Former Congressional candidate pulls over Grant County deputy

SOAP LAKE - Former Fourth Congressional District candidate Gavin Seim recently gained national attention after he posted a video of him pulling over a Grant County deputy, who he believed was driving an illegal patrol car.

On Oct. 11, Seim posted the video of his encounter with Grant County Deputy Dustin Canfield in Soap Lake on his website. The video gained almost 1.2 million views on Youtube alone.

Seim, a Republican, lost his bid for the Fourth Congressional seat in August's primary to Republican candidates Dan Newhouse and Clint Didier. Seim is an Ephrata resident and has a photography studio in Soap Lake. He also regularly travels for speaking engagements on subjects ranging from liberty, to Constitutional law and self-governance, according to Seim's website.

Seim has recently been in the news after a confrontation at the Grant County Courthouse, in which he recorded a conversation he had with courthouse staff about a lock box at the courthouse to secure a weapon, according to a previous Columbia Basin Herald report.

Seim was told the lock box was located in the sheriff's office. He then argued with a security guard and Ephrata officers about the need for a separate lock box.

In the video with Canfield, Seim can be seen flagging down the deputy and telling him it is illegal for an officer to drive an un-marked patrol car.

"You are not allowed to have patrol cars that are unmarked. Are you aware of that under Washington State RCW (Revised Code of Washington)?," Seim told Canfield in the video.

Canfield told Seim that he was unaware of the RCW Seim was referring to. Seim then asked Canfield to show him some identification, as to make sure he was authorized to be driving the patrol car.

In the video Canfield showed Seim his identification, proving he was authorized to drive the patrol car. Seim then asked Canfield if he was stopping people in the patrol car, to which Canfield said he was.

"It's completely in violation of Washington State law and you are culpable in that the way the law is written," Seim told Canfield, "So you have admitted that you are in violation of Washington State law and that you are stopping people in this vehicle."

Seim told Canfield he was not going to "write him up," but did tell him that if he was seen doing arrests in the vehicle, then he himself could be arrested.

The point of contention is the understanding of the RCW Seim is referring to in the video. Seim believes the law speaks specifically to the situation with Canfield.

On Tuesday, Sheriff Tom Jones spoke on the situation and his view of the law.

"No one (in this case, the deputy driving the car) would receive a citation from a law enforcement officer or risk going to jail for violating that law. For those who read that law, you will see it is not a criminal or civil offense, but one that would be handled internally by an agency head," said Jones on his Facebook page.

Jones stated Canfield was driving a brand new Dodge Charger patrol car, which was awaiting installation of vinyl graphics that were ordered prior to the encounter between Seim and Canfield.

"I am not going to put the public at risk by not deploying patrol cars while awaiting installation of decals. I'm sure our citizens who depend on us would agree with me," said Jones.

Jones also praised the way Canfield dealt with the encounter, stating the deputy handled the situation with "tact" and "diplomacy."

Seim could not be reached for comment.