From the Desk of Sheriff Chris Clinton

Lorne Ahrens, Michael Krol, Michael Smith, Brent Thompson, Patrick Zamarripa. Those are the names of the five officers who lost their lives in the Dallas shooting last week. These were real people with families and people they cared about, who cared about them. You never hear their names in the media; you only hear the names of officers who are accused, often wrongfully, of making a mistake. Perhaps that is why three more officers were ambushed on Sunday in Louisiana, or why a gunman attempted to ambush four officers in Baltimore last Thursday evening.

It would seem that for several years now there is a growing trend of reckless comments being made by elected officials and their friends in the media, comments that have led to the loss of innocent lives, like that of Deputy Sheriff Darren Goforth, a husband and father of two young children who was shot fifteen times in the back and back of his head, while pumping gas. Deputy Goforth was murdered for no reason other than the fact that he was wearing a uniform.

Much of the anger that is causing this type of violence is based on false narratives that are being perpetuated by “news” stories that contain little or no fact. I find it ironic that the Dallas area officers were simply protecting the rights of the citizens to have a peaceful protest when they were murdered because they were wearing the uniform.

I find it even more disturbing that our media has begun to use their right of being a free press to promote lies, stir up anger and hate, and to cause innocent lives to be lost. I believe that our founders envisioned a free press as a protector of the truth, not as a means to promote an agenda through lies. I believe that there is a duty and a responsibility of every American to protect our liberty and the things that make our country great, but that Americans are having their rights taken away through deception.

The truth matters. Words have meaning and they are the only tools we have to convey thought. I agree with my good friend and colleague, Sheriff Scott Berry of Oconee County when he says that, while we are all entitled to draw our own conclusions, we are not entitled to our own set of facts. I fear that as a nation we are devolving into a form of anarchy being brought on by lies, innuendo, and half truths.

James Madison, known as the Father of the Constitution, said in a letter to W.T. Barry, “A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”

I would encourage anyone interested in seeing first hand what our Sheriff’s Office does to protect us and what it is actually like to be a deputy sheriff, to consider taking one of our upcoming Citizen Law Enforcement Academy (CLEA) classes. Our CLEA graduates are armed with knowledge and are better able to take ownership in the Sheriff’s Office. They get an honest, first-hand view that simply isn’t available in the media.

Our next class begins Tuesday, August 23, at 3:00 PM and will meet each Tuesday for ten weeks. Anyone interested in being in this class should contact the Sheriff’s Office at 706-896-4444.