WALLACE — The police chiefs of Pinehurst, Kellogg and Osburn have issued a unified letter to the Shoshone County Board of County Commissioners expressing a formal vote of no confidence in Shoshone County Sheriff William Eddy. 

The letter, sent to the commissioners by Pinehurst Police Chief John Richter on Friday afternoon, states that persistent communication failures, a lack of administrative experience and concerns about decision-making have undermined effective law enforcement collaboration between the city and county departments. 

“We, the Silver Valley Chiefs of Police, attempted to have an executive session meeting with you to discuss our concerns about the current Sheriff of Shoshone County, William Eddy,” Richter wrote in the email that accompanied the letter. “We understand why you declined the meeting, but we are confused as to why there was no communication back to us on your decision. Successful operations rely on communication, and we are not getting communication from the County for at least the last two-three months.” 

According to Richter, the BOCC declined to meet with the chiefs because the county's legal team advised Commissioner Jeff Zimmerman that the board was not responsible for hearing grievances against other elected officials. 

The letter also alleges multiple issues, including Eddy’s limited engagement with local police departments, insufficient leadership or budgeting experience, questionable administrative actions and concerns stemming from the response to a recent active-shooter incident. 

These issues have reportedly led to a deteriorating workplace climate, the continued loss of experienced personnel and gaps in training and certification. 

The chiefs expressed concerns regarding public and officer safety, citing the sheriff’s authority under Idaho law and the inability of local agencies to override unsafe directives. 

On Saturday, the News-Press reached out to Commissioners Jeff Zimmerman, Melissa Cowles, Dave Dose and Sheriff Eddy with questions about the letter.

Eddy was not originally sent the letter, but saw it over the weekend. He offered a brief opinion. 

“It is a witch hunt,” Eddy said. “Nothing more, nothing less.” 

Zimmerman condemned the letter.

He said he was disappointed by the lack of professionalism of support from the city police chiefs in the county.

"Instead of offering an olive branch, they have instead brought accusatory statements that are based on opinions, not facts. It was unnecessary and an act of bad faith on their part," Zimmerman said. 

He said the sheriff has only been in office two months and has had two natural disasters, a missing person case and an active shooter that attacked his department, all while tackling inherited issues with the jail, budget and staffing.

"They should be coming together for the better of our community instead of behind the scenes back-biting," Zimmerman said.

Dose declined to comment, and Cowles could not be reached.

The commissioners appointed Eddy in November following Holly Lindsey's resignation. Since that time, three other members of the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office administrative staff have resigned, the most recent being Capt. Seth Green.

To read the letter in its entirety, visit www.shoshonenewspress.com and look under the opinion column.

    Eddy