FILE: Pacific County Sheriff Daniel Garcia pictured, right, at the county offices in Long Beach, Wash. on Sept. 15, 2023.
Troy Brynelson / OPB
During a meeting Wednesday, administrators in Southwest Washington’s Pacific County proposed changing oversight of the jail. The change would take it out of the hands of county Sheriff Daniel Garcia, who was in attendance, and tasking the Board of County commissioners with oversight, according to meeting minutes.
In an interview with the Chinook Observer, County Administrator Paul Plakinger said the proposal is an effort to reduce liability and risk “for what is arguably the single biggest piece of risk in all of Pacific County government.”
Meeting minutes describe liability in the jail related to the in-custody death of Crystal Greenler, who died in December 2022 shortly before Garcia began working as the Pacific County sheriff. Her family settled with the county in a wrongful death lawsuit for $2.9 million. Another in-custody death, of Curtis Kirschbaum, occurred this past October.
Pacific County commissioners declined to comment on the proposed change in management. Plakinger will read a statement to help the public understand the county’s reasoning during the Dec. 26 public meeting, according to staff. Commissioners will also vote on the jail management proposal during that meeting. If approved, the change would take effect on Jan. 1.
A day after the proposal was announced, Sheriff Garcia posted a letter on his department’s Facebook page, warning that neither he nor corrections staff support the proposed changes.
A flier for town hall events from Pacific County Sheriff Daniel Garcia's office, warning residents about problems with removing jail oversight from his office.
Pacific County Sheriff's Department
In the post, Garcia cautioned that changing the management of the jail will cause patrol deputies to be assigned to tasks that would otherwise have been done by corrections deputies, such as attending court hearings and transporting juvenile detainees to and from court. That, he said, will translate to “reduced capacity for my deputies to respond to calls for service and patrol the county.”
Sheriff Garcia did not respond to an interview request.
With just days before the commissioners’ decision, Garcia plans to hold two of his own town hall meetings about the proposal on Saturday and Monday in hopes of stopping the changes.
“This is not a good thing for the people of Pacific County” reads a flier from the sheriff’s office.