The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) on Wednesday announced an “off-duty conduct” investigation into an employee following the release of a video on social media showing a man allegedly holding an alcoholic drink while sitting in the passenger seat of a moving vehicle.
According to Lewis County resident and open government advocate Brittany Voie, the man depicted is current LCSO Sgt. Doug Lowrey. Voie released the video on Wednesday.
Lowrey, a former longtime Centralia police officer, joined the LCSO in 2019. The sheriff’s office did not release Lowrey’s name in its news release, and said its ability to share information regarding individual personnel matters was limited.
“The Sheriff's Office is aware of a video recently circulated on social media involving one of our employees,” the department said in the release. “While the incident depicted in the video occurred approximately six years ago, we recognize that its recent circulation has raised questions and concerns within our community.”
In the apparent selfie-style video, the man identified as Lowrey takes a sip from a cup filled with what he later says is “rum and Coke.”
At one point in the video, the man angles the camera on a Coors Banquet beer can sitting in a cup holder. The can appears to be open. Drinking or possessing an open alcoholic beverage in a vehicle while on a public highway is considered a traffic infraction, according to state law.
“Ice cold Yellow Jacket, rum and Coke, little Tanya Tucker,” the man says, before letting out a “woo-hoo!”
Later, the man made a vulgar joke about a woman in the back seat of the vehicle, but no other person is visible in the vehicle, except for the driver — who is not named in the video.
Multiple sources, including Voie, have identified the driver as a private citizen who died in 2021. At the end of the video, the man tells the male driver to slow down.
The sheriff’s office said it had conducted an initial “fact-finding” review and is addressing the incident through its “established disciplinary process.”
According to the LCSO, the issue is “administrative in nature” and not criminal.
“We understand that the actions of our employees, both on and off duty, can impact the public's perception and confidence in our agency,” the sheriff’s office said. “We take that responsibility seriously and recognize that public trust must be earned through professionalism, integrity, and accountability.”
The department said it was not dismissing the matter, but indicated a desire to be transparent while “respecting the integrity” of its internal processes.
Voie emailed the video to Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer, Lewis County Sheriff Rob Snaza, the Lewis County Board of Commissioners (BOCC) and others on Wednesday as “supplemental evidence” regarding a request for an independent investigation into allegations that Lowrey accessed law enforcement databases for unauthorized purposes or while off-duty.
Voie has also called for a prosecutorial review. In an emailed response to Voie, Meyer acknowledged receipt of the video and indicated his office had begun “the process on our end.”
Lewis County Commissioner Lindsey Pollock said in an email to Voie that she’d requested the matter be placed on an upcoming agenda.
“The BOCC does not have authority to regulate an independent elected official’s office, however it is important to be aware of potential issues,” Pollock said.
According to Voie, the previous 2024 internal investigation into Lowrey’s database access — which concluded Lowrey had queried the database for “work-related” reasons — may not have adequately examined the possible relationships between Lowrey and the individuals queried.
“I believe these circumstances further support my request for an independent review, both to ensure an impartial examination of the evidence and to provide an environment in which individuals with relevant information may feel more comfortable coming forward,” Voie said in an email to Meyer.
Snaza and other high-ranking officials at the sheriff’s office have said the FBI was informed of allegations against Lowrey in 2024 and subsequently closed its own investigation.
As noted by Voie in her email correspondence with Meyer and others, Lowrey’s name was revealed as one of the individuals listed in former Centralia Police Sgt. Tracy Murphy’s collection of sticky notes pertaining to possible drug trafficking in Lewis County.
Each note labeled the individual’s possible connection to illegal drug activity, with titles such as drug user, transporter, supplier and money launderer.
Lowrey was identified as living on the property of a private citizen labeled as a possible drug supplier. That individual has never been charged with any related crimes.
The video released by Voie appears to be directed toward the individual, or someone with the same name.
The City of Centralia released the sticky notes as part of public records requests regarding the internal investigation that led to Murphy’s firing by Chief Andy Caldwell in April.
The investigation stemmed from an anonymous complaint submitted to the Washington state Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) in January, in which the complainant alleged Murphy had made “repeated statements” claiming Snaza acquires and protects drug dealers, who then distribute cocaine to prominent area Republicans.
Caldwell ultimately fired Murphy for exhibiting “dishonesty” during the investigation itself, as he noted in a subsequent memorandum. Caldwell has continued to add memorandums to the file, documenting a number of local public officials who have come forward to corroborate the complainant’s original claims against Murphy.
Murphy lost to Snaza in the Lewis County sheriff’s election in 2022. The former narcotics task force leader appears to have lost again in this year’s election, this time to LCSO Special Services Chief Gabriel Frase. Election results will be certified on Nov. 24.
Murphy now awaits the next step in a grievance process led by his union representatives at Teamsters Local 252. An arbitration hearing with the City of Centralia is set for Nov. 19 and 20.
In a video posted to his campaign’s Facebook page on Oct. 4, Murphy said the sticky notes were "solely just investigative notes for the onset of an investigation.”
He said two of the names were “generated from a DEA complaint that came in in 2025.”
Though most of the notes have been released by the city in public records requests, two notes were redacted, suggesting those individuals may be under investigation.
“The names that are on there don’t necessarily mean that they’re part of nefarious activities or that they’re even being looked at as a suspect in anything, and that includes Sheriff Snaza,” Murphy said in October.
Murphy said he never investigated Snaza, and as far as he knows, neither has the Centralia Police Department or the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Snaza, whose name was placed at the top of the notes on Murphy’s cubicle wall, referred to the notes as an “org chart” in an interview with the Chronicle in October.
“They have their name, their date of birth … and some of those people I know personally, and some of those people were supporters of mine,” Snaza said. “Other people that were named on that are people I don't know personally, but I know there's law enforcement officers on that list — prior and current officers.”
Snaza said Murphy acted with “evil intent.”
“What are they supposed to tell their family members?” Snaza said of the named individuals. “No one's asking about that. And that's my frustration.”
In July, Snaza announced he’d requested state and federal investigations into the allegations of his own involvement in organized crime and narcotics trafficking.
In October, Snaza said the Washington State Patrol and CJTC told him they would not investigate. He said the FBI’s office in Seattle told him they’d received his letter.
Snaza said he hadn’t heard back from the state Attorney General’s Office or the DEA.
Snaza denied any protection or non-enforcement of cocaine dealing, saying he’d arrest “every single one of those people on that paper” if they were involved in “any type of illegal activity like that.”
“I would arrest them because I have not lost my morals or ethical values,” Snaza said.
