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Previously:

• Del Norte Supes Contemplate Appointing Unopposed Sheriff's Candidate, Garrett Scott, to Position Early

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Garrett Scott expected to be campaigning until at least June, most likely November.

But after one opponent was charged with voter and election fraud and another bowed out of the race, the retired Crescent City Police lieutenant’s new status as Del Norte County sheriff is all but assured. The Board of Supervisors has even discussed appointing him to the position early, though his name will still be on the June 7 ballot.

Regardless of when he becomes sheriff, Scott will lead an agency that’s experiencing a staffing crisis. His predecessor, Randy Waltz — the opponent charged with voter and election fraud — resigned from the position on March 15.

Out of a total of 26 sworn positions, there are 14 vacancies, according to DNSO Lt. Daniel Schneck, who’s taken on the sheriff’s administrative duties since Waltz left. Last year, many of the agency’s most senior officers retired within a few months of each other. At a March 22 Board of Supervisors meeting, Schneck said his agency is competing with others, including the Crescent City Police Department, who are offering hiring bonuses and other recruitment incentives. This includes CCPD, which is offering $10,000 lateral hiring bonuses and the Redding Police Department, which is offering $40,000 bonuses, Schneck said.

Scott, who experienced similar staffing shortages at CCPD, said the DNSO has to be able to hire at a fast pace and to ensure those potential officers are passing background checks correctly.

“That’s what I bring to the table,” he told the Wild Rivers Outpost on Friday. “Knowing everyone here, I can combine those job trainings and that experience and bring it to the table to bridge those gaps and build a partnership.”

Though he experienced a six-year hiatus from law enforcement due to an injury sustained on the job, Scott brings 18 years of experience at CCPD to the sheriff’s office. He started as a police officer and was promoted to sergeant. He served as school resource officer and was in charge of the department’s Senior on Patrol program, Explorers program, its K9 division and the field training program.

Scott was also a CCPD lieutenant for about five years, which involved pursuing grant opportunities for the agency and overseeing its budget as well as overseeing major investigations like homicides.

Scott pointed out that there are still folks within the DNSO — Schneck, for one, and DNSO Sgt. Enrique Ortega, who had taken out papers to run for sheriff, but didn’t continue with the race — who can help younger officers move up the ranks. But outside training is imperative, and helping finance a would-be deputy through the California Peace Officer Standards and Training academy is something Scott said he’d like to explore.

“There are a lot of issues to it, but I think we can pull it all together,” Scott said. “The county Board of Supervisors, (County Administrative Officer Neal) Lopez, they’re very supportive of moving the department forward and giving them the support they need, so I feel pretty confident we can make it happen.”

However, for as long as Scott has been in law enforcement, DNSO has been a training ground for some deputies, especially new-hires who didn’t grow up in Del Norte County, who move on to agencies that offer higher pay.

When it comes to hiring, Scott said, looking for someone who is looking for a “Del Norte County-type place to stay” is important. Those are locals, for the most part — people whose families have been here for generations, he said — or transplants who to stay because they like the peace and quiet and the redwoods.

In addition to building up its staffing, the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office has to build back its image, Scott said.

The agency is still feeling the effects of a Sacramento Bee article, “No law north of the Klamath. Dysfunction, scandal plague California sheriff’s office,” that last summer highlighted several cases of dysfunction. This included an incident where a correctional officer in the jail allegedly deployed pepper spray into the cell of a mentally ill woman. That officer resigned after he was cited in Brookings, Oregon, on suspicion of impersonating a peace officer, according to the Bee’s article.

Another instance of potential dysfunction included a DNSO sergeant who threatened to sue a former colleague over allegations that he had a sexual relationship with a minor while he was a leader of a program for high school students.

A third instance of dysfunction occurred in the armory when the sergeant who oversaw the facility shot off a rifle in the presence of another deputy, the Bee reported.

Scott, though he admitted that it was while since he read the article, said the issues it listed were unacceptable.

“As a leader, if those things are occurring within an agency, they’ve got to be dealt with swiftly and not tolerated,” he said. “I’m not accusing anyone of doing any of those things, (but) there’s no place for it. Law enforcement needs to be held to higher standards.”

Scott said he wants to build back community trust in the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office, which includes instilling departmental policy, much-needed training and “correct supervision.” He noted that the dysfunction listed in the Bee’s article is often a result of policies not being followed.

“The public and people looking to work for the agency see those kind of alarm bells, so to speak, and they may pass up that agency,” Scott said. “The important thing is I’m coming into it new and fresh from a different perspective. I’ve never been employed by the sheriff’s department. It’s going to take a little bit of time to build those partnerships and trust back and that will be my goal — to get out there and work with the public and let them know the policies being instituted.”

According to Scott, the Board of Supervisors can help with funding for quality background investigations and employment screening. They can host career days in Crescent City or at the closest POST Academy. They can also help support the DNSO to the public and the community, he said.

“It’s really important to have a relationship with each board member and the county CAO and build those partnerships so the public is made aware of the transition of the agency, and as it begins to flourish, the public can see and hear about it,” Scott said.

At the Board of Supervisors’ March 22 meeting, Board Chairman Gerry Hemmingsen brought up the possibility of appointing Scott to the position before the June 7 election.

However, Hemmingsen likely won’t have a consensus on that proposal. District 2 Supervisor Valerie Starkey said she wanted to wait until the voters had a say on June 7.

“As soon as he’s ready to be appointed, we could do that,” Starkey said. “I want this to be left up to the voters. He’s the only candidate, but I just feel we need to make sure the voters have weighed in on it.”

As for Schneck, though he’s known Scott since he was a Crescent City police officer and he was a deputy, he has yet to speak with him about what he’d like to accomplish as sheriff. Schneck said he didn’t want to violate any “political rules” that could get either him or Scott in trouble. But Schneck’s optimistic that Scott will do a good job.

“I don’t think he’s going to have any crazy left field ideas,” Schneck said of Scott. “But I think that he will come in here and he’ll be an addition to the sheriff’s department.”

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