HAYDEN, Idaho – Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris is still battling a candidate he defeated four years ago.
John Grimm, who ran an unsuccessful bid for the sheriff’s office in 2020, appeared at a Hayden City Council meeting on Tuesday and claimed that the sheriff’s office did not properly charge an off-duty officer with a DUI after he allegedly crashed a vehicle and fled the scene.
“This morning I had the distinct displeasure of having to sue our county sheriff Bob Norris in an effort to compel him to release public documents on a deputy,” Grimm said.
Grimm asserted that the deputy received preferable treatment because he is a member of law enforcement.
“He did not face any charges that the rest of us in this room would likely have faced if we did the same thing,” Grimm said.
Norris denied Grimm’s allegations on Thursday in a two page sheriff’s office media release.
“There was a criminal investigation conducted by the Idaho State Police. The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office was not involved in that investigation. Mr. Grimm inferred that the Sheriff influenced the prosecution. This is false,” Norris said.
Norris said that the Kootenai County Prosecutor has reduced himself from the case involving the officer’s alleged conduct, and that the Shoshone County Prosecutor’s Office will oversee the investigation.
No additional information about the deputy was offered by the sheriff’s office on Thursday.
