Former Lewis County Sheriff’s Deputy Hal Sprouse says he was performing his duty after becoming the target of a “witch hunt.”
The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office command staff says he was untruthful and insubordinate.
Now, the Lewis County Civil Service Commission will determine whether or not Sprouse should be terminated for reporting what he believed to be a conflict of interest, an unlawful order and an alleged inappropriate investigation into the conduct of Sheriff Steve Mansfield.
The commission began a hearing into the legitimacy of the termination at the Lewis County Law and Justice Center Monday. Sprouse, flanked by defense attorney Sean Lemoine, sat quietly as his former superiors at the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office testified against him throughout the day.
The eight-year veteran of the sheriff’s office called Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor John Richardson Oct. 24, 2009, to report what he believed were several crimes by the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office investigation, according to testimony.
Lewis County’s attorney Richard Wooster said Sprouse eroded his ability to continue as an effective sheriff’s deputy by stepping outside the chain of command and alleging witness tampering and intimidation claims against the sheriff’s office.
“Mr. Sprouse was angry, irrational and vindictive when he engaged in conduct that ultimately made him unfit,” Wooster said.
Lemoine said the issue is larger than Sprouse’s request for investigation. During his opening comments, he said the larger issue revolves around how the sheriff’s office was operating at the time.
Mansfield Investigation
Mansfield was not present for the hearing Monday, but Lemoine said it was an investigation at his property that sparked the series of events that led to Sprouse’s dismissal.
On March 16, 2009, the sheriff’s office received a report from a woman asking if her underage daughter was at Mansfield’s property. She told Sprouse, who was asked to take the call, that Mansfield’s son was her daughter’s boyfriend and they had a baby together, according to the report.
Sprouse, during testimony, said he offered to contact the daughter at the sheriff’s property but the woman said she didn’t want to disturb them. The woman called again March 20 to report her daughter as a runaway.
Sheriff’s Detective Sgt. Dusty Breen took the second report and went to make contact with Mansfield, who said his son and the girl would be gone until later that night, the document alleges.
On March 21, Breen again received an inquiry from the girl’s mother.
He went with sheriff’s deputies and Child Protective Services employees on March 23 to the Mansfield home, where they found the girl. The girl allegedly told deputies she did not want to return to her parents, but deputies later agreed that she would be dropped off at her parent’s home.
The events led to a request for an investigation by the Lewis County Deputies Guild. The Washington State Patrol and the state Attorney General’s Office conducted an investigation, and later determined that Mansfield would face no criminal charges for allegedly harboring the runaway.
Report Released
The Chronicle received a copy of the sheriff’s office report into the incident at Mansfield’s property. In July, Mansfield announced via a radio interview that he would conduct an investigation into how the report was released without permission.
Sprouse described the investigation as a “witch hunt” that eventually led to his termination.
Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown and Patrol Commander Steve Aust testified that they went to Sprouse’s Rochester-area property after dusting his copy of the sheriff’s office report for fingerprints, an act Sprouse said he has never witnessed in a so-called internal “fact-finding.”
The prints of his son and his son’s girlfriend turned up, according to testimony. Since both Sprouse’s son and his son’s girlfriend are convicted felons, Aust and Brown said they went to investigate the issue and question them at Sprouse’s property.
Sprouse was not home at the time, and said he felt intimidated and threatened by his superiors conducting an investigation into his actions.
“To me, the whole thing was a conflict of interest,” Sprouse said, adding that he was apprehensive and concerned since receiving the initial runaway report.
He described several meetings with colleagues and superiors that would eventually lead to his termination. He said he met with Sgt. Rob Snaza Oct. 17 and again on Oct. 24 to voice his frustrations. It was on Oct. 24 that Snaza notified him he would be the focus of an internal fact-finding, and that he was not to notify anyone aside from his attorney.
At the time, Sprouse said he had already contacted the Lewis County Prosecuting Attorney.
On the stand, Snaza said he reported Sprouse’s disgruntlement after the Oct. 17 meeting.
“I had not seen him that upset before,” Snaza said.
At that meeting, Snaza said Sprouse told him of the visit to his property by Brown and Aust.
Snaza said he didn’t share Sprouse’s opinion on alleged illegalities, but that he didn’t understand why Aust and Brown were sent to the home rather than other sheriff’s office personnel. Later in testimony, Mansfield’s Chief of Staff Steve Walton said the two were dispatched because the administration was unsure who to trust in the wake of the document leak.
Breen said he met with Sprouse Oct. 18 to discuss the letter of reprimand the deputy had received days earlier. He said Sprouse was frustrated with the investigation, and angry that command staff had gone to his property.
“I agreed it had been uncomfortable and not a pleasant experience,” Breen said, adding he told Sprouse he didn’t think it rose to the level of witness tampering or intimidation.
Breen described how he was interviewed multiple times regarding the release of Mansfield’s police report to The Chronicle.
“This is something I’ve never been through in my career,” Breen said.
Chief Criminal Deputy Gene Sieber said Sprouse committed “the cardinal sin” by being untruthful and accusing two superiors of committing a felony. He said the former deputy broke with sheriff’s office policy and guidelines by going outside the agency, and that it equated to insubordination.
“The totality of all the information available raised the level to termination,” Sieber said.
Chief of Staff Walton was the final witness for Lewis County. Walton said he made the decision to terminate Sprouse’s employment after a meeting with the deputy and his attorney Jan. 12.
Walton said Sprouse was attempting to retaliate against the sheriff’s office for the letter of reprimand when he reported alleged crimes to the prosecutor’s office Oct. 24.
“He was angry,” Walton said. “He was pissed off.”
Walton said he considered Sprouse’s actions to be a misuse of his position as a deputy. He said deputies are instructed to “obey now, grieve later” and that Sprouse had a responsibility to follow orders and adhere to the chain of command even if he disagreed.
“I viewed it as he had made choices that caused (irreparable) damage to his employability,” Walton said.
Walton said the leak of information to the media was a serious problem that needed to be addressed, and that Sprouse’s accusations of witness tampering or intimidation represented a break with the chain of command.
“We had to find out, or try to find out, how that report got out,” Walton said. “To this day, we don’t know.”
Sprouse, who served as treasurer of the Lewis County Deputies Guild, said he agreed the leak should be investigated. He said it was not him who released the report, and that a copy of the document was placed in his mail box. He said he planned to review the report since he was likely to be interviewed by the state patrol, which was investigating Mansfield.
As for the call to the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office, Sprouse said he felt it was his responsibility to report crimes he believed were being committed by his superiors. He said he doesn’t think a supervisor can tell a law enforcement officer not to report perceived criminal activity.
“I didn’t believe it then, and I don’t believe it now,” Sprouse said.
The commission was scheduled to reconvene today at 10 a.m. in courtroom 2 on the third floor of the Lewis County Law and Justice Center to hear final arguments and make a decision.
The commission is comprised of defense attorney’s Joe Mano and Michael Mittge, and former Winlock Mayor Cy Meyers.
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Eric Schwartz: (360) 807-8245
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Timeline Leading to Ruling on Deputy Termination:
March 16 — Deputy Hal Sprouse receives call from woman claiming her daughter and Sheriff Steve Mansfield’s son had produced a baby, and that they were staying at Mansfield’s property.
March 20 — Woman reports runaway for a second time. Detective Sgt. Dusty Breen drafts runaway report, but doesn’t file it.
March 23 — Lewis County deputies and Child Protective Services go to Sheriff Mansfield’s property, return daughter and child to mother.
July 22 — Sheriff’s office denies public information request for copy of police report.
Aug. 24 — The Chronicle publishes copy of report after it is leaked anonymously.
Oct. 10 — Washington State Patrol ends investigation into Sheriff Mansfield’s actions, and state Attorney General’s Office declines to pursue charges.
Oct. 14 – Timed letter of reprimand issued to Deputy Sprouse.
Oct. 17 — Deputy Sprouse meets with Sgt. Rob Snaza at the Interstate 5 Exit 72 Chevron Station, where he complains of alleged witness tampering and tells of a visit by Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown and Patrol Commander Steve Aust to his Rochester-area home.
Oct. 18 — Deputy Sprouse speaks with Detective Sgt. Breen about facts surrounding the issuance of a letter of reprimand.
Oct. 24, 10 a.m. — Deputy Sprouse calls Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor John Richardson to report alleged harassment by the sheriff’s office and requests an investigation into an alleged unlawful order not to talk about the investigation.
Oct. 24, afternoon — Deputy Sprouse meets with Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Snaza, who told him not to speak to anyone other than the deputies’ guild attorney.
Oct. 27 — A Washington State Patrol detective notifies Detective Sgt. Breen of Deputy Sprouse’s call to the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office at the Lewis County Law and Justice Center.
Oct. 30 — Deputy Sprouse becomes the subject of a second fact-finding by the sheriff’s office, meets with Sgt. Smith at the Chehalis Safeway where an emotional discussion occurs over the status of the sheriff’s investigation into the alleged leak.
Jan. 12 — Deputy Sprouse meets with the sheriff’s office Chief of Staff to review disciplinary action.
Jan. 15 — Letter drafted determining punishment for Deputy Sprouse to be termination.
April 19 — Lewis County Civil Service Commission conducts hearing into termination.
Today — Commission’s ruling expected.
