Bill Elfo - Civil Service Deposition - 11-9-12

IN RE PAUL MURPHY BILL ELFO VOL. ICOURT REPORTER: BETH DRUMMOND PROCEEDING DATE: November 9, 2012

IN THE STATE OF WASHINGTON FOR THE COUNTY OF WHATCOM

CIVIL SERVICE BOARD

In re the matter of: )

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PAUL MURPHY )

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DEPOSITION UPON ORAL EXAMINATION BEFORE TRIAL OF

SHERIFF BILL ELFO

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DATE TAKEN: November 9, 2012REPORTED BY: BETH L. DRUMMOND, #2064

CORPOLONGO & ASSOCIATES REPORTING & REAL-TIME SPECIALISTS 114 West Magnolia, Suite 400-100 Bellingham, WA 98225 1(360) 671-6298 [email protected]

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1 A P P E A R A N C E S

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4 ROBERT D. BUTLER, ATTORNEY AT LAW

5 Law Offices of Robert D. Butler 103 E. Holly, Suite 512

6 Bellingham, Washington 98225 360-734-3448

7 360-734-7975 [email protected]

8 For Paul Murphy

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10 EMILY BESCHEN, ATTORNEY AT LAW Law Offices of Robert D. Butler

11 103 E. Holly, Suite 512 Bellingham, Washington 98225

12 360-734-3448 360-734-7975

13 [email protected] For Paul Murphy

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15 DANIEL L. GIBSON, ATTORNEY AT LAW Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney's Office

16 322 North Commercial, Suite 210 Bellingham, Washington, 98225

17 360-676-6692 360-738-2532

18 [email protected]

19 Also Present:

20 Paul Murphy Lori Murphy

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1 Deposition upon oral examination before trial

2 of SHERIFF BILL ELFO, in the above-entitled cause, taken at

3 the instance of ROBERT BUTLER, pursuant to Notice, at

4 Executive Conference Rooms, City of Bellingham, County of

5 Whatcom, State of Washington, before Beth L. Drummond,

6 Certified Court Reporter and a Notary Public for the State

7 of Washington on November 9, 2012 at 2:00.

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1

2 EXAMINATION INDEX

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4 EXAMINATION BY PAGE

5 By Mr. Butler 5

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9 EXHIBIT INDEX

10 EXHIBITS FOR IDENTIFICATION PAGE1 Document 5

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1 SHERIFF BILL ELFO, having first been duly sworn, was

2 examined and testified as follows:

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4 (Exhibit 1 marked for identification.)

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6 EXAMINATION

7 BY MR. BUTLER:

8 Q. Good afternoon, Sheriff Elfo.

9 Your deposition today is related to your decision

10 to terminate Paul Murphy. Are you aware of that?

11 A. Yes, I am.

12 Q. Have you had your deposition taken before?

13 A. Yes, I have.

14 Q. So I'll just briefly run over the rules.

15 If my question is not clear, feel free to ask me

16 to clarify. It all needs to be verbal, so body language

17 doesn't count. We need to have audible answers and only one

18 of us at a time talking.

19 Do you remember all those rules?

20 A. I understand.

21 Q. All right. Did you review any documents prior to

22 the deposition today?

23 A. Yes, I did.

24 Q. What documents did you review?

25 A. I reviewed the investigative file contained in

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1 Administrative Investigation 2012-001 in the Whatcom County

2 Sheriff's Office, which also includes the letter that I

3 signed terminating Mr. Murphy from the sheriff's office.

4 Q. Okay. Any other documents you reviewed?

5 A. I've reviewed his personnel file, albeit several

6 weeks ago.

7 Q. Okay. Did you have occasion to discuss with

8 Investigator Cooley after his deposition anything about this

9 case?

10 A. Yes, I did.

11 Q. And tell me about that discussion.

12 A. I had an attorney/client conversation with

13 Mr. Gibson, and he requested at the end of that conversation

14 that I have Mr. Cooley call him, and I asked --

15 Q. That was before his dep, right?

16 A. I'm sorry.

17 Q. That was before Cooley's dep, correct?

18 A. Oh, before -- no. That was -- yeah. That was

19 before his deposition.

20 Q. Okay. I wanted to narrow your focus to did you

21 speak with Investigator Cooley after his deposition during

22 the lunch hour here?

23 A. Other than to say "how did it go" and "just

24 fine," nothing really of the specifics.

25 Q. Okay. Do you know Steve Cooley?

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1 A. Yes, I do.

2 Q. And how do you know him?

3 A. He works for the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office,

4 and I'm the sheriff.

5 Q. Okay. Does he do investigation work for you?

6 A. Yes, he does.

7 Q. Does he do good work?

8 A. Yes, he does.

9 Q. Have you ever known Steve Cooley to launch into

10 his own investigation without a directive from either you or

11 command?

12 A. I can't recall any instance of that.

13 Q. Would it be okay with you if he did?

14 A. No, it would not.

15 Q. Do you know Paul Murphy?

16 A. Yes, I do.

17 Q. How do you know Paul?

18 A. He's a former deputy with the Whatcom County

19 Sheriff's Office.

20 Q. You are aware that he opposed your re-election

21 last year?

22 A. Yes.

23 Q. Okay. Did you direct Cooley to monitor Paul's

24 Facebook page or other social media postings?

25 A. Yes, I did.

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1 Q. And were you aware that there was a Facebook page

2 titled Unelect Bill Elfo and/or converted to Boot Bill Elfo?

3 A. Yes.

4 Q. I'm showing you Exhibit 1 as an example. It's a

5 three-page -- July 30, July 31, August 6th.

6 Do you remember seeing these pages or similar

7 pages?

8 A. I don't recall seeing the first page here.

9 Q. Okay.

10 A. It's rather entertaining. I do recall seeing the

11 second page, and I'll just take a minute to read.

12 MR. GIBSON: What's the number on the exhibit?

13 MR. BUTLER: No. 1.

14 MR. GIBSON: So are they numbered serially by

15 witness?

16 MR. BUTLER: Yeah. Sorry.

17 A. I do recall seeing the photograph on No. 2 -- or

18 on the second picture which depicts me riding a unicorn.

19 BY MR. BUTLER:

20 Q. Okay.

21 A. And I do recall seeing the photograph on --

22 depicting me with a zipper across my mouth and a little hat

23 on.

24 Q. How did you come to see either the unelect or the

25 boot Bill Elfo pages? Were those referred to you or did you

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1 see them on your own?

2 A. No. Actually, we'd been -- I'd been looking at

3 Mr. Murphy's Facebook pages, including his personal page,

4 when I first got a -- I've had citizens and elected

5 officials bring concerns about the content, how they

6 affected the sheriff's office to my attention. I

7 periodically looked at them.

8 Q. Okay.

9 A. I did look at Mr. Murphy's Facebook page where --

10 which is the Unelect or Boot Bill Elfo or whatever it's

11 called now -- certainly in connection with the election as

12 well as from my home computer.

13 Q. Okay. All right. Have you monitored other

14 deputies' Facebook pages?

15 A. No, I have not -- well, I take that back. I've

16 occasionally looked at Facebook pages, and I've communicated

17 with deputies through Facebook.

18 Q. Okay.

19 A. But not because of concerns that were expressed

20 from the public or that gave rise for me to have other

21 concerns about how it reflected on the sheriff's office.

22 Q. Okay. Did you speak with Dave McEachran about

23 Paul's investigation prior to Cooley completing it in May?

24 A. Yes, I did.

25 Q. Roughly how many times?

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1 A. There was more than one conversation. I don't

2 recall specifically how many.

3 Q. Did you do any personal investigation into Paul

4 Murphy that led to your decision to terminate his

5 employment?

6 A. You mean -- what do you mean by "investigation"?

7 Q. As I understand it, Steve Cooley was directed to

8 do an investigation and provide his findings and

9 conclusions, and then that gets run up the chain and a

10 decision is made what to do.

11 A. Well, he's supposed to report back findings.

12 Q. Right.

13 A. And then how those findings apply or whether

14 they're sustained or not moves up the chain.

15 Q. Okay. And so my question is: Did you do any --

16 anything other than review his work to arrive at your

17 decision?

18 A. Yes.

19 Q. What work did you do other than reviewing

20 Cooley's investigation?

21 A. I read Cooley's investigative report.

22 Q. Right.

23 A. I read the report of Chief Criminal Deputy

24 Chadwick. I conferred with Undersheriff Parks, who had also

25 reviewed the file. I conferred with the assistant chief

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1 civil prosecutor at the Whatcom County Prosecuting

2 Attorney's Office.

3 Q. That'd be Dan Gibson?

4 A. That would be Mr. Gibson.

5 Q. Okay.

6 A. I communicated with the elected prosecutor,

7 Mr. Dave McEachran. I reviewed Mr. McEachran's letter,

8 commonly referred to as a Brady letter, that was issued

9 subsequent to the investigation being completed and

10 carefully reviewed Mr. McEachran's conclusions. And I

11 considered that there was sufficient evidence to support

12 Mr. McEachran's conclusions.

13 Q. Okay. So other than reading the report that

14 Cooley did, are you telling me that Chadwick did an

15 investigation that led to a report --

16 A. No.

17 Q. -- or Chadwick's review of Cooley's --

18 A. I read Chadwick's review of Cooley's report.

19 Q. Okay. And the same with Parks, or did Parks do

20 an investigation that created an original report?

21 A. There was no original report. I had a

22 conversation with him and we discussed the merits of the

23 findings.

24 Q. Okay. So other than what's in the notebook in

25 front of you, did you personally investigate any additional

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1 evidence in the -- in the case?

2 A. I'm not sure what you mean by "investigate."

3 Q. Did you go talk to IT? Did you go do any

4 investigation that's not contained in what you reviewed?

5 A. Yeah. At some point, I had a briefing with the

6 county -- Whatcom County's information technology manager,

7 Mr. Perry Rice, regarding some of the terminology that was

8 used.

9 Q. Okay. Was that after Cooley concluded or is that

10 during the course of the investigation?

11 A. That was during the course of the investigation

12 and/or prior to the investigation.

13 Q. Okay. Did McEachran provide you conclusions in

14 writing, other than the Brady letter, or when you

15 referenced -- you looked at what's commonly referred to as

16 the Brady letter and his conclusions?

17 A. To the best of my recollection, I don't think

18 there were any other documents other than the Brady letter.

19 Q. Okay. Have you ever spoken with Janice Corbin

20 regarding Paul Murphy in 2012?

21 A. Yes.

22 Q. When did you have that conversation?

23 A. It was some months ago. I don't recall the exact

24 date, but she came and interviewed me regarding a

25 whistleblower complaint that Mr. Murphy had made to the

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1 county executive, I believe.

2 Q. Okay. I think I got out of that answer that it

3 was in person?

4 A. Yes.

5 Q. Okay. And the location was your office?

6 A. Yes.

7 Q. Do you recall in that conversation -- did she

8 record the conversation? Was it taped?

9 A. I don't believe so. I believe she took notes.

10 Q. Okay. Do you recall what her note-taking form

11 was? And by that, I mean: I'm writing on paper. Emily

12 here is writing on a computer. Both of us are taking notes.

13 A. I know she was writing.

14 Q. And so there's paper notes?

15 A. To the best of my recollection, yes.

16 Q. Okay. Do you remember how long the meeting was?

17 A. It was probably under -- under 30 minutes.

18 Q. Okay.

19 A. More than 15 minutes.

20 Q. Do you remember how the meeting came about? Did

21 somebody tell you, you need to meet with this person? Did

22 she just call you and say, "Hi, I'm Janice. I need to talk

23 to you"?

24 How did it -- how did it happen?

25 A. You know, I can't recall specifically how it was

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1 arranged. I know I had it on my calendar. Whether that

2 came from Mr. Gibson's office, I can't recall.

3 My secretary runs -- or my administrative

4 assistant runs my calendar. They may have made an

5 appointment directly with her. I don't recall.

6 Q. All right.

7 That's all I have.

8 A. Thanks.

9 MR. BUTLER: Okay. Thank you.

10 (Deposition concluded at 2:14 p.m.)

11 (Signature reserved.)

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2 STATE OF WASHINGTON ) ) SS: C E R T I F I C A T E

3 COUNTY OF WHATCOM )

4 I, BETH L. DRUMMOND, Certified Court

5Reporter in and for the State of Washington do hereby

6certify;

7 That the foregoing is true and correct

8to the best of my skill, ability, and knowledge,

9taken on the date and at the time and place as shown

10on Page Two hereto;

11 That I am not related to any of the

12parties to this litigation and have no interest in the

13outcome of said litigation;

14 Witness my hand and seal this 6th day of

15May, 2014.

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20 ________________________________

21 BETH L. DRUMMOND, CCR #2064 CERTIFIED COURT REPORTER

22 IN AND FOR THE STATE OF WASHINGTON, RESIDING AT

23 BELLINGHAM.

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1 IN THE STATE OF WASHINGTON COUNTY OF WHATCOM

2 CIVIL SERVICE BOARD

3In Re: Paul Murphy

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6 TO: DANIEL L. GIBSON Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney

7 322 North Commercial, Suite 210 Bellingham, Washington 98225

8 Please have SHERIFF BILL ELFO contact our

9 office to read and sign his deposition to note any errorsthat may have been made in the transcript. This needs to be

10 done within 30 days of this letter, pursuant to WashingtonReports 34A, Rule (e), or three days prior to trial,

11 whichever occurs first. If the signed correction sheet is not

12 returned within the specified time period, the originaltranscript will be filed with the questioning attorney.

13 Your prompt attention to this matter isgreatly appreciated. If there are any questions I can

14 assist you with, please feel free to call.

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16 ________________________________

17 PATTIE LONG, ADMINISTRATOR Corpolongo & Associates,

18 114 West Magnolia, Suite 400-110 Bellingham, Washington 98225

19 (360) 671-6298 May 6, 2014

20C.C. Robert Butler, Paul Murphy

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1 TO THE WITNESS:

2 PLEASE READ YOUR DEPOSITION CAREFULLY. On this correctionsheet make notes of any errors I have made. Please sign

3 this sheet at the bottom, and return this to me at 114 WestMagnolia Street, Suite 429, Bellingham, WA 98225. If you

4 have any questions, please feel free to call me at (360)671-6298.

5 _______________________________________________________Page-line correction

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22Signed and dated this ____ day of ___________, 2014.

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24See: Wash. Reports 34A, __________________________

25 Rule 30(e) USC 28 SHERIFF BILL ELFO

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1 IN THE STATE OF WASHINGTON COUNTY OF WHATCOM CIVIL SERVICE BOARD

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4 IN RE: PAUL MURPHY_____________________________

5RE: Deposition of: SHERIFF BILL ELFO

6 Taken on: November 9, 2012Date filed:

7 Please be advised that the above-referenced deposition willbe filed with:

8 PAUL MURPHY 1215 East Smith Road

9 Bellingham, WA 98225

10 ____ The Deponent waived signature.____ The deposition has been read and signed by the

11 Deponent.____ No changes have been made to the deposition.

12 ____ The attached CORRECTIONS sheet reflects the changes made.

13 ____ The Deponent failed to appear at our office or notify us pursuant to CR 26.30(e).

14 ____ The Deponent refused to sign the deposition.____ Other.

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16 _____________________________

17 PATTIE LONG, MANAGER CORPOLONGO & ASSOCIATES, INC.

18 114 West Magnolia, Suite 400-100 Bellingham, WA 98225

19 (360) 671-6298

20C.C. Mr. Butler

21 Mr. Gibson

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Bill Elfo - Civil Service Deposition - 11-9-12

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