2 of 3 Ada County sheriff candidates not POST-certified in training required for deputies
Of the three candidates in the running to be the next Ada County sheriff, only one has recently had basic officer training that’s a requirement for the deputies he would oversee.
Eagle Police Chief Matt Clifford is the lone candidate who has active Peace Officer Standards and Training certifications, according to public records obtained by the Idaho Statesman. POST certifications show officers have maintained the “minimum basic training” for law enforcement before they’re permanently employed.
They are not, however, required of sheriff candidates in Idaho.
Doug Traubel, a former sheriff’s deputy and investigator in the prosecutor’s office, had certifications that became inactive in March 2019. The last training session attended by Mike Chilton, a former patrol officer and jail deputy, was in 2010, according to POST records.
“My agency, where I work, is at stake,” Clifford, a lieutenant in the Sheriff’s Office, which contracts with the city of Eagle to provide law enforcement, said in an interview with the Statesman. “I work here, I’m invested here. I want to stay here, and keep it good, and make it better.”
In response to questions by email on Friday, Chilton said he felt as if his “whole life has been in preparation” for the job.
“I am very sympathetic to officers who continue to serve honorably at a time when the media and various politicians are attacking, undermining the public’s confidence in law enforcement,” Chilton wrote. “I will do everything I can to defend the honor of the agency, our officers — while demanding excellence.”
Traubel didn’t respond to multiple phone calls and emails requesting interviews and comment.
An ‘absolute minimum’ to qualify for county sheriff role
Though POST certifications are not required of those seeking a sheriff’s post, they are required for patrol officers and jail deputies within their first year on the job. Deputies are also mandated to maintain their POST certifications with annual training. Those are employees the sheriff would supervise and potentially discipline.
POST certifications also require a criminal background check, which is not required of sheriff candidates. To run for sheriff in Idaho, a candidate need be only a U.S. citizen, at least 21 years old and a resident of the county.
Former Bonneville County Sheriff Paul Wilde, who retired in January, said POST certifications provide credibility and assurance to the community that the sheriff understands all law enforcement basics, including the requirements of the deputies. He said he’s unsure why it’s not a stipulation for sheriffs.
“That’s always been an odd thing for me,” Wilde said. “Because how can you operate a sheriff’s office if you really don’t know, procedurally and lawfully, how it’s supposed to be taken care of?”
The Idaho Sheriffs Association made efforts in the past to set the bar higher for sheriffs — such as adding a requirement of at least four years’ experience as a full-time peace officer and an active POST certification. Legislators killed that bill in 1998.
Vaughn Killeen, a former Ada County sheriff and previously executive director of the Idaho Sheriffs Association, said even POST certification isn’t enough. The association back then pushed for a bare minimum in the hopes that legislators would support it, he said.
“It wasn’t a sufficient qualification, but it was an absolute minimum qualification,” Killeen said. “If you have a sheriff who runs a sheriff’s office, all of his or her deputies are required to have ... minimum POST experience. But the boss doesn’t. And does that make any sense to you? It doesn’t make any sense to me.”
Traubel had an advanced peace officer certification, which was issued in September 1995, and a “master” administrative certification, issued in February 2016. Both are inactive now.
Chilton said in an email that those not serving in law enforcement aren’t provided with an opportunity to maintain POST certificates. He said an MBA in finance and a business consulting background provide him with “a huge advantage in managing the budgets and looking for ways to improve service, while lifting some of the burden on taxpayers.”
Sheriffs don’t make decisions to cut taxes. The sheriff is, however, charged with running the county jail — the biggest liability for the county, said Gary Raney, a former Ada sheriff who now consults on liability issues for law enforcement. Lawsuits involving the jail ultimately cost the taxpayers.
Killeen said that although all three candidates have been deputies, supervisory experience is also critical in determining whether someone is fit to be sheriff — experience running a budget, supervising employees and planning enforcement operations, for instance.
Along with certifications as an advanced peace officer and in detention, Clifford has maintained a certification as a supervisor since 2014.
“The other two are very good individuals, but they have no leadership experience. None,” Killeen said. “So who is best qualified to run the largest law enforcement agency? It’s really a no-brainer.”
Chilton worked as a jail deputy until 2010, likely when his detention certification became inactive, according to the Ada County Sheriff’s Office. He had been transferred to the jail from patrol in 2000, shortly after he hit another car while in a patrol vehicle, according to Statesman reporting at the time.
The Statesman obtained the personnel file of Clifford, who consented to the records release. The personnel files of Chilton and Traubel could not be obtained because the Ada County Sheriff’s Office does not keep records once employees haven’t worked there within 10 years. A request for Traubel’s personnel file from the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office was denied.
‘Stunned’ after Bartlett’s sudden resignation
Clifford said he would bring stability to the agency at a time when employees are uncertain about the future of the Ada County Sheriff’s Office.
On May 31, former Republican Sheriff Steve Bartlett resigned, effective immediately, citing “personal items” that needed his attention. He had been sheriff since 2015 and was re-elected in November 2020.
Clifford intended to run for sheriff in 2024, but Bartlett’s departure moved up the timeline for him, he said. He consulted with ACSO employees before he decided to run, and said he believes he’d bring stability as well.
“They are trying to figure out, ‘Where do we go from here?’” Clifford said. “I’ve dedicated my entire career to this agency and public service. ... I am a known figure in the agency.”
In a written public comment to Ada County commissioners, Eagle Police Det. Tom McEachern said the Sheriff’s Office employees were “stunned” about Bartlett. Like several other Ada County Sheriff’s Office employees, McEachern urged the commissioners to pick Clifford.
“We need a leader who knows this community and this agency, not a wild card with a personal, extremist agenda looking to squander public resources on conspiracy theories,” McEachern said.
Written testimony to support Clifford has come from technicians, probation officers, prosecutors, former and current deputies, and detectives. Wade Spain, an investigator in the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office, said the choice is “about as easy as any political decision could ever be.”
Candi Presley, recruitment and selection coordinator for the Sheriff’s Office, wrote that she knows the reputation of all three candidates and worked with Clifford in hiring patrol deputies for over 10 years.
“Matt is dedicated to this agency and has the much-needed experience and leadership ability to handle such a big job,” Presley wrote.
Shellie Strolberg, an ACSO detective for nearly 26 years, urged commissioners to choose a leader with the “confidence to do the job, but not the arrogance to destroy its office.”
“Please don’t pluck our sheriff from a crowd,” Strolberg wrote. “Please don’t choose someone who hasn’t put in the work, but somehow feels entitled to such an important position. ... Choose someone who has stayed in the game.”
Ada Republican committee chose finalists
Traubel has had many supporters but is also viewed as a divisive candidate. Supporters cited his law enforcement background and his commitment to be a “constitutional” sheriff.
“In today’s uncertain social and political climate, Ada County needs an experienced, constitutional sheriff,” Lynn Bradescu, a member of the Ada County Republican Central Committee, wrote to commissioners.
But several critics cited his affiliation with the Constitutional Sheriffs and Police Officers Association, an organization that believes local governments supersede federal laws. Some pointed to controversial public statements he has made. In a letter to the editor for the Statesman in 2017, Traubel said liberals were ready to replace the U.S. “with a Marxist tyranny run by Godless bureaucratic elites.”
The three candidates were nominated for the position by the Ada County Republican Central Committee earlier this month. Idaho law requires that the party committee nominate the candidates to replace Bartlett, who ran as a Republican. Ada County commissioners then choose someone out of the nominees to appoint for the role.
There are three commissioners, and two of them are newly elected Republicans.
About 100 members of the Ada County Republican Central Committee voted. The member who nominated the candidate made a 90-second speech, which was followed by a five-minute speech by the candidate before members voted, said Victor Miller, committee chairman.
Ada commissioners will conduct interviews with all three candidates on June 30. The commissioners all declined to comment for this story. They will hold a public meeting on the sheriff’s appointment at 3 p.m. on July 2, said Ada County spokesperson Elizabeth Duncan.
Per Idaho statute, whoever is selected would serve until the next general election, which is next year. He would have to win in the GOP primary and then the general election in November 2022 to stay on as sheriff.
