By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – A 10-year veteran of the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office has been fired over his manner of dealing with two assaultive inmates.
Sheriff Steve Mansfield said Trevor S. Smith worked in the jail where he was promoted to sergeant in 2011. He was terminated June 27 for an incident at the beginning of this year and another last year, Mansfield said.
The longtime corrections officer abused and exceeded his authority, Mansfield said.
It was the way they were treated, the way they were contained that was a problem, and how Smith handled it was inappropriate, the sheriff said without going into much detail.
“Both situations involved inmates who were acting out and assaulted staff, situations that needed immediate intervention,” he said. “That’s what it is; it’s disgusting and embarrassing for this organization.”
Mansfield said he is reluctant to say more, as Smith is appealing his firing, and the sheriff worries about jeopardizing any termination hearing that may come up.
Meanwhile, Smith was arrested on Monday at his home in Chehalis for a discovery made after he left, that he allegedly had been snooping into secure jail computer records.
“He had no business accessing administrative and personnel files,” Mansfield said. “There’s a reason for them being secure.
Mansfield said he used someone else’s password.
Some deleted files have been recovered but the primary issue is he should not have been reading them and collecting information, the sheriff said.
Smith was booked Monday into the Lewis County Jail for five counts of computer trespass, a class C felony with a maximum penalty of five years in prison, according to the sheriff. He was housed at another jail until his hearing in Lewis County Superior Court yesterday and then released by the judge, Mansfield said.
The criminal allegations, investigation and arrest were handled by the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.
The inmate treatment issues were investigated internally.
Mansfield said after the most recent incident, Smith was taken out of any role that involved contact with inmates and put on administrative duties, in an office next to the jail chief’s.
Mansfield spoke in general about the duty of care to the people housed in his jail. Feeding, housing and making sure they are safe is his obligation under the law, he said.
Corrections officer have a variety of ways to contain or isolate problem inmates, including using whatever level of force is necessary, but only until the point the situation is stabilized, he said.
“If they do something wrong, the judge decides the level of punishment, not me,” he said. “When people cross that line and make it their role to punish someone, you’ve got problems.”