Why one of Fremont County’s most respected lawmen was arrested and sued in two separate cases
Published at | Updated at
Editor’s note: This is the eighth in a series of stories about former sheriffs in eastern Idaho.
ASHTON — James Fredrickson became one of Fremont County’s most popular sheriffs when he was sworn into office.
It was 1929 and the 50-something lawman was one of the first democrats to hold the position. He would go on to serve two nonconsecutive terms — the second one in the county’s history to do so.
His first term was fraught with “adverse circumstances” and “undue humiliation,” according to a 1932 article from the Teton Peak Chronicle. In Oct. 1929, a federal judge ordered Fredrickson spend three months in jail and pay a $500 fine on a contempt of court charge.
A courthouse janitor was apparently allowing federal prisoners out at nights, the newspaper reported. County commissioners told him to stop, but it continued. The judge held Fredrickson responsible for it.
Commissioners later issued a 90-day leave of absence for Fredrickson and an extra deputy was sworn-in in case of emergency.
On another occasion, an inmate filed a $5,000 lawsuit against Fredrickson. Fredrickson reportedly arrested Lee Clark on forgery charges. He refused to tell Fredrickson what happened and was put in a cell with four other prisoners.
“The officers had no more than reached their office door when they heard Clark yelling for help,” the report says.
Clark said he would explain his story if they let him out. Fredrickson and his deputies did so and Clark said he had cashed fraudulent checks at two different businesses, and his partner, identified only as Huff, cashed a fraudulent check at another business.
Huff later confessed to the forgery and told Fredrickson he had stolen goods tucked away on another man’s property.
Huff apparently filed the lawsuit, claiming Clark was mistreated while in Fredrickson’s custody.
“The complaint (alleges) the sheriff took Clark by the collar and misused him,” a news report said.
Witnesses denied the claims, and the paper went on to speculate with some additional perspective.
“Suppose the sheriff took Clark by the collar and dragged him from his office to the cell door and threw him in. Would that be any worse than a peace officer knocking a criminal out with his billy (club) and dragging him across a few blocks to jail? When anyone refuses to obey an officer, he will probably meet up with a little rough treatment,” the paper reported.
It’s not clear what the outcome of the suit was, but Huff’s apparent goal was to “divert sentiment from the forgery charge, and more particularly to create a feeling of public sympathy for Clark, and also to humiliate and discredit the sheriff and his deputies.”
‘Stick ’em up, Clancey’
But things didn’t always go badly for Fredrickson.
In 1931, he found Collier Clancey, a fugitive from Salt Lake and Dillon, Montana, having his car repaired at a local shop. Fredrickson approached the armed man and asked what his name was.
“My name is Jackson. What do you want to know for?” the man replied.
“So you are traveling under the name of Jackson?” the sheriff asked the man, who was visibly alarmed, according to the Chronicle.
“What’s it to you?” the man said in response.
“Stick ’em up, Clancey, and come with me,” Fredrickson said.
Clancey was arrested for shooting ducks after sundown, but he asked Fredrickson if he’d “forget this charge” in exchange for telling him where his counterpart, “Swede” Burgeon, was.
Burgeon was found in the brush on Bozeman Road about 15 miles west of West Yellowstone, according to the report.
“He is wanted for breaking jail at Dillon with Clancey and also for murder in his native land, and will be turned over for deportation,” the paper reported.
Fredrickson left office in 1934, but during his re-election bid in 1932, the Chronicle offered this in tribute to his record.
“In 1928, he was elected sheriff of this county, and in this capacity he has given the most able and understanding service,” the paper wrote. “He is widely known throughout this valley for the service he has … rendered … and the gratifying results that have attended his efforts … in the face of undue humiliations.”
RELATED LINKS
Jefferson County’s beginnings and why its first sheriff was ‘widely known and highly respected’
How Bonneville County got its name and the early lawmen who protected its citizens
Jefferson County’s longest-serving sheriff looks back on 40-year career in law enforcement
Fremont County sheriff who served nonconsecutive terms shares memories of time in office
How Bingham County was formed and why its first sheriff was a ‘fearless and efficient officer’
Fremont County’s first sheriff, a ‘ghastly’ murder, and the lawmen who had a brush with fame