I've been following the events in the Shiawassee Sheriff Department for quite some time. It started (officially) in the spring of 2007, when I threw some FOIAs out there just to see what I could catch. A lot has happened since then, and for the sake of grassroots / netroots everywhere, I thought I'd lay out some of the lessons I learned along the way.
Focus - My focus was critical to my personal credibility. If you've looked at the SCSD forum, you see some of these threads degenerate into a 'feeding frenzy' ... people talking about everything that Jon Wilson was ever accused of. I extracted what I thought was the most relevant information (the charges of assault) and through the FOIA process, I got the documents necessary to support those accusations. For the most part I completely ignored the other accusations. So when the Sheriff was out there telling the public that bloggers are liars, I was able to say, "He doesn't get to grab people, and here's the official county document that says he's doing it."
The officially unofficial results are in. Incumbent Sheriff Jon Wilson has been defeated in a primary by Asst. Prosecutor Deana Finnegan. Finnegan took 55% of the vote, while Wilson received only 36%.
I only have a couple of minutes, but I just have to tell you about the latest douchebaggery on the part of my Sheriff, Jon Wilson. (Winner of the BFM Worst Political Site Ever Award) He must be nervous about his upcoming primary, because he's harassing his opponents something fierce.
Now our Sheriff Jon has 2 primary opponents; the first, Donald Gauthier, probably doesn't have much of a shot. He was a member of the Sheriff's Mounted Posse but otherwise doesn't have a lot of involvement in law enforcement (that I'm aware of) and isn't doing much campaigning. The other opponent is Deana Finnegan, an Assistant Prosecutor (Shiawassee Co) who has long been rumored to be in line for Judge Clatterbaugh's or Dick Ball's job. (We just hand these jobs off out here) She's campaigning, she has a high profile, and she's obviously making Wilson nervous.
The first thing he did was demand that she be removed from all of the cases that involved the SCSD. Apparently he felt that her candidacy would interfere with her doing her job as a prosecutor. Ok. Whatever.
Next he threatened to invoke the Hatch Act of 1939 against her. I don't think that's happened yet. If he's smart (ha!) he won't do it, because he also violated the Hatch Act when he ran for Sheriff the first time, and he can probably avoid counter-complaints by just shutting his pie-hole. (Wilson also attempted to use the Hatch Act to prevent the head of the SCSD Detectives Bureau from running for Sheriff by making him swap jobs with the head of Homeland Security. Literally, swap jobs. Shiawassee County Commissioners responded by removing Homeland Security from the Sheriff's control. Thank God for that, because there was a chemical spill the following week. Seriously. I can't make this up.)
And the latest act of harassment comes in the form of this letter, which was sent to Deana Finnegan's husband:
June 23, 2008
Mr. Patrick Finnegan
312 S Mizner Street
Corunna, MI 48817
Dear Mr. Finnegan:
Our insurance carrier has expressed concern over the fact that one of your vehicles has the words " Shiawassee County Sheriff's Department" listed on the side. The primary concern is that Shiawassee County could potentially incur legal liability if the vehicle is involved in an accident or misidentified by the public.
As a result, the Sheriff's Office is requesting that the words and any related insignia (current or previous) be removed immediately so that they are not discernible by the public.
Your prompt attention to this request will be sincerely appreciated.
Sincerely,
Jon Wilson, Sheriff
Shiawassee County Sheriff's Office
You guys have got to see this. It is the worst political site ever to hit the Internets.
I'll give the guy credit for going online. (Actually, I'll take credit for the guy going online, but that's not the point.) He is trying to do something with his site. You can donate, sign up to volunteer, contact him, etc.
But here's a little breakdown* of what else is on his site -
4) Seriously, the worst political video ever. And just in case you hadn't heard that Sheriff Jon Wilson assaulted his Deputy, he specifically mentions it at about 2:20 into the video. You know, just to set the record straight that he's never assaulted anyone, and especially none of his officers. Also, he doesn't answer to the Commissioners or the County Administrator or the Argus Press. Only to God, his wife, and ... um ... sorry, I don't know what comes after that. I was laughing so hard by that point, I couldn't hear what he was saying.
I decided to start a digest so that we can keep track of everything that's happened with the Sheriff.
I Am Not Responding To The Blog! - Our first report on the Sheriff, in which we chronicle our attempts to get to the bottom of the alleged abuse and hostile work environment. This includes links to the relevant media coverage.
Sheriff Makes Good On Threat To Argus - Sheriff Wilson begins the process of withholding information from Shiawassee County's only local daily newspaper. This is in response to the unfavorable coverage he received due to our grassroots efforts to expose his conduct. This story received nationwide exposure.
The Shiawassee County sheriff will stop releasing information to a newspaper after it published an article about a political blogger critical of the sheriff, the paper reported.
hehehehehe (Think Snidely Whiplash total world domination laugh)
Behind Closed Doors - a WNEM I-Team Report on the results of our investigative work:
Welcome To Shiawassee County - Where I cry in my beer over the state of politics in my hometown, while rejoicing in the fact that a super-duper-secret memo was leaked to a blogger.
Shiawassee Sheriff Harasses Opponents - He's trying to put the hurt on Deana Finnegan. Which for this guy is easier than, say, talking about the issues.
A couple of years ago I would have inserted something childish, like, "How does my blog taste now????" But, I've really grown as a person.
Actually this situation makes me sad. There was an easy fix to all of this. All the Sheriff had to do was recognize that he had a problem with his management style. Or perhaps he should have considered that he may need counseling for a temper problem. Neither of these things are anything to be ashamed of. Instead, he tried to squash the voices of discontent, and punish the people who spoke out against him. Shame on him, and shame on the county commissioners who couldn't be bothered to do the right thing until the people forced them to act.
Ok, you're probably tired of me popping in just to talk about my home-town Sheriff. But I just had to stop by for a minute to tell you that our Deputies have now formally submitted a declaration of hostile work environment.
"As a group, we stood by, even when some among us became so stressed by this environment that hospitalization and medical treatment was necessary. Even during these instances, the Sheriff made references to how individuals among us "couldn't handle it"
As officials charged with the safety of the public, the mistreatment put to us by Sheriff Wilson was tolerated with the collective understanding that our purpose was for the greater good which is the safety of our county. Now that the Sheriff has placed in jeopardy what we have all strived so diligently to protect, we can no longer stand by and not take action to rectify this situation."
Our County Administrator has informed the Board of Commissioners that she believes the situation in the Sheriff's Dept is "intolerable", and the Deputies are now protected under the Whistleblower's Act.
If you're interested, you can download the declaration and the related memos in this 1.7MB zip file.
If you're not familiar with the Shiawassee Sheriff saga, check out this tag.
Hello blog buddies! I'm checking in this weekend from Battle Creek's cool Nottke's Family Fun Center, where we are in the 2nd day of some bowling tournament that I don't care about (but for some reason, promised to attend). Since it isn't possible for me to be at an event and not blog, I am here with my trusty laptop.
I'd like to tell you all about who's leading, what happened yesterday, and which bowlers are throwing what. But, I don't understand any of it. I know strikes are good & gutter balls are bad, and if you're any kind of bowler at all then you never. ever. use house shoes. And that's all I need to know. Seriously, I don't even like bowling.
But I did take a picture:
So, let's talk about my Sheriff.
When last I posted, someone had leaked a top-secret-national-security-dear-God-don't-let-anyone-see-it legal "opinion" that stated that our Sheriff did indeed grab one of his deputies, and that the work environment in the Shia Co Sheriff's Dept needs some improvement. This document was especially important because the Sheriff had just submitted a letter to the editor in which he claimed that the same document cleared him of both accusations. Basically, the leaked document demonstrated that the Sheriff was not only guilty(ish) as charged, but that he was also willing to be untruthful about it.
Since then, another document has surfaced. This is a 2 page document that was submitted to the county by Deputy Mike Gute, in which he describes being manhandled by the Sheriff while working the scene of the tragic & heartbreaking Copas Road explosion. Gute lists several non-SCSD witnesses to this incident, and he concludes his statement by expressing concern about a hostile work environment in the Department. This document was obtained through a FOIA request and the 148K pdf is available for download here.
So now your friendly Shiawassee bloggers (I am not the only one) have revealed a pattern of aggressive and irresponsible behavior by this Sheriff.
To be fair, the Sheriff's problems have as much to do with his stupidity, as they do with the grassroots efforts to expose his conduct. The Sheriff has mishandled this at every single step. First by lashing out at the media and the public, by refusing to talk to WNEM (who genuinely wanted to tell his side of the story), and by being untruthful in his public statement. His most recent blunder was to go to a public meeting and speak of a series of previously unreported home invasions in our county.
Of course, the Sheriff is still trying to show the world that he's still in charge. He recently implemented a series of mean-spirited personnel moves in the department. Gute has been "busted" back to Road Patrol, Detective Dave Kirk has been moved to Homeland Security, and the Homeland Security officer has been moved to the Detective Bureau. We all know that Gute is being punished for speaking out against the hostile work environment (though I'll say up front that I cannot prove it), and we suspect that Kirk is being moved to Homeland Security because it has been rumored that Kirk was considering a run for Sheriff. (People in the HS position cannot run for office)
Gute and Kirk have both just returned from some pretty expensive training for the positions that they were already in. Our county can kiss that money goodbye.
But ... I'm thinking that this is the year that we can kiss Jon Wilson goodbye as well. And your friendly neighborhood bloggers have helped move that along.
I seriously cannot stop smiling right now. And I don't even like bowling!
The last time I talked about this, the Sheriff had written a letter to the editor of our local papers, in which he claimed that he was not guilty of assault. His primary defense: a mysterious document detailing the county investigation into the alleged assault. According to the Sheriff,
...the official report given to the board of commissioners stated that an assault did not occur, there was not a hostile work environment and that I was not in violation of any county policy.
As you may recall, out here in Shiawassee we have a little issue with our Sheriff. We blogged about it here, here, and here.
The Sheriff has finally responded to our concerns ... by lashing out at blogs. Here is his statement, published as a letter to the editor in the Sunday Independent of 3/2/08:
Editor, The Independent
I would like to take this opportunity to address the citizens of Shiawassee County about a story that first appeared in the (Owosso) Argus Press on Jan. 24, 2008.
...
The (Owosso) Argus Press published a story alleging that I assaulted the officer without obtaining my statement or the report that was issued to the Board of Commissioners.
The Argus Press gathered most of their information from a local blog. (A blog is an Internet Web log where individuals can post anonymously and write anything without any accountability. The Shiawassee Regional Chamber of Commerce had a community forum/blog but it was halted because of negativity and untruthful information.)
When the reporter for the Argus Press asked me about the incident I stated: "There was not an assault and that she was attacking the integrity and credibility of this office with rumors, gossip and political here-say from political blogs with anonymous posters.
"There are 73,000 residents of this county that depend on this office for a major portion of their public safety. If you destroy the integrity and credibility of this department then be prepared to be held responsible for your actions." This quote was not reported accurately in the Argus Press.
Several days later when I was on my way home from church the same reporter called me about an accident that occurred the previous day. I told her that if she wanted a copy of the accident report then she could get it after it has been reviewed.
She became very offensive and wanted the report immediately. I told her that as per normal policy, which is after my review, I would release it.
She continued to be very persistent that I give her the report that day and I told her to submit a FOIA request. The next story that appeared in the Argus claimed that I was making good on my threats. They claimed "Before the story ran, Wilson threatened the Argus Press, saying the paper wouldn't receive any information from his department if it was published." This is simply not true and originally appeared on the blogs. Following the story they started submitting FOIA requests for all accidents handled by the department.
The stories and editorials continued so I met with the editor of the Argus Press and we came to a gentleman's agreement about releasing accident information. I thought everything had been resolved yet the Argus Press continues to state that the department isn't providing information.
Local bloggers and reporters claim that I am using "bullying" tactics to spread fear and intimidation. In fact, local bloggers, political operatives and possible candidates are trying to bully me into not running.
I am running for office and will not be intimidated by partisan politics, blogs and inaccurate reporting nor will I continue to discuss this matter in the press. This issue was resolved last May when the official report given to the board of commissioners stated that an assault did not occur, there was not a hostile work environment and that I was not in violation of any county policy.
It is my hope that the department and I can focus on public safety instead of dealing with false allegations posted on blogs.
Bloggers have tried to charge me, convict me and sentence me without due process under the Constitution - even some in the news media have bought into it.
As always, I have an open door policy and if citizens would like to speak with me they can reach me at (989) 743-2297.
If anyone has a problem or concern about the Shiawassee County Sheriff's Department, it should be addressed to me as your elected sheriff - not to Shiawassee County Board of Commisioners members or the Shiawassee County Administrator - since none of those people have any involvement in the day-to-day operation of this law enforcement agency.
Sheriff Jon Wilson, Corunna
Here are the media reports that have been referenced in the letter:
This letter is total crap, and I intend to respond to it.
You can read the letter in its entirety here. In the next couple of days it will become available for download on the Independent's website, and I will add a link at that time.
A couple of weeks ago, I posted an article on my hometown Sheriff, Jon Wilson. The Argus also ran an article on the Sheriff, based partially on my investigative work. At the time, Sheriff Wilson told our local paper that they would not get any more information from the department, if they ran a story about him.
Before the story ran, Wilson threatened The Argus-Press, saying the paper wouldn't receive any information from his department if it was published. He also told a reporter to be prepared to "take some responsibility."
Sheriff's officials confirmed a fatal traffic crash occurred Saturday morning but wouldn't release any information. Multiple officials said a recent change in policy instituted by Wilson prohibits anyone from giving any information.
...
At about 4 p.m. Monday, a phone message was left for an Argus-Press reporter from an employee of the sheriff's department stating "...this message is to notify you that if you would like any information for the press releases or any type of article you will have to FOIA them to our department."
I tell ya what, if you wanted to point out that your local Sheriff is a bully, you couldn't ask for a better reaction ...
The Sheriff leaned in close to the door and strained to hear the conversation on the other side. If he was quiet enough, he could just make out what they were saying. He knew them all well enough to identify them by their voices. If he was lucky, he'd make a bust.
If only he had remembered to check for the Office Manager, who was approaching him from behind.
"Sheriff?"
He was caught. He had no choice but to act quickly. He rushed forward, burst into the room, and caught them by surprise.
It has all the makings of really bad fiction, doesn't it? Unfortunately, it isn't fiction. It's the scene of the Shiawassee County Sheriff Department on the morning of April 3, 2007. It's the beginning of the incident that led to the assault of a Deputy and a alleged conspiracy involving the Captain of the 1st District of the Michigan State Police.
Shiawassee Co Sheriff Jon Wilson isn't terribly popular with his department. He has the distinction of having more grievances filed against him than any other Shiawassee Co Sheriff. (More, I hear, than all other previous Shiawassee Sheriffs combined.) He's so loose-lipped that he's considered a hazard to the Detective's Bureau, to the point where he's deliberately excluded from investigations. He creates a work environment that is so abusive and hostile that Deputies end up in the hospital from stress related ailments. He commands so little respect from within the department that no one would agree to be his Undersheriff. (He eventually gave the job to a magistrate)
But I digress, as I so often do when I have so much meat to chew. Back to the assault.
The picture I painted for you in the blockquote is as accurate as I can make it. Wilson was eavesdropping on the daily deputy coffee break, hoping to overhear something that he could use to 'get' his Deputies. Instead he ended up grabbing Lt. Mike Ash by the arm and pushing him in the hallway.
Ash immediately reported the incident to the county. He also filed a complaint with MSP Detective Sergeant Mark Pendergraff, who initiated the process of investigation.
That afternoon, the MSP 1st District Captain was incidentally visiting with Jon Wilson at office. Wilson was overheard saying that he would fire all of his Lieutenants, if necessary, to "make this go away." The MSP Captain was heard responding, "Don't worry, it won't go that far."
According to witness reports, a 1st District Detective Lieutenant contacted Pendergraff about a week after the incident, and told him not to proceed with the investigation. Pendergraff was instructed to direct the Shiawassee Deputies to conduct an internal investigation, or report to the Corunna City Police.
