Friday, October 07, 2005
Local History
There's something to be said for a calm demeanor in law enforcement officers, especially for those in charge of their jurisdiction. Heaven knows there's plenty of alarming news these days, and alarmists for hire are coming out of the woodwork. Still, occasionally the times call for stronger public statements, particularly when situations and groups formerly involved in lawlessness and violence are involved.
In my former home of Whatcom county Washington, where some Minutemen are organizing an illegal immigrant stakeout on the Canadian border, that history includes federal explosives and firearms convictions of racist militia members in 1997, a cross-burning at a migrant worker camp in 1994, and an armed standoff on the Lummi Indian Reservation between Lummi Police and Sheriff's deputies somewhere in that timeframe. Granted, the vigilante groups and racist organizations that controlled the county government back then have lost much of their clout, and all indications point to a much more savvy Sheriff now than then, but nipping the rhetoric and propaganda of violent racism in the bud would still seem to be a priority.
Toward that end, it is comforting to see the local human rights organization taking the lead with resolutions put before local governments in support of civil rights, but I doubt they'll rest easy until the Sheriff takes a more visible role in quelling any notions of vigilantism being the equivalent of neighborhood watch programs. What surprises me, though, is that this particular Sheriff is 1. not new to the area, and 2. no dummy.
In fact, Sheriff Bill Elfo began his law enforcement career in 1974, moved to Whatcom County in 1997 to accept the position of Public Safety Director for the City of Blaine, and after six years of service in Blaine, was appointed Interim Sheriff by the County Council. Elected to the position of Sheriff in 2003, he holds a Master of Science in Criminal Justice as well as Juris Doctorate. He is a graduate of the Southern Police Institute and the FBI National Law Institute and has completed thousands of hours of training in management and law enforcement. He is a member of the Washington State Bar Association and is currently vice president of the Washington State Sheriff's Association. He is also a former assistant prosecutor and police legal advisor and adjunct professor of criminal justice.
Let's hope his extensive knowledge of the law combined with the extensive institutional memory of local history in the human rights group will serve to keep a lid on things. At least Washington's governor has more sense than to pan to bigotry like California's moronic head of state.
In my former home of Whatcom county Washington, where some Minutemen are organizing an illegal immigrant stakeout on the Canadian border, that history includes federal explosives and firearms convictions of racist militia members in 1997, a cross-burning at a migrant worker camp in 1994, and an armed standoff on the Lummi Indian Reservation between Lummi Police and Sheriff's deputies somewhere in that timeframe. Granted, the vigilante groups and racist organizations that controlled the county government back then have lost much of their clout, and all indications point to a much more savvy Sheriff now than then, but nipping the rhetoric and propaganda of violent racism in the bud would still seem to be a priority.
Toward that end, it is comforting to see the local human rights organization taking the lead with resolutions put before local governments in support of civil rights, but I doubt they'll rest easy until the Sheriff takes a more visible role in quelling any notions of vigilantism being the equivalent of neighborhood watch programs. What surprises me, though, is that this particular Sheriff is 1. not new to the area, and 2. no dummy.
In fact, Sheriff Bill Elfo began his law enforcement career in 1974, moved to Whatcom County in 1997 to accept the position of Public Safety Director for the City of Blaine, and after six years of service in Blaine, was appointed Interim Sheriff by the County Council. Elected to the position of Sheriff in 2003, he holds a Master of Science in Criminal Justice as well as Juris Doctorate. He is a graduate of the Southern Police Institute and the FBI National Law Institute and has completed thousands of hours of training in management and law enforcement. He is a member of the Washington State Bar Association and is currently vice president of the Washington State Sheriff's Association. He is also a former assistant prosecutor and police legal advisor and adjunct professor of criminal justice.
Let's hope his extensive knowledge of the law combined with the extensive institutional memory of local history in the human rights group will serve to keep a lid on things. At least Washington's governor has more sense than to pan to bigotry like California's moronic head of state.
