Sheriff’s lieutenant reaches plea deal

A Bonner County sheriff’s lieutenant was ordered to take anger management classes and given one year of probation for challenging a jail deputy to fight and saying he would have “broken every bone in (his) body.”

If Lt. John Valdez, 54, isn’t convicted of a crime greater than a traffic offense within a year, his guilty plea to a charge of disturbing the peace will not go on his permanent record.

“I regret this occurred and got this far,” Valdez told 1st District Magistrate Justin Julian during Wednesday’s sentencing at the Bonner County Courthouse. Julian also told Valdez he must pay $300 in court costs.

Sheriff Elaine Savage said the Sheriff’s Department will begin an internal investigation into the incident now that the criminal case is concluded. In the meantime, Valdez remains on the job.

Savage said she wouldn’t discuss what action the department could take because it was a personnel issue.

Valdez’s attorney, Joseph Horras, said during the sentencing “there certainly will be other possible consequences” for Valdez as a result of his guilty plea.

It’s possible he could lose his certification with the Peace Officer Standards and Training academy. That certification is required to work in law enforcement in Idaho.

POST Deputy Director Doug Graves said he couldn’t comment on specific cases because any action would be a “confidential employment action.”

Graves said POST typically waits until an agency completes an investigation and takes action before making a decision on whether to decertify an officer.

“A lot of times on misdemeanors and other kinds of ethical problems, we sometimes see those come up in newspaper clippings,” Graves said. “If they are egregious, we will inquire about them.”

Valdez was scheduled to go on trial this morning, but Wednesday he reached a plea agreement with Sandpoint City Attorney Lori Meulenberg.

Meulenberg had filed notice on May 19 that she intended to introduce evidence of other incidents in which Valdez allegedly threatened co-workers.

In one instance, Meulenberg wrote, Valdez allegedly pulled his gun on another officer during an argument. Another time, Valdez allegedly challenged former Deputy John Lunde to a fight, and another officer stepped in to break it up, the notice said.

Meulenberg later amended the notice and removed the reference to Valdez’s gun to say he “put his hand on his weapon and made a hostile, menacing threat.”

Ottis “Britt” Hamilton, the jail deputy and victim in the criminal case against Valdez, said he was happy with the outcome of Wednesday’s hearing.

“The fact that he pleaded guilty to the charge shows he’s admitting the event happened,” Hamilton, 56, said after the hearing. “I’m glad it’s over.”

Sandpoint police cited Valdez in November 2005 – nearly a month after the confrontation in Valdez’s office.

Hamilton said he went to Valdez’s office to discuss the transfer of an inmate to another facility.

According to police reports, Valdez became angry, removed his duty belt and told Hamilton, “Let’s take this outside.” Hamilton said Valdez came within six inches of him and again challenged him to fight.

Hamilton told authorities he looked over at his supervisor, Sgt. Ron Pell, and asked if he was being threatened by Valdez. Hamilton said he continued to talk to Valdez, trying to “calm the situation down.”

The report said Valdez began to move away from Hamilton and told him, “If you had gone outside, I would have broken every bone in your body.”

Hamilton and Pell reported the incident to administrators, which Hamilton has said resulted in a hostile work environment and alleged retaliation by Valdez.

He said he went to Sandpoint police because it appeared the incident was being ignored by administrators at the Sheriff’s Department.

Pell has since quit working for the Sheriff’s Department.