CCPSA Campaigns
Angels with Badges Awards
In August, CCPSA will present its 2024 Angels with Badges Awards to deserving officers and support personnel from Clark County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) and Vancouver Police Department (VPD).
The awards recognize life saving actions by law enforcement anywhere in Clark County. They express the thanks of the community for these quietly heroic professionals.
VPD personnel receiving the awards this year are: Officers Gerardo Gutierrez, Andrew Davis, Desmond Haske, Audrey Hing, Sean Suarez, Brandon Riedel, Micah Willis, Conrad Iranon, and Tibor Naray.
CCSO personnel receiving the awards are: Deputies Brett Anderson and Billy Childers, and support personnel Sheila Viken, Brittany Hughes, Liz Beaman, Amber Kolb, Lori Bryan, and Detective Tanya Johnson.
CCPSA instituted its Angels with Badges awards in October, 2023, to recognize four CCSO officers who had rescued a man hanging from the 139th Street overpass over I-5 intent on committing suicide. Their timely and expert actions, including caring conversations with him, brought him to safety that day. CCPSA believed that “angels with badges” intervened for the good of the community.
Safe Clark County
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office’s staffing shortages have tremendous adverse effects on the communities we serve. We have stood by and watched as low staffing levels in the jail have caused significant limitations on the criminals who can be arrested and housed in the Clark County Jail. The un-safe numbers of deputies on patrol has caused frequent instances of temporary service cuts and likely upcoming long-term service cuts to the crimes we are able to safely respond to. The result, more criminals, and less deputies on the streets.
For Clark County citizens this means a continued decline in the quality of life and safety in our communities. Community members tell us daily they are fed up with the increases in lawlessness in our county. We have heard your concerns. We want to be there for you when you need us, unfortunately, our county’s absence of commitment to your safety leaves us potentially unavailable at your time of need.
Support our Clark County Sheriff
The sheriff's pay has not kept up with other law enforcement executives. It is significantly below that of many law-enforcement personnel reporting to him. This disparity is unworkable in the long term, unfair, and indirectly risks public safety. (click here to read the full statement)
The sheriff's 2024 salary is 30% less than the undersheriffs and an average of 25% less for all the sheriff's command staff, including chief deputies and commanders. The current sheriff, formerly the Chief Criminal Deputy, has taken a 27% pay cut from his former position. Unless fixed, this disparity will undermine future public safety by discouraging highly qualified law enforcement personnel from running for sheriff and encouraging less qualified candidates to do so.
Washington State retirement for law enforcement is calculated based on a 5-year consecutive salary average. This large salary cut significantly reduces retirement pay for any executive seeking this position, which, in turn, will dramatically reduce our pool of exceptional candidates. The current method of computing the sheriff's salary, in Charter Section 5.5.B.1., specified the salary at $106,224 in 2014 and allows subsequent adjusted percentage changes approved by the state salary commission for state legislators. The sheriff is not a state legislator and should not be compensated as such.
The salary method must be appropriate for the highest-ranking law enforcement officer. This amendment sets and maintains the sheriff's salary at 8% higher than the highest step of the undersheriff salary. This method ensures a professional wage and fair retirement pay and, therefore, highly qualified candidates for sheriff.
Support public safety in November and vote yes!
James Senescu
Garry Lucas
Ann Donnelly (Committee Chair, contact by email)
New County Jail
The Clark County Public Safety Alliance is working with the Clark County Council and community stakeholders on the new Clark County Jail proposals. Funding tools and jail designs will be public in the coming months.