Reinstated Deputy Being Retrained for Duty
Reinstated Yakima County Sheriff's Deputy Jan Bartleson
A Yakima county deputy re-hired after an eight year legal battle is being re-trained before she returns to duty. Now she and the sheriff who fired her are trying to move on.
Yakima County Sheriff's Deputy Jan Bartleson believes crime has worsened during the eight years she's been away from law enforcement duty.
"Oh it is, the cities' had a lot of things and the county, you know we get our fair share," says Bartleson.
Now she's being retrained for duty after winning what's believed to be one of the longest legal battles in state history while trying get her job back.
Yakima County Sheriff Ken Irwin fired Bartleson in 2003, after doctors told him she was suffering from too much stress to be on active duty.
"We ended up with three different notes saying she couldn't come back to work," says Sheriff Irwin.
But Bartleson says some of the information used against her, including claims that she used her position to resolve a personal situation with the Naches School District were lies.
"Documentation that he used, a lot of it was unfounded information, rumors, innuendos," she says.
Now that arbitrators and the state appeals court have sided with Bartleson, she's being reinstated, and will get back pay up to $500 thousand. Sheriff Irwin took out a loan from the commissioners, and will have five years to pay it back.
"Arbitrator's decision is this to be, is to return to work just as if she had never been gone," says Irwin.
Now that Jan Bartleson is back at the Sheriff's office, both the Sheriff and Bartleson say they are working to rebuild their professional relationship, and let bygones be bygones.
"We've had plenty of time for this to feel awkward and we're determined just to take care of business," says Irwin.
"Myself and the command staff are willing to do that, and I'm willing to do that," says Bartleson.
The sheriff will use money saved from the resignation of two deputies to pay for bartleson's salary and the first year of the loan. He also says the cost won't affect their operations.