Bonner County sheriff’s captain cited

A Bonner County sheriff’s captain has been cited for allegedly threatening a deputy.

Capt. John Valdez declined to comment on the charge of disturbing the peace, a misdemeanor.

According to Sandpoint Police Department reports, Deputy Britt Hamilton contacted police Nov. 21, saying he wanted to press charges against Valdez. Hamilton told police that on Nov. 2 he was reporting to Valdez and sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Pell on an inmate transfer when Valdez reportedly “became very confrontational.”

Hamilton said Valdez stood up, took off his duty belt and told him, “Let’s take this outside.”

He said Valdez stood about 6 inches away and repeated the challenge.

Pell and Hamilton both said in written statements that Valdez eventually backed off and then said, “If we had gone outside I would have broken every bone in your body.”

Hamilton could not be reached for comment Thursday.

It was unknown why Valdez allegedly became confrontational.

When police contacted Valdez, he refused to make a statement, saying that the case is being investigated internally and also by the Idaho Counties Risk Management Program, the county’s insurer. Because the case is open, Valdez told the officer he couldn’t discuss it.

In a memo sent to sheriff’s Capt. Jim Drake on Nov. 4, Hamilton wrote that he felt threatened and that the incident had created a hostile work environment.

Sheriff Elaine Savage said she couldn’t comment on the department’s response to the alleged incident. Though Sandpoint Police took the initial report and issued the citation, the case has been referred to Idaho State Police for investigation.

“My point of view is that it’s much better handled by someone outside of the county,” Savage said.