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. 

Eddy was appointed by the commissioners in November following the resignation of Holly Lindsey, who had been involved in a hit-and-run incident. Since that time, three other members of the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office administrative staff have resigned, the most recent being Capt. Seth Green. 

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

“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 Commissioner Jeff Zimmerman was advised by the county's legal team that the board was not responsible for hearing grievances against other elected officials. 

The letter also alleges multiple issues, many echoing statements made by Green in his resignation letter last week, including Eddy’s limited engagement with local police departments (despite public claims stating otherwise), 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 express serious concerns regarding public and officer safety, citing the sheriff’s authority under Idaho law and the inability of local agencies to override unsafe directives. 

“Due to the aforementioned facts and opinions, this joint group consisting of the Chiefs of Police of the municipalities within Shoshone County have come to the determination of a unanimous vote of no confidence regarding Sheriff William Eddy,” concluded the letter. 

On Saturday, the News-Press reached out to Commissioners Jeff Zimmerman, Melissa Cowles, Dave Dose and Sheriff Eddy with questions concerning the letter, including asking if any of the claims in the letter were false, and if that is the case, what were they and what is the truth? 

Eddy was originally not sent the letter but saw it over the weekend. He didn't address any of the claims, but instead offered a short opinion. 

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

Zimmerman condemned the letter, calling it accusatory and an act of bad faith. 

"As an elected official of Shoshone County, I am disappointed in the lack of professionalism and lack of support from the city police chiefs in our county," he said. "Instead of offering an olive branch, they have instead brought accusatory statements that are based on opinions, not facts. This was unnecessary and an act of bad faith on their part. The sheriff has only been in office two months, and in those two months, has had two natural disasters, a missing person case, and an active shooter that attacked his department. All of this while tackling inherited issues with the jail, budget, staffing etc.. They should be coming together for the better of our community instead of behind the scenes back-biting."

Commissioner Dose declined to comment, while Cowles could not be reached for comment. 

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