Oath Keepers Member Runs for Sheriff

A new and unexpected contender has entered the 2014 race to become Lewis County sheriff.

If elected, it would be Brian Green’s first foray into law enforcement. The U.S. Navy veteran, however, said he does not think his lack of experience is a weakness, but rather a strength.

Currently, Sgt. Rob Snaza, who has 24 years of police experience, is the only other candidate to announce his intent to run for sheriff. Filing week officially begins Monday.

Green, a disabled veteran, grew up in the South Sound and served nine years in the U.S. Navy. 

The 46-year-old Onalaska man is heavily involved with Oath Keepers, which describes itself as a non-partisan organization that aims to “support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” according to its website.

If elected, Green said he intends to bring a new and more constitutional perspective to the county’s largest law enforcement agency.

He said he decided to run for sheriff about six months ago due to the unique nature of the elected position. The sheriff, he said, is the only position of power that can hold other elected officials accountable.

Green emphasized he is anti-crime and has supported police, but said he believes local law enforcement’s focus has not always been on target.

“I don’t want criminals around here,” he said. “But if you aren’t following the Constitution, you are turning yourself into a criminal.”

One of Green’s platforms for sheriff is putting cameras on all officers to “keep them honest,” he said.

“I have a lot of respect for (police) ... but I feel a lot of time police and deputies can’t do the right thing because of peer pressure or whatever comes from the top,” he said.

Police, judicial figures and other people in positions of power often do not face punishment for wrongdoing and are not held to the same standard as an average citizen, he said.

When asked to provide an example of that disparity, Green mentioned Mike Gallagher, a Lewis County deputy who died after his patrol car struck an elk while responding to a domestic dispute in Packwood on Aug. 18, 2009.

“They are not supposed to speed,” Green said. “They are endangering lives when they drive like that.”

The possible harm stemming from driving fast is “far greater than some domestic dispute,” Green said.

“The man died, destroyed our property and probably his wife is getting a pension,” he said.

Green, who met Gallagher once prior to his death, said the deputy seemed nice. Green said he respected Gallagher’s service to the community. 

Gallagher, however, was “breaking the law” at the time of his death, he said.

“If my son is about to be murdered, and I drove 100 mph to go save him, do you think they would throw me a parade?” Green said. “He broke the law doing that.”

Green said a solution he proposes to stop deputies from having to speed to respond to emergency calls in remote places is to form a sheriff’s posse, which would be a group of citizens who aid local law enforcement.

“I think we need people involved directly in all forms of government — not just the sheriff’s office,” Green said, adding: “I don’t want to do this all by myself. I want (people) to be involved in their own freedom.”

While accountability is a huge priority, he said, as elected sheriff he said he would also tackle what he considers to be the county’s most pervasive problem: drugs.

He said he would approach the problem in a different manner than police do now.

“The problem we’ve got now is that we pick on the victim — the end (drug) user,” he said. “We don’t have constitutional authority to do that.”

Police do, however, have the constitutional authority to go after gangs the head drug operations, but choose not to, he said.

“I don’t think they go after the big drug gangs at all,” he said.

Green used the example of the “Big Bottom Meth Bust” that occurred last June in Randle. The bust, which came as a result of a long investigation, drew a large law enforcement response and deputies arrested seven people for various drug possession charges.

“They got the SWAT team out for a dime bagger? That’s ridiculous,” he said. “How is that serving the public trust?”

Sheriff Steve Mansfield said he previously met Green and said Green appeared to be impressed and was complimentary of how things are run at the sheriff’s office.

“He seems to be articulate and bright and very sincere in what he believes,” Mansfield said. “He’s a very likeable individual.”

Despite that, Mansfield said the position of sheriff was a “complicated and demanding job,” and is doubtful that someone without any law enforcement experience could successfully run the county’s largest law enforcement agency.

The wrong person in charge could be “catastrophic” and a “possible liability,” he said.

“I am not criticizing him for wanting to try,” he added.

Snaza declined to comment on his apparent opponent, other than to say: “I wish him well.”