By Alexandra Duggan
The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
KOOTENAI COUNTY, Idaho. — Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris has banned leaders of the Coeur d’Alene and Rathdrum police departments from doing any law enforcement work outside their cities.
Norris sent a letter to Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White, Capt. Dave Hagar and Rathdrum Police Chief Dan Haley on Monday notifying them their privileges as a special deputy, or a member of law enforcement appointed to perform duties outside their jurisdiction, were revoked.
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The move means any Coeur d’Alene or Rathdrum police officers responding to incidents outside their cities would not be supervised by their chief or captain, which some leaders said could be problematic. Most other officers in the departments remain cross-deputized.
White and Haley alleged that Norris canceled the special deputy statuses of some local police chiefs this week out of retaliation, according to records obtained by The Spokesman-Review.
Norris declined to comment on the issue through a spokesperson.
White said in an email obtained by The Spokesman-Review that he believes Norris is upset he was investigated by the Coeur d’Alene Police Department for his role in a disruptive Republican town hall on Feb. 22 when he was captured on video grabbing and tugging the arm of a woman who was jeering at the emcee. Norris threatened to pepper spray her if she did not leave.
When she did not comply, Norris gestured at a group of men in black jackets and began recording on a cellphone. The men, later identified as a private security team, dragged her out of the auditorium by her arms while she screamed “Who are these guys?”
Norris was considered “involved” in the incident, according to the Coeur d’Alene police reports. He was not categorized as a suspect. The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office originally said in a news release there would be an independent administrative investigation into Norris, which is typically done in tandem with a criminal investigation. No agency was able to confirm by April that he was under investigation, and the sheriff’s office indicated in a public records request that no documents of an investigation into Norris existed.
While he was absolved of any criminal wrongdoing in the incident by the Idaho Attorney General last month, White suggested Norris was pitching a fit because police named him in their initial reports, according to an email the chief wrote to Coeur d’Alene Mayor-elect Dan Gookin and City Administrator Troy Tymesen.
“Looks like CDAPD being the adults in the room may not satisfy Bob’s latest tantrum,” White wrote in his email, and added he is trying to work with the county’s undersheriff to resolve the issue. The issue, White says, is that the county and city would be worse off without their cross-deputies because they supervise their members of the area’s SWAT team.
The SWAT team is staffed with 14 Coeur d’Alene Police officers and seven Kootenai County deputies.
“It would be inappropriate for us to cede complete control of our SWAT officers to the sheriff’s department without oversight or supervision from our leaders,” White wrote. He is set to retire from the department in January.
Haley, who became Rathdrum’s police chief in October, is a former Coeur d’Alene police detective who assisted in the initial investigation into the Republican town hall. The security team’s manager, Paul Trouette, who was charged with battery and false imprisonment over his alleged actions during the town hall, will face a criminal trial on Monday. Haley, who was the main investigator in the case, is expected to testify.
According to an email obtained by The Spokesman-Review, Haley wrote Coeur d’Alene Chief Deputy City Attorney Ryan Hunter on Thursday that he is concerned about the timing between Norris revoking his deputy status and the upcoming trial.
“I have had no interactions with Sheriff Norris since completing the investigation, and certainly none since I was sworn in as the Chief of Police for Rathdrum PD ... I view this revocation as retaliatory and an intimidation tactic as I am preparing to testify as a witness in the upcoming trial,” Haley said of Norris’ actions. “It does not deter me from testifying in the upcoming trial but I believe it is information that you, as the prosecuting attorney, should have.”
Hagar also wrote in an email Wednesday to Kootenai County Undersheriff Brett Nelson that police supervisors would no longer be able to assist in responding to “extremely dangerous” incidents outside the city. Two local Idaho firefighters were shot and killed in an ambush-style attack on Canfield Mountain in June, which prompted a massive response from Coeur d’Alene Police, the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office and swarms of federal agents.
Canfield Mountain is not located inside the city limits. If the shooting had happened after police supervisors lost their deputy status, they would not have been able to lead their team on the mountain that day, Hagar told The Spokesman-Review.
When reached by phone Thursday, Haley said the citizens of Rathdrum will be unaffected, but he could not say the same for the county. Hypothetically, he said, if he left the city limits of Rathdrum and witnessed a crime, he would not be able to respond to it without explicit permission of the responding agency.
“I would have the same rights of the general public at that point,” Haley said. “I would not be considered a peace officer and could not take action as a peace officer.”
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