SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich confirmed to KREM 2 on Wednesday that former Sheriff Deputy Craig Chamberlin will not fight his termination.
Chamberlin was fired in mid-February after an investigation into his conduct.
According to Knezovich, Chamberlin withdrew his request for a hearing to appeal his termination from the Spokane County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) with the civil service. His hearing was scheduled for April 19, 2022.
By withdrawing his request for a hearing, Knezovich said Chamberlin essentially withdrew his appeal for termination.
Knezovich told KREM 2 the SCSO gave Chamberlin the option to retire in lieu of termination. However, if Chamberlin were to do this, Knezovich told him he would have to admit to the allegations against him. Chamberlin did not respond to the offer and withdrew his request for a hearing.
Now that Chamberlin has withdrawn his appeal, he is now facing a decertification hearing, which will decertify him as a sheriff's deputy in Washington state. By doing this, Chamberlin will not be able to pursue any other job within SCSO.
In going through the decertification process, Chamberlin may also be added to the Brady List, a public list of information about police misconduct, public complaints, use-of-force reports, etc.
Knezovich fired the former deputy in mid-February after an internal investigation that took place in November 2021. It stemmed from a reference letter Chamberlin wrote for a man charged with possession of child pornography.
Knezovich said he was not fired for writing that letter, but rather because he believes Chamberlin lied about the circumstances surrounding it.
The sheriff also claimed Chamberlin lied about not knowing the man he wrote the reference letter for was charged with possession of child pornography.
However, Chamberlin insists he only knew there was an active investigation after confirming with a sex crimes detective.
“I did not ask what type of case, he did not specify what type of case, he told me there was an active case and it was a Spokane Police Department case," Chamberlin said. "And that's all I wanted to know."
According to Knezovich, Chamberlin’s story changed in all three interviews during the internal investigation.
“It was almost impossible for me to keep it all straight," Knezovich said.
Chamberlin, however, disputed Knezovich's claims.
“I was completely 100% forthcoming about this entire process," he said. "For one, it had absolutely nothing to do with me, it wasn't my investigation.”
Knezovich said Chamberlin's record with the sheriff's office includes three total internal investigations. Chamberlin is adamant the Sheriff had political motives for firing him since he is now running for Spokane County Sheriff.
Knezovich said that isn't true because he's spent a decade trying to salvage Chamberlain's career—which included several years of serving as the Sheriff’s public information officer.
"If he tried to salvage me, if I was that much of a hindrance, that much of an issue to the Spokane County Sheriff's Office, why was I the face of the department?" Chamberlin said.
Knezovich said it’s a possibility Chamberlin would still be a deputy had he not lied. But, he would have still enforced a temporary suspension if that had been the case.