(Dubois, WY) – Four candidates for Fremont County Sheriff spoke to a large crowd at the Headwaters Arts & Conference Center on Thursday night.
The forum, hosted by the Fremont County GOP and Wyoming GOP, featured sheriff candidates Mike Hutchison, John Zerga, Eric Murphy and Ross Giles.
The debate touched on several issues relevant to the Sheriff’s Office, including operations, staffing, substance abuse, civil rights, grant funding, jurisdiction, tribal relations, missing persons and countywide coverage.
All four candidates identified substance abuse as a central issue facing Fremont County, while offering different emphases on how the Sheriff’s Office should respond. Hutchison pointed to substance abuse, poverty, and mental health as root causes behind much of the county’s crime. Zerga said he would pursue federal funding for treatment options that could give law enforcement and judges alternatives to jail. Murphy described fentanyl and methamphetamine as countywide problems tied to crime and homelessness, while Giles argued that the Sheriff’s Office needs to make better use of community trust and local knowledge.
“The most important issues facing Fremont County, I think, can be divided into a couple of different categories. There’s the root cause of the problems we face, and the crime that results from it. Substance abuse, mental health problems, and poverty, I think, are the three biggest contributing factors right now to the problems that we face in Fremont County. And then addressing those problems. Obviously, law enforcement has a role in holding people accountable when they commit crimes. But we see many times that those three things that I mentioned first are the contributing factors to why those crimes are being committed. So I think as an agency, you have to enforce state law. But as an agency head, as the Sheriff, building strong relationships with other community members, and stakeholders, and addressing those root problems. We really, as a county, need to address substance abuse, poverty, and the lack of mental health resources that we have here, because those three go hand-in-hand to contribute to the problems that we’re facing right now.” – Mike Hutchison
“The problem in Fremont County is a substance abuse and an alcohol abuse problem. I’ve actually researched some ways that we can contribute to helping these. There is federal funding out there, a lot of federal funding to help build institutions, so they’re not put in jail. Because what people don’t understand is when you put somebody in jail or take them to jail for not an arrestable offense, I mean, it is being intoxicated, you’re not treating a problem. But what you’re doing is you’re paying their medical bills because… you have to get them medically cleared before you put them in our detention center. Then we’re paying money while they’re in the detention center. And we’re not treating the issue. So I’ve researched this. I know there’s funding out there. I want to get with the people… and apply for the federal funding to try to get the treatment centers. And that will help the judges. That will help our law enforcement. That will give them a place to go.” – John Zerga
“As you guys know, fentanyl and meth are our number one problem in Fremont County. There’s not a community around Fremont County that doesn’t deal with fentanyl and methamphetamine. So I think that’s a number one cause of a lot of our crime statistics, a lot of our homelessness, everything that’s going on. I think it has to do with our drug issue. So I think that’s one of the biggest things that we need to hit. The homeless issue, when I was the Chief of Police of Riverton, we would go back and look at the arrest records from 100 years ago, and it’s literally the same names for public intox for the last 100 years. So it’s so-and-so’s great, great grandkid that is now getting arrested for public intox at City Park that was 80, 90, 100 years ago. So we tried to deal with that when I was the Chief, and I’m not gonna tell you we did a great job. Like, that’s what we do. We take them to jail, and two days later, they’re back out on the street. So I think we need to focus on the drug issue.” – Eric Murphy
“I think actually one of the biggest problems is that the sheriff’s department and law enforcement has in Fremont County, you’re not utilizing one of the best tools that you have: your community. I know where two meth houses are right now. Nothing’s being done about it. One’s on the reservation, one’s on the state. The reason I know that is because I talk to people, friendly with people. And that’s one thing about coming from the community that I think would help me. But Eric’s right, young ages. You know, I went through DARE when I was in school, but so did a lot of my other friends and a lot of them people ain’t alive just because of drug and alcohol. I think I have a graduating class of 18, there are six of us alive out of Fort Washakie… Your community’s, your greatest tool. People, you got all these detectives in this county. Just ask a question. If they trust you, they’ll answer you. And that’s the thing. You gotta have the trust of the community because what happens when you see a cop behind you?.” – Ross Giles
On other topics, candidates discussed the need for more deputies and better coverage across Fremont County’s 9,000+ square miles, with Hutchison and Zerga pointing to manpower shortages and long response distances, Murphy calling for additional funding to put more deputies on the road, and Giles suggesting the county could better use existing resources, including fire stations, to position deputies closer to outlying communities. On grants, Zerga and Murphy said federal funding could help with equipment and treatment resources, while Hutchison cautioned that federal grants can come with stipulations that need to be carefully reviewed. On civil rights, the candidates generally agreed that warrants should be required to search cell phones, with limited emergency exceptions for life-safety situations. They also discussed artificial intelligence in law enforcement, with Zerga saying AI may help structure police reports but should not replace officer review, while Murphy and Giles expressed more skepticism and Hutchison warned that AI could create new challenges involving impersonation, defamation and jurisdiction. Candidates also addressed cooperation with ICE, tribal jurisdiction, human trafficking and missing persons, with several emphasizing respect for civil rights, better interagency communication and stronger relationships with tribal governments and community members.
Video of the full debate can be viewed here.