Winlock Promotes Code Enforcement Officer to Chief

After nearly six months of strife and unsubstantiated claims, Winlock has its own police department and has appointed a police chief.

At Monday evening’s Winlock City Council meeting, the council approved an ordinance to reestablish the Winlock Police Department and immediately swore in Stephen Valentine as the police chief.

In March, Winlock City Council appointed Valentine as a code enforcement officer. At the time, Winlock Mayor Don Bradshaw said Valentine was not a police officer.

“Is he a police officer?” Bradshaw told The Chronicle in March. “No, he issues citations for infractions and those citations have 30 days to be corrected. If they are not corrected, then we send a police officer.”

Valentine said he has been an officer since 2012 and was in a supervisory position for three years. His most recent position was as a sergeant for the Nooksack Indian Tribe in Whatcom County.

In 2015, Winlock disbanded its police force and has since contracted with Toledo for law enforcement services. It paid Toledo about $217,000 annually. The contract was set to expire at the end of this year. 

Almost immediately after taking office in January, Bradshaw sought to reestablish Winlock’s police department.

Bradshaw originally sent a letter dated January 2 stating Winlock’s intent to terminate its agreement with Toledo for police services early. After Toledo did not respond, Winlock sent a second letter dated February 27 claiming “breach of contract” and accusing one of Toledo’s police officers, Officer Sam Patrick, of committing the felony crime of burglary at Winlock City Hall.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office investigated the claim and the Lewis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office reviewed its findings, declining to file charges.

A letter from Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer regarding his decision not to charge Patrick reads in part, “I am dumfounded (sic) how this matter reached my desk in the first place. The timing of this complaint against a member of the Toledo Police Department is suspect, as is the complaint itself ... there is absolutely no proof that Sgt. Sam Patrick had anything to do with any of the events alleged.” 

Winlock, specifically, alleged that Patrick entered into restricted areas of Winlock City Hall and accessed court files without permission.

“And by ‘events alleged,’ I mean just that — ‘alleged,’” Meyer wrote. “There is no proof that anything ACTUALLY (sic) happened...there is ZERO (sic) evidence as to who, if anyone, is responsible. Rather, this seems like some within the city of Winlock trying to find issue with the city of Toledo Police Department. It is no secret some within the city of Winlock want to terminate the contract with Toledo for law enforcement services.”

Winlock ultimately withdrew its claims as part of a mediation settlement to end the interlocal agreement early. 

When asked if the claims against Patrick were a negotiating tactic, Bradshaw said, “No, the whole thing was a negotiating tactic … The thing with Officer Patrick was something that happened before I got here. The thing with Officer Patrick was a judiciary finding by our municipal judge.”

As a result of the termination of the interlocal agreement, the Toledo Police Department will shrink from one police chief and three patrol officers to a chief and only one officer. Chief John Brockmueller and Patrick will remain with the Toledo Police Department.

Bradshaw said he hopes to hire an officer before August 15, which is when Toledo will stop providing services to Winlock. He said Toledo Officer Coleman Nelson has applied for the position.

Valentine said the first time he met Brockmueller was at the Winlock City Council meeting on Monday evening.

“On purpose, I’ve kept Stephen (Valentine) underwraps,” Bradshaw said. “I wanted this to go as smooth as possible. I didn’t want any rock throwing or finger pointing. It’s counterproductive to both communities.”

When Winlock contracted with Toledo for police services, both cities each had 20 hours of coverage per day. With the reconfiguration, each department will have 10 hours of coverage per day, according to Brockmueller.

“You can slice it any way you want,” Bradshaw said. “If Toledo has two officers and Winlock has two officers, we still have four officers between us. We still are obligated to cover one another.”

Brockmueller previously told The Chronicle that Toledo Police Department will not change its shifts based on what Winlock covers.