Updated May 10, 2024 5:01 pm to include comments from Benton County Prosecutor Eric Eisinger.

Benton County Sheriff Tom Croskrey added to the “pending” Brady List.

In an email to an anonymous source, “TCTransparency,” copied to news organizations in the Tri-Cities, Benton County Prosecutor Eric Eisinger wrote, “We are seeking an investigation of whether Sheriff Croskrey should be placed on the PID (Potential Impeachment Disclosure), or Brady, list. Until that investigation is done, he is on the Pending PID list.”

Almost immediately after the announcement, Croskrey’s attorney, Alan Harvey, responded using references to state and federal law to rebut both TCTransparency and the city of Richland claim that Croskrey had tried to mislead the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission to obtain a “retired” credential for a former Richland police officer.

In December, King County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Daniel J. Clark wrote the Observer in an email, “We are obligated by law to provide notice to defense counsel of both “pending” and “sustained” findings related to dishonesty, and we take that obligation seriously.”  

The Observer reached out to Eisinger to ask if the Brady rules were the same for Benton County, and also if the designation would affect any cases currently before the court.

Eisinger responded in emails to the Observer:

“Sheriff Croskrey is currently on the Pending Potential Impeachment Disclosure list. If named as a witness in a pending case, the State would provide notice to defense of his inclusion on the list pursuant to our PID Policy disclosure requirements. The notice would consist of the basis for the inclusion on the list and that it is a Pending determination.

“Being on the Brady list (we call it the Potential Impeachment Disclosure list) or the pending PID list does not disqualify a witness from testifying on a case or disqualify the police officer from doing his or her duties. 

“Because the PAO [ed-note: Public Attorney’s Office] must err on the side of disclosure, the determination by the PID Committee to add an officer to the PID List does not imply a conclusion that the officer is not credible as a witness, or that the information provided to the prosecutor used to place an officer on the PID List is completely accurate, or appropriate for use in impeaching his or her credibility. It is critical to differentiate between disclosure requirements and the rules of evidence governing admissibility. The mere fact of placement on the PID List and resulting required disclosure says nothing about the admissibility of the underlying material at trial or other hearings.”

Former Benton Sheriff Jerry Hatcher was placed on the Brady list in 2021 and former Richland Police Chief Brigit Clary was added in December.

In 1963 the U.S. Supreme Court in Brady v. Maryland ruled that to ensure a fair trial, defendants must be told of evidence that could be used to show their innocence, such as internal documents undercutting an arresting officer’s credibility. To comply with the landmark ruling, prosecutors today keep lists of cops with questionable records that must be disclosed to defense attorneys, including findings of untruthfulness, misconduct, or criminal activity.

Newly appointed Kennewick councilmember applied to be city manager after he’d been sworn in.

Under the Washington Public Record Act, the Observer recently acquired emails from the city of Kennewick that had enough unredacted information to confirm rumors that had floated around for several months – Kennewick City Councilmember Jason McShane applied to be Kennewick’s city manager about 10 days after he was sworn in on Dec. 19 to replace Mayor Bill McKay. 

Mayor Gret’l Crawford wrote in emails that an applicant for city manager, (name redacted), had complained to her that recruiting consultant GMP Consultants had not advised “him” that he had not been chosen as a finalist for the job.

That complaint resulted in a string of emails between Crawford, city staff and the consultant who provided documentation that he had followed up a Dec. 30 application with a rejection letter on Feb. 12.

In one email to Crawford about the rejection notice, Ray Corpuz of GMP, cites RCW 35A.13.050 which states “No person elected to membership on the council shall be eligible for appointment as city manager until one year has elapsed following the term for which he or she was elected.” 

McShane was the only Kennewick city councilmember who did not attend the Feb. 6 executive session to discuss the qualification of applicants for city manager, documents show. 

When the Observer asked McShane in a telephone interview about the absence, he said that a family commitment prohibited him from attending. 

McShane attended meetings to pick a city manager from the four finalists.

Pasco Mayor Pete Serrano withdrew his Semi Bird endorsement

Pasco Mayor Pete Serrano who is also running for state attorney general withdrew his endorsement of Semi Bird who is running for governor.

In a telephone conversation with the Observer, Serrano was a bit vague on his reasoning but said that he had been offended by a Bird podcast during which the candidate called criticisms of his past transgressions a “lynching.”