Page 16
The INDEPENDENT, October 5, 2011
Sheriff Dickerson clarifies statements recently made to media
Columbia County Sheriff Jeff
Dickerson recently released
the following clarifying state-
ments regarding previous
statements made about the de-
partment’s budget cuts and the
need for protection in rural ar-
eas:
In an interview with a news-
paper reported, I was asked if
people will be “unprotected”
without enough deputies to pa-
trol Columbia County. My re-
sponse is that there are never
enough deputies to “protect”
citizens across the 657 square
miles of our county, and that if
we had more deputies, we
might be able to better deter
crime in those areas. I was
asked how a person could de-
ter crime in the absence of
more patrols. My response was
that people should invest in
home security items, make
sure they know the serial num-
bers of their valuables and, if
someone was threatening their
lives, a shotgun loaded with
.00-buckshot is a good deter-
rent.
I also said that in the rural
areas of Columbia County,
guns are a way of life, and that
most people know how to de-
fend themselves from those
who would threaten them.
Later, when asked for clarifi-
cation, by a television reporter,
I told him that I was in no way
advocating citizens taking up
guns and trying to enforce the
law themselves. And that, if a
citizen was seeking to arm him
or herself as a means of self-
defense, that they should be
trained in the proper use of the
gun.
This is merely following the
advice of state law when it
comes to getting a concealed
weapons permit. This is com-
mon sense, too.
I am a supporter of the 2nd
amendment in the Bill of
Rights, and believe that an
armed citizenry is better-pre-
pared to face those who threat-
en the life-safety of people than
a disarmed one would be. As
Sheriff, it is my duty both to en-
force the law – and to work with
the law abiding citizens of our
county to conserve the peace
and ensure tranquil communi-
ties. Unfortunately, there are
threats to that peace in this
county, and our deputies can-
not be everywhere at once. A
citizen who wishes to be armed
for protection is granted that
right by our Constitution, un-
less his or her behavior has led
to a forfeiture of that right.
Sheriffs over the years have
had detectives assigned to in-
vestigate crimes, until 2009,
when budget cuts were made
to eliminate those positions.
Now that we have gotten down
so far in our sworn enforce-
ment numbers, I have made a
tactical decision to make one of
our five deputies a detective,
believing we will get better in-
vestigations by having that in-
vestigator and gain much more
than we lose by keeping that
deputy on the road. Even with
five deputies, we still can’t go
to all the calls we get (25 per
day). Triaging the most serious
calls and following up with a
detective is what makes the
See Sheriff on page 18
Just for Fun
Casey and Kyle by Will Robertson
There is no
business in
the world
so trouble-
some as
the pursuit
of fame: life
is over be-
fore
you
have hardly
begun your
work.
Solve this Sudoku
Add fall
color to
t h i s t re e
Answer to September 21
Sudoku is on page 22
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BRUYÉRE
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