An Interview with Sheriff Will Diaz – Part 9 – Pam

A continuation of the interview with Sheriff Will Diaz. Will Diaz is the central character in the four novels that currently make up The Lawman Series. The fifth book is expected out about Christmas of 2025.

Rich Muniz: Some people I’ve spoken to have criticized your decision to make Pam Harmon-Madril your Undersheriff.

Sheriff Will Diaz: No!

Muniz: Sarcasm, I like it.

Sheriff Diaz: Well, to be sure, it involved a lot of prayer and thought on my part. I talked with Jewell, Tony, and Mike Lujan, the County Administrator before I made the decision. We all knew it was political dynamite. That and she was coming to the table with a lot of baggage.

Muniz: So, what was the issue regarding her?

Sheriff Diaz: Mostly, like all of us, she has a past. A past that unfortunately blew up and became public.

Muniz: You’re talking about her being an alcoholic.

Sheriff Diaz: I’m glad you used the term and didn’t say reformed. If you ask Pam it’s something she fights each and every day. Near as I know, she hasn’t taken a sip in over thirty years.

Muniz: So, what led up to all that?

Sheriff Diaz: When I first met Pam, I learned a few things about her. Her name was Pam Harmon. She was then the town marshal of Sanford, Colorado. She was from Napa, California, had a kid, been a Marine MP, and lost her husband in an accident. She was extremely good at what she did. That’s why I put her in charge of one of the teams for the county SRT.

Muniz: That was it? That’s what you knew about her?

Sheriff Diaz: I figured that’s all she wanted us to know, and at the time it was. I was dead wrong. We should have been asking questions. We should have been listening. We weren’t. It wasn’t until the Ortiz incident that things went to hell for her and we learned more.

Muniz: Let’s come back to Ortiz. What are you saying about not listening.

Sheriff Diaz: It’s this simple. We didn’t ask. We all assumed she was doing fine. Maybe if we’d started asking how she was doing, maybe she would have shared what she was thinking and feeling. In a lot of ways, we let her down.

Even RJ, who was closest to her screwed it up. He didn’t realize what was going on.

And then there’s Pam. She had built a wall high, deep, and wide and wouldn’t let anyone in. She did such a good job of hiding it, everyone missed it. She even missed there being a wall.

But we let her down in more ways than one.

Muniz: How?

Sheriff Diaz: Because we let her keep us out. She had this cool, ice princess demeanor. While she’s a nice girl, friendly, and such, there was a no trespassing sign posted on her emotions. Jewell figured something was going on with her, but she couldn’t find out. It wasn’t until Ortiz the wall came down. And when it did, it did so in a big way.

Muniz: Refresh my readers on what happened in Ortiz.

Sheriff Diaz: During a raid on a dope house in Ortiz, Colorado, everything went south. Pam was wounded during all this. She wasn’t badly injured. but we soon learned that this tough former Marine was being held together with bailing wire. And that incident broke it.

Muniz: In the book, Broken People, you talked of her suicide attempt.

Sheriff Diaz: Jewell talked her down. She also helped Tony Madril, the man I took over from, get the anger out his system. Jewell is very good at her job. I think if she hadn’t figured out where she went, Pam would have died that day by her own hand. And Tony certainly wouldn’t have started healing.

Shortly afterwards, her mother-in-law, Joanna Harmon came out and worked out a deal for her.

Muniz: Joanna is a lawyer? Why did she need a deal?

Sheriff Diaz: Yes, Joanna is a Lawyer. And Pam was charged with driving while impaired.

Muniz: Now, there’s another controversial part. People say she should have been committed for what she did. That she should have done time and never been allowed to pin on a badge again.

Sheriff Diaz: Well, she was committed. She did two months at Camp Victory. And she went through the legal system just like everyone else. She was on probation and was treated like a first-time offender might. But it was recognized early on that what had happened was the end result of something bigger.

And it wasn’t until she admitted that bigger thing that she started healing.

Muniz: So what would you say to those people?

Sheriff Diaz: I’d tell them obviously you don’t believe in second chances. I hope you never need one. Your tongue might have doomed any chance of getting it.

Muniz: How did you guys start learning about this “Bigger” thing?

Sheriff Diaz: It was after the suicide attempt and when Joanna arrived. During our conversations, she asked me, “Will, you’re a guy. Have you ever looked at Pam’s legs?”

Muniz: What did you say?

Sheriff Diaz: Well, at first I felt a little upset. I mean Pam is an attractive woman, but I’m a married man. I’ve no business checking her out. Then I realized what she was really asking. She wasn’t asking me if I’d admired her legs. What she was asking was if I’d ever seen them.

I’d known Pam almost a year and a half at that point. I’d never once seen her in shorts, a dress, or jeans that were tight around her legs.

Muniz: And why is that.

Sheriff Diaz: Because according to Joanna, the back of her legs are covered with scars. That’s when the whole story concerning her husband’s death started coming out.

Muniz: Have you seen her legs?

Sheriff Diaz: Not then, and certainly not since. She still keeps them covered.

Muniz: That’s the other thing that was controversial. That she was appointed Undersheriff because she is an attractive woman.

Sheriff Diaz: She got the job because she knew how to handle it. She had her POST certification and the Marines had taught her well as an NCO. She’d been a Patrol Sup with the MPs and been a MPI team supervisor. She knew her job.

Now, if you’ll forgive me, I’m climbing up on my soapbox for a moment.

Muniz: Climb away.

Sheriff Diaz: Here’s where I see them coming from. People gossip too much. Now, what’s really funny is some psychologists compare it to the grooming habits of monkeys. It gives people a chance to bond over something. So gossip might actually serve a function in society.

Now here’s where it gets ugly. When you take a lie and spread it as the truth. I know a lot of people simply couldn’t handle a woman in such a position of authority. Others couldn’t accept what she’d been through and embarked on a little character assassination. We’d later learned that David Wheaton had a lot to do with that.

Muniz: So you’re saying people just like to find fault.

Sheriff Diaz: Yep. They don’t realize what she lost in service to our country.

And Pam’s looks had nothing to do with her getting the job. People just grabbed at it and used it. What’s sad, had she been a woman who say wasn’t considered attractive, they’d have said the same thing or worse.

Muniz: Are you off your soap box now?

Sheriff Diaz: I’m sorry. I hate it when people talk trash about good people. And yes, I’m stepping off the box.

Muniz: No problem. Tell me about David Wheaton.

Sheriff Diaz: Not for another few years.

Muniz: I understand. Her and RJ are retired now. And they live in Napa?

Sheriff Diaz: Yes.

Muniz: What are they doing out there.

Sheriff Diaz: Running their vineyard.

Muniz: They make wine?

Sheriff Diaz: It’s what her family, the Carlson’s did. And that’s what the Harmon family did. It’s an all organic, alcohol-free wine. It’s very good. She runs the business, and RJ runs the actual wine side of it. And they both spend a lot of time encouraging responsible drinking.

Muniz: That sounds a little hypocritical. I mean they’re part of the wine industry, even if it is alcohol free.

Sheriff Diaz: Is it? People forget. Alcohol wasn’t the problem. The pain of what she’d been through with the death of her husband is what fueled her drinking. She had to do a lot of work to get past it. I’m sure if most alcoholics were honest with themselves, it’s pain or a wish to belong that fuels their misuse. She and RJ are no more hypocrites than the man that invented Guinness beer.

Muniz: So you don’t buy into genetic predisposition to misuse alcohol.

Sheriff Diaz: No. It’s a choice you make. Just like a lot of life is a choice. So, no, I don’t buy into it. I can choose to drink or I can choose not to. I will say environment has a lot to do with it. If you’re raised in a home where alcohol is abused, you’re more likely to abuse it yourself.

Muniz: Do you want to talk about alcohol in your past.

Sheriff Diaz: Later.

Muniz: Some people would say they can’t stop.

Sheriff Diaz: My wife has a simple explanation for that. A person won’t help themselves and try to change until they’re sick and tired of being sick and tired. They need to want to stop and be willing to do the work.

Muniz: I thought you were off your soap box?

Sheriff Diaz: (Laughs) So did I.

Muniz: I checked them out, and their net worth is in the millions. And Pam was already wealthy when she came to Sanford. That’s how she bought her house. Did you know that?

Sheriff Diaz: No. I thought she’d bought the house with a VA loan like everyone else does. But I don’t see what that has to do with the price of tea in China.

Muniz: Why would someone who had money become a cop?

Sheriff Diaz: (shrugs) The same reason Bruce Wayne became Batman, I guess. I never asked and she never said. And rest assured, if she ever does tell me, I won’t bother telling the world. That’s her business. But I’m pretty sure whatever demon drove her to do that has been put to rest.

But we’re watching.

CONTINUED

Imagery generated using AI

---

If you’re a Veteran in crisis or concerned about one, connect with our caring, qualified Veterans Crisis Line responders for confidential help. Many of them are Veterans themselves. This service is private, free, and available 24/7.

Here’s how you can connect with a Veterans Crisis Line responder, anytime day or night:

• Call 988 and select 1.
• Text 838255.
• Start a confidential chat.
• If you have hearing loss, call TTY: 800-799-4889.

If you’re not a veteran or wish you can also take these actions:

• Call 911.
• Go to the nearest emergency room.
• Go directly to your nearest VA medical center. It doesn’t matter what your discharge status is or if you’re enrolled in VA health care. if not a veteran, go to your nearest hospital.
  Find your nearest VA medical center