In rural WA, a 'constitutional sheriff' and his growing posse provoke controversy

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

On a Tuesday evening in early July, Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer sat at the head of a small conference room along with about a dozen members of his posse.

One — a young wildland firefighter — was affectionately called “the big man.” Another was a gun dealer in his early 80s. They were there to discuss their annual role in supporting wildfire evacuations in a building Songer’s department shares with a senior center in White Salmon, a town of roughly 2,500 in south-central Washington and the stronghold of the county’s Democratic Party.

“We’re in the lion’s den,” quipped Anthony Rizzi, a captain in the Klickitat County Sheriff’s Posse who was seated to the sheriff’s right.

Rizzi wore his badge and posse uniform, which bears a strong resemblance to those of sheriff’s deputies. But he is not a sworn deputy, nor has he gone through Washington’s law enforcement academy. He is a member of Songer’s growing volunteer posse — whose membership now stands at nearly 170, or almost 10 times the number of deputies on the county payroll. The average posse member is in their mid-60s, and the largest share are ranchers and farmers.

The posse is accountable to Songer alone: Washington law allows for such volunteer posses but provides almost no guidelines for them, nor does any state agency oversee the training or discipline of their members.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/10/12/in-rural-wa-a-constitutional-sheriff-and-his-growing-posse-provoke-controversy/