Deputy X9, WCSO - Deposition Transcript (Federal) - Redacted

Stephan Roff, March 11, 2014Paul Murphy v. Whatcom County

3206 Wetmore, Suite 12, Everett, WA 98201BMA Court Reporters 425-252-7277

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UNITED STATES OF DISTRICT COURT

WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE

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PAUL MURPHY, together with his ) marital community, ) Plaintiffs, ) ) vs. ) NO. 2:13-CV-00727 ) WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON, a ) government entity; WHATCOM COUNTY ) SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT; WILLIAM J. ) ELFO, together with his marital ) community, ) Defendants. ) ---------------------------------------------------------------

DEPOSITION UPON ORAL EXAMINATION OF STEPHAN ROFF

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3:20PM - 4:00PM March 11, 2014 Whatcom County Courthouse 311 Grand Avenue Bellingham, Washington 98225

Reported by Kristen M. Uhlig Certified Court Reporter, CCR, CSR Washington CCR #1934

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

2

3 FOR THE PLAINTIFFS:Robert Butler & Emily Beschen

4 Law Offices of Robert Butler103 East Holly Street Suite 512

5 Bellingham, Washington 98225360.734.3448

6

7 FOR THE DEFENDANTS WHATCOM COUNTY & SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT & ELFODale Kamerrer

8 Law Lyman Daniel Kamerrer Bogdanovich2674 RW Johnson Blvd SW

9 Tumwater, Washington 98512360.754.3480

10

11 FOR WHATCOM COUNTY:Elizabeth Gallery

12 Whatcom County Prosecutor's Office311 Grand Avenue

13 Bellingham, Washington 98225

14ALSO PRESENT:

15 William ElfoTara Adrian-Stavik

16

17 I N D E X

18 EXAMINATION: PAGE

19 BY MR. BUTLER................................................3

20 BY MR. KAMERRER.............................................19

21 BY MR. BUTLER...............................................25

22

23 EXHIBIT DESCRIPTION PAGE

24 No Exhibits Marked

25

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1 STEPHAN ROFF,

2 having been first duly sworn, was called as a witness herein and

3 was examined and testified as follows:

4

5 DIRECT EXAMINATION

6

7 BY MR. BUTLER:

8 Q Would you please state your name and spell it for the record?

9 A It's Stephan Aaron Roff. It's S-T-E-P-H-A-N A-A-R-O-N

10 R-O-F-F, as in Frank.

11 Q Are you employed?

12 A I am, yes.

13 Q Where are you employed?

14 A With the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office.

15 Q How long have you been so employed?

16 A Just over eight years.

17 Q Okay. What rank do you hold?

18 A I'm currently assigned to the detective division.

19 Q Okay. And how long have you been in the detectives?

20 A This is my seventh year.

21 Q Did you have prior law enforcement experience before coming to

22 Whatcom County Sheriff?

23 A Yes.

24 Q Where's that?

25 A Skagit County Sheriff's Office.

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1 Q How long were you with Skagit?

2 A I was with Skagit for about five-and-a-half years.

3 Q Anything before that with law enforcement?

4 A Yeah. I was with the City of Brier for about two years.

5 Q Did you do anything to prepare for today's deposition?

6 A No. I did not.

7 Q Did you meet with Liz?

8 A Oh, I had a --

9 Q Have a conversation?

10 A I had a meeting a month or so ago.

11 Q Tell me about that meeting.

12 A That was a meeting -- Sheriff Elfo was there. I'm sorry, sir.

13 MR. KAMERRER: Dale.

14 THE WITNESS: Dale.

15 MR. KAMERRER: You can call me Dale.

16 THE WITNESS: Yeah. Dale was there. And that was --

17 it was a discussion over my laptop computer, a Dell laptop that

18 I had received, when I went into detectives. I had replaced --

19 it was Detective Murphy at the time. He was going back to the

20 road, he was in the patrol investigator position and we swapped

21 computers.

22 Q (By Mr. Butler) Okay. What do you recall of that

23 conversation?

24 A During that conversation, we discussed the -- I went into

25 detectives probably a couple of years later. I was having

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1 issues with my Dell and I think that it was just due to that

2 they were getting older. And so John Dalquest from IT had my

3 computer. If I remember correctly, I believe it had crashed.

4 And then he came to me and asked me why the hard drive was

5 partitioned on my computer. And I didn't -- I'm not a computer

6 guy, I didn't know what that meant. He said that, well, your

7 hard drive is partitioned 70/30 like it's split, and I didn't

8 know what he meant by that. I said, well, I go -- it was

9 Paul's computer before I had it. And that was about the end of

10 the conversation.

11 Q Okay. When did your drive crash and the Dalquest conversation

12 happen?

13 A Oh, it was a couple of years ago -- maybe two years ago.

14 Q So two-thousand and -- I mean, today is 14.

15 A Yeah. It's hard to -- because we, you know, we see them all of

16 the time down there. Yeah. It could have been --

17 Q Paul was let go in 2012?

18 A Mm-hm.

19 Q So --

20 A Oh, it was before that that I had the conversation with John, I

21 believe.

22 Q And your computer crashed?

23 A Yeah. My computer crashed a couple of times, but I believe

24 that it was before that because I remember getting contacted

25 during the internal investigation about the computer. I am --

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1 if I remember correctly, I am assuming that they got that

2 information from John Dalquest or someone in IT.

3 Q Okay. When you were told from Dalquest that your hard drive

4 was partitioned, did you raise any flags with any management of

5 hey, my computer, I'm told was partitioned?

6 A No.

7 Q Did IT fix it to your satisfaction so it was functional after

8 the crash, or did they just give you a new one?

9 A I don't think -- if I remember correctly, I don't think that

10 they did anything with it. I think that it was -- I think that

11 I still maintained that computer. And then during Paul's

12 internal investigation, they took the hard drive for that

13 computer and I got a new one at that point.

14 Q Okay. Other than the crash, did the computer work in any way

15 differently than other computers that you have used for the

16 county?

17 A No.

18 Q In your working with the county, have you had an opportunity to

19 work with Steve Harris?

20 A Yes, I have.

21 Q And based on your experience with Steve Harris, have you had

22 the opportunity to form an opinion as to his credibility and

23 truthfulness?

24 A Steve's?

25 Q Yes.

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1 A I take Steve at face value. I mean, I think that Steve is very

2 knowledgeable. Credibility in law enforcement, I think that

3 he's credible, yes. I do. I think that Steve does like a lot

4 of commotion within the agency. I think that that's just his

5 personality.

6 Q Have you had an opportunity to work with Kevin Mede?

7 A Yes, I have.

8 Q And have you had an opportunity to form an opinion as to Mede's

9 credibility and truthfulness?

10 A I have.

11 Q And what is your opinion of Kevin Mede's credibility and

12 truthfulness?

13 A Well, there was one incident in particular with Kevin that I

14 ran into and that issue was over a conversation that we had, it

15 was an internal guild issue.

16 Q Mm-hm.

17 A Kevin, at a board meeting, had been asked -- it was over a

18 policy that Kevin wanted to have put through. And at that

19 meeting, Kevin was asked by other guild executive board members

20 if he was going to put that through and he said no. So I think

21 that he said it -- and I said this during the internal -- I

22 think that he said that out of embarrassment like he was put on

23 the spot.

24 Q Okay. You had -- as I understand that, you had previously had

25 a conversation with him where you thought that the policy was

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1 okay, he thought the policy was okay, and he was going to run

2 it up to management and say that we're okay with it. You

3 thought, we should get this to the board for their review?

4 A Correct. Yeah. I don't think that two people should be -- I

5 think that -- we're an executive board for a reason. I think

6 that it needs to be reviewed by everybody before we just put it

7 out because we represent our membership as a whole and he

8 wanted to put the policy out.

9 I wanted -- I think that I had mentioned to have Jason

10 Nyhus specifically look at it, and then it got put out to

11 everybody.

12 Q Okay. There was a credibility issue in your mind that your

13 conversation about that, that it should go to the board was

14 mischaracterized to the board at a later date; correct?

15 A Correct.

16 Q When was that?

17 A I'm trying to think of when that policy was. Was that 2012, I

18 think, September?

19 Q And was that the Facebook policy, the social media policy?

20 A It was.

21 Q Was that policy replacing an existing sheriff's department

22 policy regarding Facebook?

23 A I believe that was creating a policy regarding Facebook.

24 Q Okay. Are you aware of a policy in your eight years in the

25 sheriff's department regarding Facebook use by deputies?

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1 A Not up until that point.

2 Q Is it in place now?

3 A I -- I am sorry. I don't know.

4 Q Okay. Are you still part of the guild?

5 A No, I'm not. No, I'm not. If I remember correctly, I think

6 that we were going to try to work with our attorney to come up

7 with a policy with our attorney and the county. I'm sorry. I

8 can't remember if it ever went through or not.

9 Q Okay. Any other issues that you're aware of that affect your

10 view of Kevin Mede's credibility and truthfulness?

11 A That's the only issue that I ever had with Kevin on that.

12 Q Okay. The same area of question. Have you had opportunity to

13 work with Lieutenant Chadwick?

14 A Yes.

15 Q And have you had opportunity to develop an opinion as to his


17 A Yes, I have.

18 Q And what is your opinion of Lieutenant Chadwick's credibility?

19 A He's credible to me.

20 Q How about Jeff Parks? Have you worked with Jeff Parks?

21 A Yes, I have.

22 Q Have you had an opportunity to develop an opinion about his


24 A Yes, I have.

25 Q And what is that opinion?

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1 A I have a question about that.

2 Q What is that based on?

3 A It's more based on hearsay, but it's from a 2009 baby homicide

4 of Cecil Frazier.

5 Q Okay. We're not going to get into the whole thing, but just

6 the nub of -- what's your concern? What was his participation

7 and why does that raise credibility questions to you?

8 A The concern that I have is that I believe that it was a Friday,

9 Cecil Frazier was a two month old, it was 2009. He went

10 missing, later to be determined found deceased, killed by his

11 biological father.

12 It is my understanding in talking to other detectives

13 that during the initial phases of that, detectives were sent

14 home. I had started receiving phone calls from deputies about,

15 hey, how come you guys aren't working this case? It was my

16 understanding that on a Saturday morning, the FBI was there,

17 Detective John Allgire was there. They were discussing the

18 case. Undersheriff Parks was there and a comment was made that

19 in cases like this, you know, the baby is probably dead. We

20 can just work on this on Monday.

21 Q And that statement by Parks is what leads you to have

22 questioned his credibility and truthfulness?

23 A Yeah. And shame on me, I should have addressed that probably

24 with the undersheriff years ago, but I trust the detective that

25 was in the room.

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1 Q Okay. All right. Jeremy Freeman. Have you had an opportunity

2 to work with him?

3 A Yes, I have.

4 Q Have you had an opportunity to form an opinion as to his


6 A Yes, I have.

7 Q What's your opinion of Jeremy Freeman?

8 A Jeremy Freeman is very credible and very truthful.

9 Q How about Deputy Gann, former Deputy Gann? Did you ever work

10 with him?

11 A No. I know who he is, maybe -- I don't think that I ever

12 worked a case with him to be honest with you. And so I

13 don't -- so I don't think that I would have been able to work

14 with him enough to form an opinion.

15 Q Do you know why he's not with the department?

16 A He went back to Lynnwood.

17 Q Okay. Do you know why?

18 A I've just -- I've heard rumors and nothing -- I've never spoken

19 to him.

20 Q Okay. What rumors have you heard regarding Gann?

21 A I heard that he left because of Sergeant Mede and Sergeant

22 Larson.

23 Q Because they exist or because of some incident?

24 A He just didn't like working for them.

25 Q Okay. As you sit here, do you have any fear of retaliation in

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1 the workplace for providing testimony in this case?

2 A No. Because I'm going to tell the truth. I come in, I do my

3 job, I think I do a good job. And I let my work -- I'm not

4 worried about retaliation. My work speaks for itself.

5 Q Okay. You were a part of the guild?

6 A I was.

7 Q When did you stop being a part of the guild?

8 A This year.

9 Q Why did you stop being a part of the guild?

10 A Why did I?

11 Q Yeah.

12 A Oh, I just -- I had a lot on my plate with detectives and the

13 guild is -- it's a big commitment to be a part of the guild

14 with the monthly meetings and stuff like that, you know. I am

15 the type of person that it's -- I didn't like the conflict of

16 between the guild and the administration. And a lot of that

17 was just because of job labor relations and contract

18 negotiations, even with the county. I just -- I don't have the

19 stomach for it.

20 Q Did you ever hold an elected position with the guild?

21 A I did.

22 Q What position did you hold?

23 A I believe that it was vice president. I was sec -- yeah. Vice

24 president.

25 Q And who was the president in the term that you were there?

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1 A Well, I was -- excuse me. I was the vice president and then

2 briefly president after -- Kevin Mede was the president when I

3 was in there.

4 Q Is it a matter of, like, running on a ticket? You and Kevin

5 ran together as president and vice president?

6 A No. It's more like -- we have the officer seats and I think

7 that there are -- they are set, like, two years apart so you're

8 always getting a new E-Board so you always have experience in

9 there. It just happens that the president and the vice

10 president rotate together.

11 Q Okay. So had you been a part of the guild up until this year

12 from your eight years?

13 A Yes. I was on the grievance committee and I was on the -- I

14 was vice president when Ben Wood was president.

15 Q Did the reelection, I guess if you will, of Harris have

16 anything to do with your decision to stop being a part of the

17 guild?

18 A No.

19 Q In your capacity with the guild, do you recall attending a

20 final determination, a disciplinary determination meeting with

21 Paul Murphy, Sheriff Elfo, Dan Gibson, another attorney and

22 yourself?

23 A Yes.

24 Q What do you recall of that meeting?

25 A I believe that was the Loudermill hearing.

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1 Q Okay.

2 A And if I remember correctly, that was where we -- let's see. I

3 think that our attorney did most of the talking. That was

4 Derrick Isackson. And that was where, I believe, we were

5 asking, you know, for not termination, but it's been a while.

6 I apologize.

7 Q Do you recall the county making a settlement offer?

8 A I think that was discussed, but I am not positive, sir.

9 Q Okay. Are you aware of Paul Murphy's political and religious

10 views in the workplace?

11 A His political views. Not his religious views.

12 Q Were you aware of his nonsupport, his not supporting Elfo for

13 reelection?

14 A Yes, I was.

15 Q Who did you support for the sheriff's election in 2011?

16 A Who did I?

17 Q Yes.

18 A Well, I really didn't support anybody.

19 Q Okay. Did you participate in any campaign activities?

20 A Did I? No.

21 Q Did you hear discussion in the workplace among other deputies,

22 detectives and staff about Paul's political and religious

23 views?

24 A Political views, yeah.

25 Q What do you recall hearing?

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1 A Well, I think mostly it was his political views of -- against

2 Sheriff Elfo. And when I say political views, we're assuming

3 that we're talking about the election itself. I don't know

4 what Paul's political views outside would be.

5 Q Okay. Were you aware that there was a Facebook page, Un-Elect

6 Bill Elfo, before the election?

7 A I had heard about it.

8 Q Did you ever view it?

9 A I did, yes.

10 Q Were you aware or made aware that others in management were

11 viewing that?

12 A I had heard that they were, but I didn't know that for certain.

13 Q Were you aware of deputies being targeted or retaliated against

14 in the workplace for opposing management in the sheriff's

15 department?

16 A I've heard that, yes.

17 Q Okay. Can you tell me what you have heard?

18 A Well, I've -- one case in particular was Ben Wood. I believe

19 that he went up to Baker, he went up to the mountain. There

20 was a picture of him with a, I think that it was a support Bob

21 Taylor sign. He was in the position of patrol investigator

22 when he was guild president, and then that position went away.

23 Q Are you aware of any other incidents or heard of any other

24 incidents?

25 A Not off the top of my head, no.

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1 Q Okay. What's the rough percentage, would you say, of the

2 deputies or the members -- sorry.

3 The members of the sheriff's department who are eligible

4 to be guild members. What's the percentage that are guild

5 members?

6 A I think all of them.

7 Q You opted out though. Are you the only one?

8 A Oh, no, no, no. I'm still in the guild. I'm still in the

9 guild. I'm just not an executive board member.

10 Q Okay. Got it. Because the follow-up was --

11 A Yes.

12 Q -- how many are there of you? Because I thought that everybody

13 was.

14 A However many commissioned we are, from the rank of sergeant

15 down.

16 Q Yes. So you're still in the guild?

17 A Yeah. I am still in the guild.

18 Q Got it. That's where I was --

19 A I was no, no, no, no, no.

20 Q How many non-guild members are there in department?

21 A None.

22 Q Okay. I asked you about the credibility of some officers.

23 Going back to that very briefly. Do you know Trevor

24 VanderVeen?

25 A I do.

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1 Q Have you had an opportunity to form an opinion as to his


3 A Yes. Trevor was one of my FTOs. I have worked with Trevor.

4 Trevor is credible to me.

5 Q Okay. You indicated that both Trevor and Jeremy Freeman were

6 credible.

7 A Mm-hm.

8 Q Did you have any investigative participation in the Wiederspohn

9 matter?

10 A No, I didn't.

11 Q Okay. Are you aware of the allegations in that, the civil

12 judgment that was taken against the county for it?

13 A Yeah. I'm aware of it, yeah.

14 Q Okay. Did that affect in any way, your view of their

15 credibility?

16 A No.

17 Q Are you close with either of those two?

18 A No.

19 Q Have you talked to either of those two about their experience

20 in that, both the criminal and civil case, and what they were

21 told and what they were directed to do in those cases?

22 A I'm trying to think. I don't think that I ever talked to

23 Trevor. I don't think that I specifically talked to Jeremy

24 about it but, again, being in the guild and the E-Board, I

25 think that I had heard that it was all over the steps. And

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1 that they were just asked to -- what's the word that I would be

2 looking for -- concede an issue over the steps or something

3 like that.

4 Q When you say that they were asked to concede an issue over the

5 steps, what do you -- what do you --

6 A I don't know. I didn't follow the entire case, sir. It was --

7 a lot of the stuff that you're asking, it is just stuff that I

8 hear from different people. I think that -- there was an issue

9 over the stairs and I had heard that they were -- stipulating.

10 I heard that there was a stipulation. I don't know if they

11 were asked -- there was a stipulation about the stairs made in

12 court. I think that that puts it in a better context.

13 Q Okay. Do you remember hearing anything about that situation

14 that they were, Jeremy and Trevor or either of them, were asked

15 to testify to something that they didn't believe to be true?

16 A I think that it was the stipulation over the steps was what I

17 believe.

18 Q That they were asked to stipulate and they didn't believe that

19 they should?

20 A That's just what I heard. I don't know if --

21 Q Right. Do you know who asked them to make that stipulation?

22 A If I remember correctly, I think that it was Randy Watts.

23 Q Do you recall that the guild got involved in that at all?

24 A I can't recall if it did or not.

25 Q Okay. Do you know why -- either directly or by rumor and you

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1 can clarify which way -- why Freeman is no longer with the

2 department?

3 A I believe that it's -- Jeremy had an issue with Sergeant Larson

4 and Sergeant Mede.

5 Q Are you aware of other people having -- I mean, that's Gann and

6 Freeman.

7 A Mm-hm.

8 Q Any others that you're aware of in the department that had

9 trouble with --

10 A It's all rumor. I heard Jake Hubby too.

11 MR. BUTLER: That's all that I have. Thanks.

12 MR. KAMERRER: I have a few questions for you, Steve.

13 THE WITNESS: Certainly.

14

15 EXAMINATION OF STEPHAN ROFF BY MR. KAMERRER

16

17 BY MR. KAMERRER:

18 Q I take it that your -- that your information about the

19 VanderVeen case, including the stipulation and who requested

20 the stipulation, is all hearsay; is that right?

21 A Correct. Yeah.

22 Q Okay. How about regarding why Freeman left the sheriff's

23 office or Jake Hubby? Is that all hearsay too?

24 A Hubby, yes. Freeman, I had talked to and he -- Jeremy didn't

25 trust them and that was a big part of his wanting to leave.

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1 Q So he told you that directly?

2 A Yeah. He did.

3 Q My understanding is that at the end of 2007, you switched

4 positions, essentially, with Paul Murphy; is that correct?

5 A Correct, sir.

6 Q You went into the property investigator position?

7 A Yes, I did.

8 Q And he came out of the property investigator position to go to

9 patrol?

10 A Yes, he did.

11 Q And you had been in patrol?

12 A Yes.

13 Q Okay. And so you swapped computers directly across because

14 detectives had different computers than patrol officers did?

15 A Correct.

16 Q Okay. Were you the first person to receive the Toughbook

17 computer that you then transferred to Murphy?

18 A I believe so, yes.

19 Q I mean, as far as the assignment?

20 A As far as I know, yes. I think that IT would have those

21 records.

22 Q Yeah.

23 A Because when I started in 2006, we were just getting MDTs, so

24 they bought a bunch of new ones. So I'm assuming that mine was

25 brand new.

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1 Q Okay. When you say MDT, you're also referring to the Toughbook

2 computer?

3 A Yeah. The Panasonic Toughbook.

4 Q Did it perform well for you?

5 A It did.

6 Q Did you notice any problems with the capacity of the hard drive

7 on that computer?

8 A I didn't, but I'm not a computer guy.

9 Q Okay.

10 A So I don't -- yeah.

11 Q Did you notice any performance problems with that computer?

12 A No.

13 Q Okay. So after the swap was made and you received Murphy's

14 computer that he had had in the property investigator position,

15 it was a different type of computer?

16 A It was.

17 Q Was it a Dell computer?

18 A It was a Dell.

19 Q Was it a laptop or was it a desktop?

20 A It's a laptop.

21 Q Okay. It was the computer that crashed and you talked to John

22 Dalquest about?

23 A Correct.

24 Q Okay. And John Dalquest told you that it had been partitioned

25 70 percent and 30 percent?

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1 A Correct.

2 Q Had you done that partitioning?

3 A No. I had not.

4 Q Okay. Do you know whether that was changed by Mr. Dalquest

5 after -- after he discovered it on your computer?

6 A I don't believe so, but I -- like, I'm not a computer guy. I

7 thought they had just left it that way and then because during

8 the internal investigation, they took that hard drive and I got

9 a different hard drive for my computer.

10 Q Okay. Did the Dell computer perform properly for you between

11 the time that you had the conversation with John Dalquest about

12 it crashing and the time when it was taken from you during the

13 Murphy internal investigation?

14 A Yeah. It was just slow.

15 Q Just slow?

16 A Yeah. It was just getting -- I think that it was, like,

17 12 years old by the time that I got a new one.

18 Q Okay. All right. What was the position Ben Wood had that you

19 say went away?

20 A Oh, he was the patrol investigator.

21 Q Is that something different than the property crimes

22 investigator?

23 A Excuse me, no, no. He was crime prevention. I apologize. Ben

24 Wood was crime prevention. That was my fault.

25 Q And what is his position now?

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1 A He's a patrol deputy.

2 Q Was he reduced in rank when that position went away?

3 A No. There was a -- wow. We don't really have rank except for

4 sergeant and above, like my title is detective, but we have

5 natural rotations, so I'll rotate back to deputy. So there's

6 not really -- the only change is that you get a wage increase

7 of three percent. So while I'm a detective, I have a three

8 percent wage increase. While Deputy Wood was crime prevention,

9 he had a three percent wage increase.

10 Q Okay. Do you know whether that crime prevention position went

11 away for budget reasons?

12 A Yeah. It went away for budget reasons. It was my

13 understanding that they used that position to help with Kevin

14 Bowhay's position up in the prosecutor's office.

15 Q Okay. What does Kevin Bowhay do?

16 A He's a detective assigned to the prosecutor's office.

17 Q Okay. You mentioned Derrick Isackson.

18 A Mm-hm.

19 Q I didn't get a good note on what you said about him.

20 A He's our guild attorney. He was in for Paul's Loudermill

21 hearing.

22 Q Okay. Did you read transcripts of the interviews of various

23 witnesses in the internal investigation process for Murphy?

24 A You know, we had the whole file. Yeah. I reviewed the file a

25 long time ago.

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1 Q Okay. You didn't sit in on any of the interviews that were

2 done in that process, did you?

3 A No. I did not.

4 Q Okay. You also said that Deputy Gann went to Illinois, and you

5 heard that that was because of Larson and Mede. Is that,

6 again, something that you just heard secondhand? (Sic)

7 A It's -- yeah. He went to Lynnwood and that was all -- that's

8 just secondhand information.

9 Q Okay. I also take it that your comment about Undersheriff

10 Parks saying in the Cecil Frazier homicide that the baby is

11 probably dead, we can work on that on Monday -- that isn't

12 truly a credibility issue, is it? It's more of a sensitivity

13 issue, would you say?

14 A Well, it's a credibility issue for me, because I have children

15 in this community.

16 Q Okay.

17 A I mean, I think that it's -- well, because what becomes a

18 credibility issue is that it's my understanding that he says it

19 was never said.

20 Q I see. Okay. Did you hear it said?

21 A I did not hear it.

22 Q Okay. Who did hear it said?

23 A Detective John Allgire.

24 Q Okay. Anyone else?

25 A I believe that there was an FBI agent present as well.

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1 Q Do you know who that was?

2 A I think that it was Chip Smith.

3 Q Have you ever talked to Chip Smith about that?

4 A I have.

5 Q You have?

6 A I have, yes.

7 Q What does he report?

8 A He told me that he was present.

9 Q Did he say that he heard the same thing?

10 A Yes, he did.

11 Q The issue that you had with Mede, was that entirely about

12 internal guild procedures and a policy developed by the guild

13 or considered by the guild?

14 A Yes. It was a policy presented by the administration for the

15 guild for review.

16 Q Okay. Did it directly involve any law enforcement activities,

17 the enforcement of the law in Whatcom County?

18 A No.

19 MR. KAMERRER: That's all. Thank you.

20

21 EXAMINATION OF STEPHAN ROFF BY MR. BUTLER

22

23 BY MR. BUTLER:

24 Q With regard to Mede, you were aware that there was -- that

25 there was a concurrent investigation into his reported lie

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1 about a pretext stop in an arrest; correct?

2 A Correct.

3 Q You didn't investigate that?

4 A I did not, no.

5 Q That didn't affect your view of his credibility, because that

6 wasn't an issue for you; correct?

7 A No. I, you know, again, a lot of that was hearsay on that

8 part. So I didn't -- I was just hearing -- I heard a bunch of

9 information about a pretext stop. I was judging Kevin -- our

10 issue over that social media policy.

11 Q First person experience?

12 A Yes.

13 Q But you were aware that other people had trouble with Kevin on

14 work related functions, not just guild related functions?

15 A I was aware of that, yes.

16 Q Okay. Do you know who Kevin Bowhay supported in the election?

17 A I don't, no.

18 Q Were you aware that the April 2012 rebuild of your computer,

19 they took your hard drive and they rebuilt it with a 60

20 gigabyte hard drive?

21 A No.

22 Q Do you know how big the hard drive was that they took out?

23 A No.

24 Q Because you said before, you're not a computer guy?

25 A I'm not a computer guy.

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1 Q Do you still have that Dell?

2 A No. I lost it when there was a flood up in the jail and it --

3 I came into work and brown water was --

4 Q The effluent came upon you?

5 A -- seeping on down onto -- inside my computer. I since have a

6 new computer.

7 Q That could kill a computer.

8 MR. BUTLER: That's all that I have.

9 MR. KAMERRER: No other questions.

10 (Signature Reserved)

11 (Deposition Adjourned)

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1 C E R T I F I C A T E

2 STATE OF WASHINGTON ) ) ss.

3 COUNTY OF ISLAND )

4 I, Kristen M. Uhlig, the undersigned CCR in and for the Stateof Washington, do hereby certify:

5 That the annexed and foregoing deposition of the witness

6 named herein was taken stenographically before me and transcribedby me;

7 I further certify that the witness examined, read, and signed

8 the deposition after the same was transcribed, unless indicated inthe record that the parties and the witness waive the signature;

9 I further certify that all of the objections made at the time

10 of said examination to my qualifications or the manner of takingthe deposition, or to the conduct of any party, have been noted by

11 me upon said deposition;

12 I further certify that I am not a relative or employee orattorney or counsel of any of the parties to said action or

13 counsel, and that I am not financially interested in the saidaction or the outcome thereof;

14 I further certify that the deposition, as transcribed, is a

15 full, true, and accurate transcript of the testimony, including allquestions and answers, and all objections, motions and exceptions

16 of counsel made and taken at the time of the foregoing examination;

17 I further certify that I am sealing the deposition in anenvelope with the title to the above cause thereon and marked

18 "Deposition Upon Oral Examination" of said witness and promptlycausing the same to be delivered or forwarded to Counsel for the

19 Opposing Party;

20 IN WITNESS THEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixedmy official seal this ___ day of____________, 2014.

21

22 __________________________

23 Kristen M. Uhlig, #1934 Certified Court Reporter,

24 Residing in Clinton, Washington.

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Documents

Deputy X9, WCSO - Deposition Transcript (Federal) - Redacted