The “Tracy Murphy for Sheriff” campaign issued a statement shortly before 4 p.m. Monday addressing what it called a "politically motivated” anonymous complaint filed with the Washington state Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC), the academy that certifies law enforcement officers and investigates potential misconduct.
Murphy filed his candidacy for Lewis County sheriff with the Washington state Public Disclosure Commission in May 2025.
The candidate’s release did not divulge details of the complaint. The Chronicle has, however, obtained a copy of the certification complaint form, which was received by the CJTC on Jan. 31.
The complaint reports alleged “repeated statements” made by Murphy claiming that “high-ranking members of the Lewis County Republican Party are involved in a large-scale drug distribution operation.”
The complaint further alleges that Murphy claimed Lewis County Sheriff Rob Snaza “acquires and protects cocaine dealers,” who then distribute cocaine to Lewis County Commissioner Sean Swope, state Rep. Peter Abbarno and Chronicle publisher Chad Taylor, among unnamed others.
Murphy, a Centralia Police Department sergeant and leader of the Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET), previously ran for sheriff against Snaza in 2022. He has worked with the Centralia Police Department for roughly 30 years.
In statements to The Chronicle, Murphy, Swope, Abbarno, Taylor and Snaza said the claims within the complaint are erroneous, describing the allegations in turns as “having no validity,” “false,” “not true, period,” “profoundly damaging” and “absurd.”
"An anonymous complaint was filed,” Murphy stated in his news release. “I welcome review and remain focused on serving our community. Political retaliation and anonymous attacks are an unfortunate reality in today's climate.”
The candidate added, "I will not be distracted. My focus remains on reaching voters across Lewis County, sharing my vision for strong leadership, professional law enforcement, and earning their trust."
The release noted the complaint comes as Murphy’s campaign continues to “gain significant momentum” across the county. Its timing, the campaign said, suggests the filing was a “politically motivated attempt to derail the campaign and discourage future endorsements.”
His campaign added that it remained “fully engaged” as it travels “throughout the county, meeting with citizens, discussing public safety priorities, and building broad support for the future of the Sheriff's Office.”
Murphy, meanwhile, said he remains confident in his record and commitment to ethical leadership.
The campaign promised to “publicly disclose all documents associated with the complaint following the conclusion of the investigation.”
The complaint asserts that Murphy shared his allegations with coworkers at JNET, individuals within his own department and even members of the community.
The complainant, citing a “reasonable fear of retaliation” as justification for anonymity, explained the basis for the complaint as follows: Either Murphy is “knowingly spreading false information for political purposes,” or else the allegations “have some basis in fact,” and Murphy “is not reporting them through appropriate legal or professional channels and may instead be using this information to influence or gain leverage in an upcoming election.”
In a written response to the CJTC regarding the complaint, Centralia Police Chief Andy Caldwell wrote, “I have never heard Sgt. Murphy associate the names Sean Swope, Peter Abbarno or Chad Taylor with these concerns.”
Caldwell later added, “I must emphasize that, based on all available information, there is no credible evidence linking Sheriff Snaza to any illegal activity.”
The police chief indicated his department would not initiate a formal investigation at this time, saying the “complaint does not provide sufficient details to verify violations of policy or the code of conduct, given the vague and anonymous nature of the allegations.”
Caldwell wrote that a hypothetical formal investigation would be an “unfair fishing expedition without any ability to confirm the details of the allegation,” before adding that such an investigation “would unfairly burden all parties involved, including those who may have shared information in good faith.”
The police chief indicated he would instead review the complaint and departmental policies with Murphy in what he called an informal supervisory contact.
In his response, Caldwell noted what he referred to as “historical context” from Murphy's 2022 run against Snaza, when Murphy reportedly “expressed suspicions based on a trail of information from community sources about certain associates of Sheriff Rob Snaza who were possibly engaging in low-level illegal drug activity.”
“At the time, the suspicions were not directly connected to Sheriff Snaza, as this complaint alleges,” Caldwell wrote.
Snaza was first elected sheriff in Lewis County in 2014 after considering a run in 2010. He was reelected in 2018 and 2022.
The longtime sheriff announced his upcoming retirement to office staff in a memorandum on Nov. 6, 2025, where he confirmed he would not seek a fourth term.
Speaking with The Chronicle Monday evening, Snaza called the complaint "unwarranted, frivolous and absurd,” and said he’s known Murphy “almost his whole law enforcement career.”
“I was with CJTC as a commissioner for several years,” Snaza said. “I've sat on a number of hearings for decertifications and all these other things. And I'm very disappointed that someone can make an anonymous complaint about a person who has put his career out there and you want to attack it by a frivolous complaint. And I think it's unfair. I think it would be unfair to any candidate for that. And for them to mention other individuals in that complaint is totally ridiculous.”
Snaza said he has not seen the complaint itself, but was advised of it.
“This investigation is going to go nowhere because there is nothing,” the sheriff said. “But I just say that, you know, when you're running for office or you're in office as sheriff, people are going to say a lot of things about you that aren't true.”
He added that accusations like these never get easy to listen to, especially when your family has to hear them as well.
“I guess it's part of politics these days,” Snaza said. “People can say whatever they want and think they can get away with it. And I think that's unfair to any law enforcement officer that is accused of something like that.”
Swope, who told The Chronicle he has not read the complaint, said it “should be investigated so that it is proven false.”
“The idea that I’ve done cocaine is completely false,” Swope added.
Abbarno told The Chronicle he has not been contacted by either the CJTC or law enforcement regarding the complaint.
“But I'll state unequivocally that it's not true, period,” Abbarno said. “It's pretty sad that a person can anonymously make serious and false allegations without a shred of evidence. And also that CJTC would release any of that information before an investigation is concluded.”
He added that false allegations this serious can impact families, jobs and reputations.
“Sometimes it's part of the hazard of being a public figure where your name is often included in things that are just completely untrue,” Abbarno said. “But as a public figure, often your name's just thrown around, and you just need to let the process figure itself out.”
In a letter addressed to the CJTC’s executive director and public records officer, Taylor demanded “immediate and appropriate action” by the commission.
"I write to formally demand immediate corrective action by the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission regarding Case No. 2026-0000064, an anonymous certification complaint concerning Officer/Sgt. Tracy J. Murphy," Taylor wrote. "The complaint contains explicit criminal allegations asserting that I, Representative Peter Abbarno, and Commissioner Sean Swope are participants in a cocaine distribution operation. These allegations are false. Despite the anonymous, unsupported, and uncorroborated nature of the complaint, CJTC accepted the submission, advanced it within its intake system, and subsequently released responsive materials under the Public Records Act. In doing so, CJTC institutionalized unverified criminal accusations against identifiable individuals and converted them into distributable public records without any investigative determination. Government transparency does not relieve an agency of its obligation to apply threshold credibility standards, ensure procedural integrity, and avoid enabling the republication of anonymous criminal accusations absent evidentiary review. The complaint alleges specific criminal conduct involving named individuals. Centralia Police Department declined to initiate a formal investigation due to the vague and unsupported nature of the allegations. Despite the absence of corroboration or evidentiary support, the matter was advanced to Intake Review status. In response to a PRA request, CJTC produced responsive materials and administratively closed the request. No investigative findings or formal disposition accompanied the release. Anonymous and unverified criminal allegations now exist in a format that can be repeatedly requested and disseminated without official determination of credibility."
Following the release of his campaign statement, Murphy told The Chronicle he’d wait until the CJTC concluded its findings before commenting further, but said, “What I was provided, there was no validity to it.”
The race for Lewis County sheriff currently includes four other candidates in addition to Murphy.
Kenneth Cheeseman, a longtime member of the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office and former patrol deputy, filed his PDC disclosure in June and updated a Facebook page dedicated to his campaign earlier this month.
In July, Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Justin Kangas filed a disclosure announcing his plans to run for the top job.
Another longtime Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Deputy, Daniel “Danny” Riordan, threw his hat in the ring in October and has since been active on a campaign-related Facebook account titled “Elect Daniel ‘Danny’ Riordan for Lewis County Sheriff.”
Finally, Deputy Police Chief Mathew McKnight with the Chehalis Police Department filed his disclosure in November and has also been active on a Facebook account for his campaign.
