Deputy Resigns After 22 Years With the Polk County Sheriff's Office

Polk County Sheriff's Office continues to see staffing reductions through resignations as lay-offs are pending this coming July. On February 28, Deputy Rick Bojorquez, a 22 year veteran of the Polk County Sheriff's Office, announced his resignation, effective March 11, 2014. Deputy Bojorquez started in August of 1991 as a corrections deputy and became a patrol deputy in December of 1993.

On February 24, 2014, Deputy David Mills left to accept a position with the Yamhill County Sheriff's Office. The next day, February 25, 2014, Sergeant Dustin Newman, with 14 years experience, worked his last day before going to Baker City Police Department.

Sheriff Bob Wolfe stated, "These losses are really impacting our ability to cover shifts. However, we are losing years of experience as well." Forecasted budget reductions to take effect in July are having impacts on patrol shifts now. With several other deputies actively seeking employment at other agencies additional patrol reductions are highly likely. "We have put into place a response plan which will require on-call personnel to get out of bed to respond to calls, adding to a delayed emergency response," stated Sheriff Bob Wolfe.

Starting March 1, 2014, the Sheriff's Office implemented new scheduling and emergency call out procedures when no patrol deputies are on duty. Local Police Chiefs, Fire Chiefs, and Oregon State Police were notified of the limited response ability. Willamette Valley Communication Center has drafted special procedures for calling the on call sheriff's office personnel.