Dear Editor, 02-27-11

I don’t know what your criteria are for selecting a guest editorial but request that you consider
my letter for publication. It’s something that the citizens of Whatcom County should be aware of
because it involves some of their employees- both an elected official and one of the people that works
that work for him.

A few years ago my husband had a decision to make that he knew would impact his career. It
did. He can’t speak for himself. If he did, he would be fired. Actually, my letter may have the same
result but it’s been a hostile work environment for him ever since he turned in a memo about a fellow
deputy. The last five years have been extremely stressful for both of us.

My husband is a Whatcom County Deputy Sheriff. He’s a good man and he’s good at his job. He
came to this job a little later in life than most of his fellow deputies. He was honorably discharged from
the Air Force after six years of active duty service, followed by a couple of years in the active reserves
and then six years in the Air Guard. He’s a master mechanic and ran his own repair shop for a number of
years before going to work for a local automotive repair shop. He wasn’t quite satisfied with his work.
He wanted to do something that made a difference. He wanted to help people. He applied for a job as
a deputy and he was hired.

He treats the public with respect, the good people and the not-so-good people. He’s got an
analytical mind and is great at investigations. In 2004 he was presented with a “Whatcom County Peace
Builder Public Servant Award” for his actions that resulted in the arrest and subsequent trial and
sentencing of a violent, home invasion rapist.

A few years ago, a young woman who has been a friend of our daughter’s since fifth grade,
called him in tears. She was ashamed, embarrassed and afraid. This young woman had been an
explorer with the Sheriff’s office. Her inspiration to join was a simple conversation with Deputy Matt
Herzog shortly before he was killed in the line of duty. One conversation and she too wanted to be in
law enforcement. While an explorer she became good friends with one of the deputies. He was her
mentor. He was the father she never had. Friend, mentor, father figure and then…..the relationship
turned romantic.

After graduating from high school the young woman joined the Air Force and entered the
security career field. She wanted to ensure that she’d receive the training and experience that she’d
need to have for a career in law enforcement. Her relationship with the deputy deepened during her
basic training and when she came home on leave, it heated up.

He was a married man, the father of two young children and over ten years her senior. He told
her that he was getting a divorce. He had his own apartment a few blocks from where this young
woman lived with her grandmother. The night before her 20th birthday he took her out for a nice
dinner. He bought her a drink and told her not to worry because she “looked old enough.”

He had more than one drink. When it was time to drive home, he got angry with her because
she thought he was a little tipsy and shouldn’t drive. He drove her back to his place. She didn’t really
want to go inside because he’d been angry with her but she went in. He got them both some wine and
she had a glass. She woke up several hours later, still in his apartment, unsure of what had happened
and afraid. She walked home to her grandmother’s. That night was the last time she saw him.
 She was afraid of him and felt guilty and ashamed of herself. She blamed herself for the change
in their relationship from that of father/daughter to boyfriend/girlfriend. With our daughter’s
encouragement, she called my husband and told him what happened.

My husband had a choice to make. Inform the Sheriff’s office about what one of their “favorite
sons” a rising star had been doing or keep quiet. He turned an information memo into the office,
detailing the allegations against the deputy, a sergeant. He turned it in because it was the right thing to
do. The matter was investigated and after a review of the facts it was determined that good cause for
discipline had occurred. The sergeant had violated his duty to protect the innocent against deception,
the weak against oppression or intimidation and the duty to keep his private life unsullied. Instead this
sergeant had behaved both immorally, unethically and unlawfully. The sergeant was given fifteen, eight
hour working days off without pay. This is not speculation. I have in my possession a copy of the
notification of discipline that this sergeant received.

Now for the corruption: within a month after being disciplined, Sheriff Elfo promoted this
sergeant to lieutenant. How does that happen? Shouldn’t the people enforcing the law be held to a
higher standard than the average citizen? A couple of years ago a deputy was out drinking with friends
at a local bar and made lewd, suggestive comments to a woman there. He was fired. Apparently a
higher set of standards were applied to him as well as to a Lieutenant with the office who was fired for
sexually harassing one of the department’s interns. Those are the cases that were made public so I can
mention them. There have been several others within the Sheriff’s office who were “encouraged” to
retire for supposedly violating the code of ethics but as those aren’t public knowledge I can’t share the
specifics with you.

Why does character count for some people but not for others? Are some victims less important
than others? Why doesn’t this young woman count? (By the way, she’s heard that there is no way in
hell that she’d ever be hired by this Sheriff’s office. She’s been serving her country with honor for over
five years now, including two tours of duty in Iraq.)

My husband can’t wrap his head around how this man was promoted first to Lieutenant and
now to Chief. His first position was that of Patrol Lieutenant, with my husband as one of his patrol
deputies. How do you suppose that went? He is now the Chief of Internal Investigations. Who do you
think has been investigated for essentially “being mouthy” to his supervisor? My husband has to worry
about the bad guys that he meets on the job, and the bad guys back in the office.

There’s an election on the way and the sheriff is being challenged by two people who work for
the sheriff’s office and who aren’t satisfied with his leadership. They aren’t the only ones. You should
ask all the deputies how they feel about Sheriff Elfo- well, not the ones who owe their current position
to him or the ones who don’t want a bull’s-eye on their back. Ask the recent retirees how they feel
about Sheriff Elfo. Ask my husband.

With respect,

A deputy’s wife

Lori K. Murphy

Bellingham, WA 98226