Sheriff Atkins has put our school children at risk by firing his 14 reserve deputies. Those deputies spent hundreds of hours every year protecting children in school zones, at no cost to the county.
The fired deputies have over 200 years of law enforcement experience. Many have served our community for decades with impeccable safety.
The sheriff has given three reasons for ending the reserve deputy program. He said:
- “It has gotten harder to recruit reserves.” How is that a reason to fire the ones currently serving?
- “The state is considering new rules for reserves.” Yet nothing has changed, and may never change. All reserves are trained and certified at least through the end of this year. Why fire them in the middle of the year with three weeks’ notice?
- “Reserves face increased personal liability.” But that is true for every law enforcement officer.
Candidates for the next sheriff are already announcing themselves. I hope the voters will consider an “outsider” this time. We need a sheriff who will welcome community involvement in policing, such as reserve deputies.
