scheduled to begin Oct. 9 in Kitsap County Superior Court.
Also, Pierce’s waiver of a speedy trial was renewed just before it expired.
Rosekrans has consistently said that his actions were proper during the Pierce trial.
He had no opportunity to respond at the forum.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
