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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 2016
Standoff sheds light on conservative sheriffs group
Lawmen call
themselves ‘last line
of defense’ against
federal government
By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS
Associated Press
S
POKANE, Wash. — The actions of two
rural Oregon sheriffs during an armed
standoff at a national wildlife refuge were
striking one worked with federal of¿cials to
end the siege while the other questioned the
FBI’s authority and offered words of support for
the occupiers.
Sheriff Dave Ward of Harney County,
where the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
is located, cooperated with federal and state
police, urging standoff leader Ammon Bundy
and his followers to stand down and respect
the law. Meanwhile in Grant County, immedi-
ately to the north, Sheriff Glenn Palmer called
the occupiers “patriots.” When Bundy and oth-
ers were arrested during a -anuary traf¿c stop,
they were on their way to his county. An Ari-
zona rancher who police fatally shot when they
say he reached for a gun shouted he was on his
way to meet Palmer.
Palmer is a member of the Constitutional
Sheriffs and Peace Of¿cers Association, a
group that bills itself as “the last line of defense”
against a federal government they contend over-
reaches on gun control and other issues. They
see sheriffs as the ultimate law enforcement
authority in their dispute with the federal gov-
ernment over control of federal lands.
The group’s founder said they are recruiting
people to run against sheriff’s that don’t support
their cause and that the group’s website includes
lists of county sheriffs and whether they need to
be “recalled or replaced.”
Rick Bowmer/AP Photo
Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward arrived at a community meeting at the Harney County fairgrounds in January in Burns. The contrast-
ing actions of two rural Oregon sheriffs during the recent armed standoff at a national wildlife refuge were striking: one worked with
federal officials to end the siege while another questioned the FBI’s authority and offered words of support for the ragtag group that
seized property in the state’s high desert country. Ward, whose jurisdiction includes the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, cooperated
with federal and state police and became one of the public faces of the standoff. He urged standoff leader Ammon Bundy and his
followers to stand down and respect the law.
‘Many
constitutional
sheriffs believe
they can pass a
local law and forbid
federal authorities
from coming into
a county. That is
patently false.’
Outside the mainstream
Critics say the group’s views are far out-
side the mainstream. Mark Potok of the South-
ern Poverty Law Center, which for decades has
advocated against groups it considers extrem-
ist, called the association “a remarkably radi-
cal organization, considering who their mem-
bers are.”
“Many constitutional sheriffs believe they
can pass a local law and forbid federal authori-
ties from coming into a county,” he said. “That
is patently false.’
Richard Mack, a former Arizona sheriff and
association founder, said he didn’t support the
occupation of the wildlife refuge, “but I under-
stand the complete frustration people have in
this country towards this government.” Mack
said the group will work to defeat Ward in the
November election.
Mack’s group, founded in 2011, claims more
than 400 of the nation’s more than 3,000 county
sheriffs support its positions, which hold that
elected county sheriffs should oppose federal
agents whose conduct appears to violate the
U.S. Constitution.
Mark Potok
Southern Poverty Law Center
during the Oregon standoff. If Palmer is found
to have violated standards, he could lose his
police certi¿cation.
Occupation fallout
Unequivocal on gun rights
The association is unequivocal about gun
rights. It supports the right of criminals and the
mentally ill to carry ¿rearms and opposes gun
registration or background checks.
In conservative Kootenai County, Idaho,
popular sheriff Ben Wol¿nger has drawn two
opponents who support the concept of constitu-
tional sheriffs. Tina Kunishige, one of the can-
didates, said sheriffs need to decide which laws
are constitutional.
“I’m very comfortable with that,’ said Kun-
ishige, who has no law enforcement experience.
“I’ve studied the Constitution for a number of
years.”
?
9-1-WHAT?
THE BEST OF THE WORST CALLS TO ASTORIA 911 DISPATCH
Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian
Gov. Kate Brown hugs Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer in August as they enter a
meeting with homeowners in Canyon City.
Wol¿nger said he doesn’t need an outside
group like the association to approve how he
does his job. “I believe that the people I serve
in Kootenai County will hold me accountable
to do the job that they elected me for,” Wol¿n-
ger said.
Sheriffs who support the association have
faced backlash.
Palmer, the sheriff who sided with the
Oregon occupiers, has drawn an opponent in
the November elections who criticized him
for making his own interpretations of the
Constitution.
And Palmer, who did not respond to inter-
view requests from The Associated Press, is
being investigated by the state for his actions
The Oregon occupation started on Jan. 2 and
ended Feb. 11 when the last holdouts surren-
dered to authorities. It began as a protest amid
mounting tension over the case of local ranchers
Dwight and Steven Hammond.
The Hammonds lit ¿res on federal land in
2001 and 2006 to protect their property from
wild¿res and invasive plants. The two were con-
victed three years ago and served time — the
father three months, the son one year. But an
appeals court ruled the sentences were too short
under federal law, and a federal judge ordered
them back to prison for about four years each.
Mack backs Palmer in the ongoing investi-
gation into his actions.
“He’s an honorable man who has done noth-
ing wrong.” Mack said.
Dog sees spot
E
veryone knows that dogs and other animals are like early warning signs
for trouble.
So when that Astoria woman called 911 because her dog was staring
at a spot near her house, we totally get her concern.
Nothing screams ‘emergency’ like strange behavior from your pup ...
Follow reporter Kyle Spurr on his 9-1-What? Twitter watch, where a few of
the sometimes head-scratching calls to area dispatch take center stage. The full
feed is at www.twitter.com/9_1_WHAT.
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