The Vancouver City Attorney’s Office will not charge the corrections deputy at the center of an August 2021 use-of-force investigation involving a man detained at the Clark County Jail.
City Prosecutor Kevin McClure said the decision not to charge Robert Hanks with a misdemeanor was made in July, and the paperwork was finalized Sept. 13.
“After a thorough review of the evidence, the city attorney’s office concluded there was insufficient evidence to meet the burden of proof in this case,” McClure said in a Monday email to The Columbian. “Accordingly, no charges are being filed.”
The criminal investigation was conducted as a courtesy by the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office at the request of then-Clark County Sheriff Chuck Atkins. The case was given to Pierce County on Sept. 29, 2021, for investigation of a possible simple assault of an inmate by Hanks. The local sheriff’s office also conducted an internal investigation.
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office sent its investigation to the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for review of possible gross misdemeanor assault charges in March 2022. The prosecutor’s office then sent the review to the city attorney’s office, which handles misdemeanor cases.
Hanks had been placed on leave during the investigation, but he returned to work at the jail in October 2022. He remains employed at the jail, according to Jail Services Director David Shook.
Hanks’ attorney during the investigation, Jon McMullen, did not respond to requests for comment.
At about 6:30 a.m. Aug. 13, 2021, deputies attempted to search the cell of a man, who was being held in the maximum-security area of the jail, and retrieve food trays, according to a Clark County Sheriff’s Office news release.
Hanks used force to detain the man, who was in handcuffs, while other corrections deputies searched his cell. Hanks and the other deputies also used force to remove the handcuffs, the news release said.
Videos released by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office showed corrections deputies pinning, tackling and dragging the handcuffed man by a tether while trying to search and clean his cell.
The man was treated for lacerations to his wrists and numbness in his fingers and hands, the investigative report states.
According to the involved corrections deputies, using the tether was a relatively new tactic at the jail that came with little training. In their interviews with investigators, none of the involved corrections deputies recalled being formally trained on its use.
In an initial statement about the external review of the incident, Atkins said he was “very troubled by what I observed” on the video.
“In the process of this review, the commander determined the sergeant had not viewed the video as required, and upon the commander’s viewing of the video, it was believed the uses of force were possibly excessive, and in the first instance at least, potentially criminal,” the news release stated.
