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Commissioners press for answers as sheriff's internal probe remains paused pending state police investigation
Summary
County staff told commissioners the sheriff's-office internal probe is paused while state police handle a criminal investigation; commissioners pressed for timelines, requested video records and expressed frustration at delays and the sheriff's absence.
Shawn, the county staff member supervising the administrative side of an internal investigation, told the Board of Commissioners the sheriff's internal probe remains paused while detectives with the state police pursue a related criminal investigation.
"The detectives are doing the work," Shawn said, adding that the county investigation will resume once the criminal portion is complete. He said the state police now "have the case." When commissioners asked whether Shawn had communicated directly with state detectives, he said he had not, and that they would notify county staff when the detectives finished their work.
Several commissioners pressed Shawn for information about civilian complaints and requested video evidence the county had asked for weeks earlier. One commissioner said the county had been "stonewalled" when requesting materials and asked why public-record video had not been produced. In response Shawn repeated that the county would wait for the criminal investigation to conclude before completing its administrative review.
Tension ran high at times. One commissioner criticized the sheriff's absence from the meeting and said, "when you're a coward you hide and you don't show up," urging the sheriff to appear at the next meeting to answer questions. Other commissioners noted the process has been ongoing for roughly two months and voiced frustration that the county had not received requested materials.
Shawn characterized the pause as standard procedure when a criminal component exists: "Anything something comes up criminal, then we pause it and then when they finish it up, they'll tell us they're done and we can move on." He also said certain civilian-side reviews will proceed once the criminal portion is complete.
The transcript records multiple requests from commissioners for the sheriff and county attorney to respond to records requests and to provide a status update at the next commissioners meeting; commissioners indicated they expect further information at the next session.
