Twisp Police Chief Paul Budrow left the sheriff’s office because he believed he was going to be removed under SB 5974, a new law that allows the Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) to decertify elected sheriffs and remove them from office.
“I know for a fact I would have been removed within 6 months. Guaranteed within six months. I’d be gone. They already were threatening lawsuit against me in the county,” Budrow said in an interview with MVE.
The point of contention is Budrow’s decision to provide jail space for persons apprehended by Border Patrol. Budrow said the Attorney General’s office sent “numerous letters” telling him to cease and desist working with Border Patrol.
Budrow refused.
The matter was going to be referred to the CJTC and would have led to his removal from office under the new sheriff’s supervisory law.
“I feel that I would be removed today. Two and a half years from now, it’ll be found that’s unconstitutional, and once it’s found unconstitutional, I can get my certification back, but who’s going to hire a 67-year-old police officer to finish out his retirement?”
Working with Border Patrol
“I was doing what they said I’m not allowed to do…. I was booking people for Border Patrol, and I was going to continue to do that,” said Budrow. “My job is to protect the citizens of Okanogan County. That’s all I care about- Okanogan County.”
Budrow said he allowed Border Patrol to use Okanogan County’s jail facility for a maximum of 48 hours to give the agency time to transport the apprehended person to Spokane, where they would stand before a judge. Budrow said Border Patrol provided probable cause statements. The majority of apprehended persons committed other crimes besides illegally crossing the border.
Budrow said “rarely” was anyone booked into jail solely for an illegal crossing, and if they were, “they were illegally crossing at this moment. It’s not like they illegally crossed 10 years ago.”
“There was something else underlying, not just somebody’s been in the state for 10 years, 20 years, and all of a sudden they’re picking them up.”
Budrow said Border Patrol usually transports persons after hours. During the day, they complete background investigations and write reports that would be presented before a judge in Spokane.
“They have to have all that in front of the judge, which, in my eyes, is giving you benefit of the doubt. I’m giving you, as the person they arrested, your due process, because they have to get all this stuff done. If they don’t have it, they’re not taking you. They’re going to release you, but if they have a criminal charge, which is criminal, then they would transport you over here, to then be in front of a judge [in Spokane.]”
“It’s temporary. They come here, and then they set up a time for another deputy or another border patrol officer to come pick them up and shoot them across. We don’t do anything with them. We take care of them, make sure they’re all taken care of. Fed, you know, clothed, whatever they need to do.”
Changing Times
Previous sheriffs in Okanogan County also cooperated with Border Patrol, but laws have changed, starting with Keep Washington Working Act in 2019, which prohibits law enforcement from asking anyone about their citizenship.
“Back in those days, I book you on a crime that you committed within the state, Border Patrol comes in and interviews people and says, hey, you from here? And then they run you through a database and you don’t come up as a citizen, they find out that you’re illegal, and then they took care of the problem. That’s what’s going on between the U.S. government and the state government. That’s where they’re butting heads.”
Budrow said he “could care less” about a person’s citizenship, but he does care about crime.
“If you’re here and you’re doing what you do, great. If you commit a crime, well, then…”
Standing Up to Olympia
In March, Budrow made a defiant statement on the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook Page:
“I do not answer to a governor. I do not answer to an agency director. I answer to the people of Okanogan County. And above all, I answer to the Constitution- the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Washington.”
In the post, Budrow blasted Olympia for turning deputies into “constitutional shock absorbers” by demanding enforcement of unconstitutional statutes for which the sheriff and county could legally be held liable.
“Every sheriff said the same thing, because we’re the executive branch. The governor is the executive branch. He has no say over me because I’m the law enforcement of here…. I am the county executive. They’re the executive branch of the state. State Patrol only has jurisdiction in this county because I give them as sheriff. They sit under me.”
When asked if State Patrol understands that, Budrow responded, “They do. That’s why they don’t take over any cases. They’re not even set up to take on cases that we would do. They’re mainly on road jurisdiction, stuff like that.”
The tide, Budrow said, is turning toward state police having more control in local jurisdictions.
“They’re trying to make it state police where they would have jurisdiction. That’s why they’re trying to make all sheriffs appointed and/or get in line,” he said.
When asked what makes the current Democratic governor different from his predecessors, Budrow referred to retaliation for speaking in front of legislators.
“I’ve been testifying in front of the legislature for a long time, and as a voice as a sheriff. He [the governor] knows all 39 sheriffs.”
Budrow said the Sheriff’s Office has only been working with Border Patrol, not ICE, but all border counties in the state are “doing their own thing” in terms of working with Border Patrol.
“[In] each individual county, the sheriff has to make their own decisions for their county.”
Other Reasons for Leaving
Budrow did need medical insurance for his family. He has five kids at home and not working isn’t an option, he said.
“That was easy to make the decision. We were paying $1700 a month. Coming here, I’m actually getting a pay raise. A three man department, as a chief I’m making more money than as a sheriff. I didn’t realize that until after the fact,” chuckled Budrow.
“It doesn’t make any sense, but our county is very poor, and fighting with legislature and stuff like that, I can fight better from this seat than I can from a sheriff’s seat.”
In conversation with a county commissioner, he was told the county could not afford to provide family health insurance. The letters from the attorney general’s office was “the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
Budrow said he would continue to testify and prepare written statements to the legislature.
“We need to have people who are legally conscious to protect the citizens of Twisp and Okanogan County. I still have the heart of a sheriff. I just stepped down to protect them better and easier.”
