Last summer, I repeatedly warned that Pierce County Sheriff’s deputies were leaving in large numbers. I provided statistics and predicted serious consequences if the trend continued.
In November 2025, more than a thousand residents voiced strong opposition to the proposed county budget through voicemails, emails, and comments on the Pierce County Council website. They urged the council not to ratify it until adjustments were made to increase funding for deputies — funding needed to retain them and prevent further losses to better-paying agencies in the region.
Despite this outcry, a majority of the council — Jani Hitchen, Rosie Ayala, Bryan Yambe, and the deciding vote from District 7 Councilmember Robyn Denson — voted against those adjustments. Since then, the Sheriff’s Office has lost at least 25 deputies to other departments, exacerbating staffing shortages that already stood at around 40-44 vacancies by late 2025…