Bonneville County Sheriff Election
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(submited by user: vintageport3935)
“I’ve been surprised to not find a posting on here for discussing the upcoming election of the Bonneville County Sheriff. Has anyone noticed who the candidates are? The primaries are approching soon. I would love to give some insight into the upcoming candidates for Sheriff. Lets discuss it and bypass all of the misinformation.”
Thank you, Vintageport3965, for submitting a great topic of interest!
Chief Deputy Paul Wilde recently took over as the new Sheriff for Bonneville county. He took over the position from Sheriff Byron Stommel - who had worked with the Bonneville County Sheriff’s office for over 40 years and Wilde was said to be finishing out the last of Stommel’s term.
I think it is an important question. With the new the term coming to an end and the election coming up, who should take the seat of Sheriff?
I would love to hear from both officers and citizens as to how do you think Paul Wilde has done as Sheriff so far? What have been his strengths and his weaknesses in the role? Also, who are the other candidates and what are their qualifications?
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Comments
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0 
0 Every and I mean EVERY tool or hands on technique the police use is based on the theory of pain compliance.
The idea of hitting someone with a baton is cause them enough pain that they don’t want to get hit again.
The idea of using an arm bar is to cause enough pain in the arm that you’ll give up to stop it from being twisted.
Same with pepper spray.
Even a gun is pain compliance.
Tasers are just another tool only they work much better and usually work the first time. You can hit someone twenty times with a baton and not get much effect.
Furthermore injuries to officers and suspects have decreased dramatically where tasers have been implemented. And thats because tasers work about 99.9% of the time when applied properly (a missed shot with a taser obviously doesn’t work). Other tools have a success rate of about 10-15% and nearly always end up with officers physically fighting with suspect and one or the other usually ends up hurt.
Also, there has not been one single death nationwide attributed to the taser. People are ASSUMING causality when a suspect who later dies was tasered. But the autopsies have failed to link a single one to tasers. And in almost all cases the person who died is found to be massively high on drugs and died of a drug overdose which medically is called excited delirium. You could just as credibly argue that the person died because they breathed air that night, because they ate food, because they drank water, as you can that they died because a taser was used. Tasers are just a coincidental thing that happened to them before they died. Someone may cite the Canadian airport case where an unruly passenger died after being tasered. There is a video but you’ll notice that if you watch the video that the mounties accidentally smother the guy to death. You can even hear the guy taking the video talking about how the tasered man can’t breathe and is being smothered.
Basically my feeling if you can’t tell is that if Wilde is arguing for a relaxed use of tasers then I applaud him for putting the safety of the both the suspects and officers first.
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0 0 what about sheriff,s response v/s actual tasing no increased usage is noted.
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1 0 In the Chatbox today Guest 2858 provided a useful link here: http://www.co.bonneville.id.us/elections/Sample_Ballot.pdf a sample ballot laying out who is running.
Also, for those interested, here is a news report of Paul Wilde running for Sheriff: http://www.kpvi.com/Global/story.asp?S=7964384
It appears the only person opposing Wilde is Terry Kerr for the primaries. The local PR recently ran a story titled “Race issues the crux of candidate’s campaign.” The story says Kerr “is a retired father of two who is married to a black woman.” and that the reason he is running for Sherrif is because of race descrimination against his family. The artlicle also states Kerr doesn’t think he’ll win, nor does he want to be sheriff. He said he’d ask his cousin from Montan to run the department if he wins.
The winner between the two of them will be running against Democratic candidate Laun Cook. Does anyone have any information on Cook?
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0 0 Was/is Laun a deputy Sheriff with Bonneville County?
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0 0 I would like to ask the Sheriff how he will reform the jail. Why do inmates get so much commisary? They shouldn’t get all the food luxuries they get now….but it pads the Sheriff’s Justice Fund. It would be a trade off, but I think they should also get rid of the Cable TV (they charge inmates for this)….the Sheriff should also charge more for medical services (many inmates have alot of money on the books….they should have to pay for medical services first and nachos and candy bars second, IMO).
I would like the PR to ask Sheriff Wilde if he intends to continue the policies of Stommel in this area. Wilde should take the lead from Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, AZ.
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0 0 Personally I think more officers need to be trained in actual “hands on” take down techniques. I can understand sometimes when someone maybe high on drugs and have a little more strength then normal or the perp may have a knife or whatnot and a taser or pepper spray is needed. But the fact is there are way too many out of shape officers out there that can’t stand up to one man (OR woman for that matter) Case in point on the news last night, it took 5 cops to take one lady into custody yesterday. There are a number of easy “take downs” utilizing pressure points and certain wrist grabs that will immediately take a person to the ground without any outside help from fellow officers, yet for some reason law enforcement just doesn’t seem to know about these techniques, or they’d rather take the easy way out by using a taser or pepper spray. I think today’s officers need more “close combat” training and we wouldn’t have people dying left and right from taser injuries.
It’s pretty sad when a single officer can’t subdue a woman on his own. How embarrassing.
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0 0 “Personally I think more officers need to be trained in actual “hands on” take down techniques.”
I know you ment it serously, but it made me laugh seeing that next to your screen name. Of course it would be James Bond who would encourage more hand to hand combat training.
I think the physical fitness of the officers should be manditory for the job. And we should be paying our officers than we do as well. If we want top notch officers, we need to pay to recruit and maintain them. “If you’re only willing to pay K-mart prices, you’re probably going to get K-mart quality.” I think we have a good police force overall (you “can” find the officers who are the exception to that). But that can change over time if we don’t ensure our force has good equipment and good pay.
Currently I think the physical fitness depends on the individual. I’ve seen some impressively in-shape officers around town, but there are a few carrying around a spare tire or two. I hope the higher-ups are talking to those not staying in shape. And I hope we are providing adequate physical weight training facilities for the officres as well.
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0 0 fit doesnt always mean smart ha ha ;0.o0
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0 0 Again I’d challenge anyone to post an article where it shows a death caused by a taser. You won’t find one. What you will find is many articles where someone was tasered and died later that evening. But in EVERY SINGLE ONE of these cases the autopsy found that the person died of other causes, usually a drug overdose. The fact that their adrenaline got going because they were fighting with the police and high on drugs at the same time caused a state caused excited delirium is basically just a fancy term for drug overdose. The fact they got tasered was coincidental and had no more causal effect on their death than their breathing air that night did. What caused their death is they got high on drugs, they fought with police, and their system overloaded on the drugs and adrenaline. There is a whole slew of anti cop literature out there claiming tasers cause death but you’ll see in every one of them they are ASSUMING a causal relationship while ignoring the actual results of the autopsy. They then claim a conspiracy to cover up taser deaths. This conspiracy apparently includes every pathologist who has ever done an autopsy and all the police involved and the code of silence amongst them is apparently extrordinary since they never break ranks.
As to the hands on comment. There will always be people bigger and stronger than you out there. Its ridiculous to expect a 5′10 180 lb cop to go hands on with a 6′4″ 270 lb biker, even if the cop is in shape and the biker is not. Size matters and it matters a lot in fights. And going hands on is risky because hands on techniques do not work on everyone. And injuries to both suspects and officers are massive while using these techniques compared to things like pepper spray and tasers.
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0 0 OMG….are you kidding me Anonymous? I’ve heard of a number of deaths that were related to people being taserd. But just for arguments sake I googled it and came up with a few links.
Now granted, some of those that did die, were high on drugs and/or already had heart conditions. Clearly cardiac arrest is what the usual cause of death was in these cases. However, these people would not have gone into cardiac arrest in the first place if it wasn’t for them being tasered. You and I both know that a taser puts major stress on the heart and it clearly should not be used as frequently as it is. Many of these cases, the person was tasered multiple times. You can’t tell me the taser had nothing to do with these peoples death.
As of november of last year: Amnesty International has reported that, since June 2001, more than 150 people have died in the United States alone after being subdued with a stun gun/taser. The organization has called for police departments to suspend use of the devices pending study of their possible risks.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/11/18/taser.death/
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/10/12/earlyshow/main648859.shtml
There are literally dozens of articles regarding this issue….
As for your other statement about somebody being bigger or stronger, you really should look into this a little more. I’ve taken a few different self defense classes over the years and leared a few moves that anybody can learn to put anyone else, no matter the size on the ground in a matter of seconds. My wife (who’s 5′4″ 105lbs) can put a man over 6ft and 200+ pounds on the ground. She’s done it to me a number of times. 
Anybody that knows anything about self defense will tell you that size has nothing to do with it as long as you know the correct moves,techniques and/or pressure points. And i’m not talking about complicated taekwondo or jujitsu moves that take years of training. In all reality, you can have years of martial arts training and more often than not it won’t help you in real life self defense. Martial arts utilizes your fine motor skills which is why people need to train for years to become proficient. But the fact is, as soon as you’re in a real life “defending your life” situation, your adrenaline kicks in and you lose control of all your fine motor skills. I’ve always assumed i could handle myself with all the years of training in different martial arts I’ve taken but I never needed to use it in a real life situation. About 4 years ago a friend of mine turned me on to close combat training. You can find a number of articles about it online, but I was given information on a man called Captain Chris. He’s trained a number of people over the years from all walks of life and can show you some simple moves that are easily learned which would enable anybody (no matter the size) to put another person on the ground in a matter of seconds. I was hesitant at first because I thought I knew it all and could handle myself, but I ended up purchasing this guys training package and my wife and I studied it from top to bottom. I’m telling you, I wish I had known about this before all those years and money spent on martial arts training. My wife is petite, 5′4″ and 105 lbs and after just a couple weeks of training, she was able to put me on the ground with no problem. (and I’m 6ft 200lbs) Simple education and some short training would be all it takes to educate the police who are there to protect and serve the public. This guy actually goes around the country and trains many police departments on his close combat training course.
The fact of the matter is most cops these days are too afraid to confront a perp face to face, mainly because they don’t have the confidence or the knowledge to put a person on the ground. They’d rather whip out their taser or baton instead. (or pepper spray which usually ends up blowing into the cops eyes anyways.)
I would urge anybody who’s looking for some simple techniques to learn how to be able to defend themselves and their family from anybody at anytime, to seriously look into this course. I actually purchased the complete course a few years ago, but the course is offered now for a try it for free for 30 days deal, which a co-worker of mine mine did last November and she sent it back after 28 days and didn’t pay a dime. I paid 200 bucks for the course almost 4 years ago, but my friend said when she called customer service to get an RA # to return the product, they offered it to her for 99 bucks. Which is a great deal for all the knowledge this guy offers. http://www.closecombattraining.com/cctraining/index.php
Granted there are hundreds of other close combat books, videos and online material out there, but but for 99 bucks, this guy offers a dozen easy to follow dvds and a couple illustrated manuals. It’s well worth the money. And even if you don’t want to spend the money, just order it and return it within the 30 days and only pay 9-10 bucks for return shipping charges. My wife used to be afraid to go out at night by herself being that she’s so petite but not since she learned these moves. This course also shows you numerous techniques on how to disarm and incapacitate someone that’s attacking you with a knife or gun.
I know I sound like a salesman for this company, (sorry about that!) but ever since my wife and I studied this course, we’ve loaned it out to all our friends and family. I just can’t begin to explain the amount of confidence it’s given my wife, myself and everyone we’ve loaned it to.
And the great thing is, you don’t have to be in great shape or really strong to be able to utilize these techniques. Anybody can learn them.
Ok, enough advertising. Its just that I get so excited to talk about this program when I hear people say things like, “he/she have no chance of defending themselves against somebody thats twice their size or twice as strong.” Thats simply not true.
If that link doesnt work, just google Captain Chris Close Combat. Ask cr67 what he thinks about it too. (not that his opinion matters… j/k CR!) As some of you know, he an I work together and I’ve loaned the program to both him and Slim and they both enjoyed it. I’m telling you, knowledge is power, strength and size have absolutely nothing to do with defending yourself.
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0 0 Your comment doesn’t really work for me. If you put up two guys who have had this training you are talking about, then what? A fight to the end (like death or severe hurt)? If you and your wife have both had the training, how is it that she can take you down?
And how many times have you heard the terms “excessive force” and “police brutality”? These are usually used when the police have taken someone down by force. For some reason, the public does not look favorably upon the police when someone gets physically hurt.
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0 0 So just use tasers in correctional facilities (at least ones where inmates can’t buy drugs) and shoot the people who are high on drugs (in the knees, of course). LOL JK!!!
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0 0 Don’t sweat it bond…..people would rather dismiss your claims than actually look into to it for themselves to see if it’s valid or not.
I agree though, cops use tasers way too frequently.
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0 0 one more thing…..I guess tasering somebody and having them die as a result….no, that wouldn’t be considered “excessive force” huh? Ok.
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0 0 http://wcco.com/local/taser.death.minnesota.2.719111.html
Interesting article on the use of tasers by Minnesota State Patrol. A guy died after tasers were deployed. No charges filed. Albeit the guy had some cocaine and prescription drugs in his system. Sad story but tasers should remain in use….but kind of like a bean bag gun, a supervisor should be involved to activate deployment.
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0 0 I also think they should remain in use, I just think their used too frequently.
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0 0 “The fact of the matter is most cops these days are too afraid to confront a perp face to face, mainly because they don’t have the confidence or the knowledge to put a person on the ground. They’d rather whip out their taser or baton instead. (or pepper spray which usually ends up blowing into the cops eyes anyways.)”
The REAL Fact of the matter is the officer doesn’t want to get hurt if he doesn’t have to. Here’s a requirement in police work. You have to be at 100 % health. If you get hurt to where you’ll never be at 100 % health then goodbye to your career. If you get a broken arm, or even a sprained ankle, you’re no good on the street until you are healed. How many jobs out there have this requirement? Not too many.
Police brutality is easier to claim by going hands on than it is using a taser. If you have an effective device that will not only keep you from being harmed, but also the person wanting to fight you, then why not use it? The police are trained to be one level above the aggressor. So if someone wants to fight “hands on” then of course they are going to use the taser, baton, or pepper spray. Let’s keep one fact in mind too. None of these devices gets used when a person cooperates.
So how exactly does your super training hold up to people on Meth or PCP? Have you ever fought a person cranked up on these drugs? If so you would know pressure points don’t work. That’s why these two drugs have the nick name of the superman drug. I saw a video from a friend of mine who works for the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office. On the video was male cranked up on Meth. You see the male actually pull a traffic sign out of the ground with the cement still attached to the bottom of it. If I hadn’t of seen this video I would have said yeah right. I doubt your 5’4”, 105, wife would have been able to take that guy on. It took 9 cops just to bring him down.
Also how good is close quarter combat going to be when you’re facing a 6’5” or taller person? Close quarter combat is merely that. You have to factor in the reach of this person. You may not even get a chance of getting close to this person without taking a few hits before you even get close. And that’s saying if you were able to get in close amongst the punches being thrown at you.
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0 0 its obvious theres no debating with anonymous, she’s always right so theres no point.
and your right, i have a hard time believing somebody pulling a sign out of the ground with the concrete still attached. I did meth back in the day and it doesnt give you “super strength”, yeah it gives you a lot of energy, but it doesnt make you “stronger”. seems somebody has been watching too many propaganda films.
now….can’t we all just get along?
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0 0 Jamison,
First of all I am not a female. Second of all that was not TV I was watching. As previously stated it was from a Canyon County Deputy’s Video Camera. I saw the video that he had recorded from that night. So this was no TV trick.
Obviously Meth can give people more strength than the average person due to the fact the guy pulled the sign right out of the ground. But I’m sure you have a perfectly good explanation for that one don’t you? Also don’t try and tell everyone to get along when you are blatantly accusing people of being “always right”.
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0 0 police should never engage in hand to hand combat[fighting].to much risk of losing then what? to late to tase.[tase me bro!]
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0 0 How did the topic of the Bonneville County Sheriff election turn into a taser discussion. Find some information on use of force and then use some common sense.
Lets discuss our candidates for Sheriff. Who are these men and what are their qualifications? Does the public of Bonneville County know?
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0 0 Thats the problem when there is more than one “Anonymous”. Those with screen names “Anonymous” should label themselves Anonymous-1 , 2, etc.
It gets kinda confusing when somebody thinks their replying to one person when its actually another.
just a thought.
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0 0 “How did the topic of the Bonneville County Sheriff election turn into a taser discussion.”
It is my understanding that a County Sheriff aides in the guidelines and standards that are used inside a county. As I stated in my first comment (comment #1), personally, I feel this IS an important issue in the sheriff’s race. How better to learn about the candidate than to understand their views on important topics. I feel that tasers are an issue. As such, I took the time to attend a precinct meeting where Wilde was sworn in and took the time to ask his stance on an issue. If you do not like the topic of tasers, great, think it out, research it, and call up the candidates to ask them there stance on the issue of importance to you and post about it here!
Anonymous, in comment # 2, you stated, “Every and I mean EVERY tool or hands on technique the police use is based on the theory of pain compliance.” Article 8 of the Bill of Rights states that no cruel and unusual punishment shall be inflicted. Certainly, there are instances where I too feel a taser is beneficial; however, I have becomed alarmed at the level of increased usage of tasers in what I feel are un-threatening circumstances. A few examples:
1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMaMYL_shxc
In this YouTube video you will see a young father being tasered simply because he disagrees with the officer and refuses to sign a ticket. The father (non-violent) walks away from the officer and gets “tased”. Was this really necessary?
2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqAVvlyVbag
Even if you think the students questions were inappropriate, rude, etc., does it justify tasering? Notice that Kerry’s first response (at about 1:35 seconds) is, “That’s alright, let me answer his question,” yet the officers, pull the student aside and we end up with the now infamous “Don’t tase me bro!”
3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g7zlJx9u2E
How about this crazy video from UCLA where a man is tasers over and over and over again! Is this really neccessary?
I see instances like the above and I fear that officers in our country are using tasers as a first reaction that I feel constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.
I understand some of you feel that tasers cannot and do not cause death. Are you aware that Taser, Inc. has a huge legal council which has recently won a ruling stating that corinors (sp?) cannot use the terminallagy of “taser” in their autopsy reports? (See: http://www.infowars.com/?p=2022). How about we let the doctors perform their autopsy (sp?) and let a jury decide as the constitution dictates?
This link is an archive of 2004-2005 unusual taser incidents: http://www.infowars.com/subject_archives/ps/tasers_archive.htm
A study by Amnisty Internation on tasers: http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/usa/Taser_report.pdf
Another site with numerous articles and videos regarding tasers: http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/usa/Taser_report.pdf
Obviously, I have my own opinion on law enforcements taser usage. I feel this is an important issue for our Sheriff’s office. Obviously, I would rather a man be tased than shot & killed; but, I fear that tasers are becoming a first result/reaction that can and has let to death in some instances.
Thanks for all the good comments/responses!
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0 0 I want to apologize to all the participants in this topic for my mostly anonymous name. I have some first hand experience with the candidates in this up-coming race and I hoped to promote a discussion based on truth about each. Because of my close proximity and the fact that I have a good job and bills to pay, I have chosen to post under this name.
I have heard and read some things by some of the candidates that are untrue and misleading. I would hope to shed some light and gain other’s perspectives through this forum.
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0 0 I only know Paul Wilde, and that’s good enough for me. That’s how I’m rolling!
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0 0 Clarification -
I do not know Wilde except for my one experience asking him a simple question when he was made Sheriff. I do not know the other candidates either. I do not think Wilde believes that tasers are the answer to all problems. I was just shocked to learn that my interpretation on the use of tasers (that of being a last resort before lethal force) was wrong. I have nothing against Wilde. I just thought this might be a healthy place to discuss taser use, and also thought we might have a good discussion of how we can influence our county Sheriff in their usage where we live. The last thing I want is to get tasered in a “speed trap”.
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0 0 lol I hear ya T!
I also think there has been a lot of instances where tasers have been used unnecessarily. Remember that college kid who was trying to ask one of the candidates a question and the cops tasered him? I mean C’mon! That was not even called for. Point i’m trying to make is, instances like this one happen all too often imo.
(just to clarify for crystal and others who like to bash my comments: sorry if I don’t know the gentlemans name, date of birth, location of incident and what date it happened….I’m merely stating my opinion)
for entertainment purposes only.
Side effects to include but not limited to, rash, skin irritation, upset stomach, rectal itching, blurry vision, lupus, chocolate consumption or a sudden urge to gamble, sensitivity to light, sensitivity to sound, fear of hamsters, extreme dry mouth, incontinence, dry feet, wet knees, and dizziness. Please do not operate machinery while reading my comments.)
that should about cover it!
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0 0 CR67,
The video of the instance you are referring to is the same instance I refer to in my post # 24, point #2; the speaker was John Kerry. As a side point, today I heard the story of the Hungarian studnet who threw eggs as Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer (watch the video here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=mtBQ4UCXQeo ). Isn’t it interesting that Ballmer received the triple-egg-throw treatment, yet there were no police officers on hand to “tase” the kid. I can only imagine if this happened at one of our universities. There would have been 15 cops on the scene within .25 seconds of the first egg throw. By the time he threw the second egg, they would have tased him. By the thrid egg, they would have been pounding the kid to death with their clubs. Hmmm . . . interesting . . . What would our Sheriff candidates say? Does egg throwing constitute a good tasering?? Wilde, are you available to give us your answer?
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0 0 “Don’t taze me bro!”
This is a sad example in America today of how someone violates someone else’s rights and then claims police brutality when the police step in and they resist arrest.
The guy obviously went there to cause a scene. He even took his own video camera which he handed off for someone to record for him so he could get his moment of fame on tape.
Wikipedia has a pretty detailed report on what happened. It says:
“it was announced by former Ambassador Dennis Jett, a University of Florida political science instructor and the forum’s moderator,[9] that one more question would be taken from the microphone on the right as seen from the stage. Meyer then grabbed the second microphone, on the left, which had been shut off, and loudly demanded he be allowed to ask a question. Meyer reportedly yelled, “Why don’t you answer my questions, I have been waiting and listening to you speak in circles for the last two hours.” “These officers are going to arrest me”, “You will take my question because I have been listening to your crap for two hours”.[10] When an officer intervened, attempted to cut Meyer off, and attempted to escort Meyer out of the hall, Meyer then broke away and continued to shout. Kerry then intervened and requested that Meyer be allowed to ask a question. Meyer was then brought back to the microphone with police officers on either side of him.[11]
Meyer then handed his camera to the woman who was standing in front of him in line (later identified as Clarissa Jessup) and requested that she record him. Kerry then finished answering a previous question, Meyer was then recognized by Kerry to ask a question.
…
After Meyer used vulgar language in one of his questions his microphone was cut off. Steven Blank, ACCENT chairman, said, “We make it clear that any profanity and vulgarity by anyone asking questions will result in a cutting off of the mic.”
You can see a video of the actual events here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7Qef8oPmag&NR=1
After the profanity, just off to the right of the camera you can see the person moderating who was working with the officers instruct the A/V tech to cut the microphone – at which point the officers stepped in to escort Myers out.
I find it interesting that several other videos, including the one by Myers himself, have the portion deleted of Myers resisting arrest by trying to escape the officers and run away down a side isle after being escorted to the back of the room.
It was only after this that Myers was pulled to the ground and asked to turn over so they could handcuff him. And only after resistance of that that the officers finally used a tazor. In the video you can hear the officer warn him if he does not comply that he will be tazored.
When someone is at an organized event, and another person tries to disrupt the event I’m glad we have the law enforcement available to help the event continue as it was organized. And I find it ludicrous that someone who takes action like this throws their hands up in the air and shouts “why do their have to be consequences to my disturbing is event.” Then while resisting arrest, they get upset for the consequences of resisting arrest.
By the way, I don’t think the Microsoft guy would have been tazored. He was complying in leaving. The reason Myers got tazored is because he refused to leave. Watch the video. It’s all very obvious as to why it happened.
But what the Microsoft man did was assault. I hope they throw him in jail for as long as they can. These same people could have set up their soapbox anywhere and shouted whatever they wanted to shout. That’s free speech! But disrupting other people and is uncalled for.
I applaud the officers for how they handled the difficult Myers this situation.
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0 0 Whats with the tazer issue?
Have we ever had anything like you have described happen in this community? Have you ever taken a stun from one? Much of what is said is misinformative and wrong.
Now, Sheriff Wilde is one of the republican candidates on the ticket in the primaries this next tuesday. I have the utmost repect for Sheriff Wilde and I can give many examples of my reasons for this.
The other republican candidate on tuesdays primary ticket is Mr. Kerr. I know very little of Mr. Kerr but I will say that his accusations toward the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office in the area of prejudice are grossly mis-stated. A candidate who runs for office and at the same time says he doesn’t want to be in that office heeds little respect. Not to mention he says he knows nothing about being a Sheriff and would have his brother run the office. What????
The third candidate who is running and apparently flying the Democratic colors is Mr. Laun Cook. He is a Deputy for Bonneville County and has been for probably seventeen years. If you haven’t, go to http://www.launcook.com and read his platform as a candidate. I would like to read some input from all of you about this web site before I make any comments as there are many things there that I find sadly incorrect.
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0 0 Vintageport - Thank you for pointing out who the other candidate is and the link to his website. What is incorrect? I agree that we need a cyber crimes unit. Those of us who don’t work with BCSO don’t know what’s correct and what isn’t. It is my understanding that they aren’t funded to hire more deputies, is this accurate? If not, what can be done about it? I would like to see increased patrols in the outlying communities as well but I understand also that outlying communities aren’t really working with the Sheriff’s office on this. So how does Paul Wilde intend to help resolve this problem? What does Paul Wilde intend to do different/better if elected? His name is known but beyond the fact that he’s been with BCSO for a long time and Stommel wants him to take over his seat, I don’t know a lot about him. Another thing I’d like to see is better communication between BCSO and county residents. Does Paul Wilde have a website address we can visit?
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0 0 And one more question sorry, but what do Paul Wilde and Laun Cook consider to be their greatest strengths/weaknesses? That question was asked early on but we haven’t gotten any response on that either. Thanks.
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0 0 Now is the time for both candidates to address this forum and let the public know what they intend to do if they are elected. Frequently in these type of positions it is the person who’s name is known that will get elected, rather than the person who has the ability to do the job and do it right.
Having worked with both candidates they both have admirable traits and both could do a good job. But we as a public need someone in the position that will excel and do an excellent job for Law Enforcement and the community.
You can argue that Wilde who was taken under the wing of Stommel might possess some of the same traits that Stommel possessed. Many were glad to see Stommel leave as he had poor relations with many of the Mayors, Council Members of the Cities and was frequently known for pushing his weight around.
Cook could be described as a road officer who has some background in the basics of Police Work, however from reading his resume on his web page does not have anything that would assist him in Administrative Duties.
There is concern from the officers of the BCSO about wages and morale. Too many think that throwing money at the situation will make it better. Frequently officers who are happy and have support from their leaders will work at a lower wage due to the treatment. However during Stommels tenure many have left to go to other agencies due to mis-treatment and poor conditions.
Again as a member of the public we have to ask why is the Sheriffs Office making purchases of large SUVs for a large part of the Department. These are very expensive to initially purchase, equip and then nearing 4.00 a gallon of gas it is very expensive to put gas in. The public will be told that they are needed for the back country deputies which is correct, but when you see the Ammon Contract Officers and the Dog Catcher having these type of vehicles when other Departments purchase vehicles that are less expensive and conserve gasoline. We all want to save dollars, maybe the candidates can give us an idea of what the yearly expenditures are for salaries, vehicles, equipment, jail, training and some of the more common areas?
I would like to see the candidates talk about some of the problems that they have encountered with problem officers and how they corrected the issue. There are many things that go on that the public does not know about that are solved by civil litigiation that the public has to pay for.
Does either candidate intend on bring together local tasks forces to address the DUI/Traffic Problems, Sexual Assault Cases, Drug and Narcotics and so forth. Many other jurisidictions have programs that are extremely sucessful and have high praise from the public. Unfortunately too many Law Enforcement agencies heard Stommel say stay out of my county. He did not like the idea of multi jurisdictional programs and as a result Bonneville County has one of the highest traffic accident and Death rates of a County of this size. Does either candidate endorse Stommels way of suggesting that his officers only give warnings on traffic violations. This is an easy way to say do not rock the boat because an election is coming up. As a result many people have been killed in traffic accidents in the County and many more seriously injured due to the lack of attention placed on enforcing the laws. Complete statistics can be located at the Department of Transportation Site.
Lets hear from the candidates and encourage all three to discuss in this forum and others what they stand for and how they can make a postive change in Bonneville County.
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0 0 My concern is that Stommel was quick to endorse Wilde. I won’t suggest that Stommel was all bad and he definitely did a lot of good things as Sheriff. He also made a lot of mistakes and could not bring himself to admit to those. His attitude towards others was certainly a stumbling block for him. As I recall one example was with the elections for council and mayor of Ammon; he literally and publicly threatened the voters into voting for whom he would be willing to work with and made it abundantly clear that he would not work with Ammon residents if they voted in such a way that he considered unacceptable. Another was when Livesay left and Stommel publicly denounced him. This was highly unprofessional no matter how you view Livesay. I don’t know Wilde personally and know little about him, but as Stommel was quick to point out, he “groomed” Wilde and I’m not convinced that’s a good thing. Stommel had the ability to see a barney where a mere mole existed with citizens as well as with situations among his peers and the communities he was elected to serve. To suggest he threw his weight around underestimates his actions. I have heard rumblings of bigotry existing in the office as well. If this is correct, what will be done about this? My question is what changes will Wilde bring to the table? Is his general attitude similar to Stommel’s or will he strive for improvements and work with the public and not just whom he deems worthy? Along the same lines, what will Cook bring to the table? Experience is certainly helpful, but not all that is needed.
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0 1 Sheriff Paul Wilde is not Byron Stommel and it is unfair to even suggest the comparison. I can say that for the first time in a long time I truly feel that the door to the Sheriff’s Office is open to all. Sheriff Wilde has open ears and open eyes. He has a positive “move forward” attitude that is apparent at every opportunity one has to speak with him.
Honestly, I had to look up the definition of bigotry and can say that it in no way relates to the current Sheriff. Don’t get me wrong, Sheriff Wilde will point out mistakes that his people make but he is fair. Yes, he has been with Bonneville County for many years and in those years, he has fulfilled many assignments professionally and capably. He has worked patrol, detectives, neighborhood watch, public relations officer, Detective supervisor, jail administration, chief deputy and now Sheriff. Not to mention others. He has many positive plans for the Sheriff’s Office but like all things, change does not happen over night.
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The Sheriff’s Office meets and exceeds state required correctional facility requirements. The staff there is exemplary.
Laun Cook - Candidate. (Bigotry?) I have a lot of heartburn over his web site and the things he claims there. It is true that the Sheriff’s Office has lost several officers over the years. There was a tremendous negativity that ran through the office for a time which was mainly caused by a few individuals who are no longer employed there and some who still are. It was mostly over wages. This is not a quick fix and is something that Sheriff Wilde has said he will continually work on.
Cook claims that the Sheriff’s Office used to be a place where deputies went to work proud and eager to being a department where the morale is as low as he has seen it. I still go to work proud after a lot of years because I know that I serve a great community. I think every uniform we have is proud of the job they do and the service they provide even if they do make a few dollars less than an Idaho Falls City police officer. I don’t agree with his claims of poor management. I will say that I have seen a lot of negativity from Cook and I have seen him lower morale in groups of deputies he worked with.
Don’t get me wrong, Cook is a very capable patrol officer and I have never seen him shrink from responsibilty but many employees have found him difficult to work with and extremely negative in his attitude and demeanor.
His claim that deputies dont have time to follow up on their own cases is untrue and unfair to some of the deputies that work very hard to do so.
The Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office has always done effective law enforcement and to say we need to get back to it, is a black eye to everyone who works there.
Traffic enforcement - The Sheriff’s Office works very hard at this. Many straight forward and fair traffic citations are written every month by road deputies. You may not get a ticket for driving 5 over the speed limit as you might in the city of Idaho Falls but deputies focus on this problem. The traffic division deputy works incredibly hard on this and there have been several aggressive driving task force hours worked.
We operate with the same amount of narcotics officers as we did 17 years ago - false.
To say that the Sheriff’s lacks experience in investigations is wrong. The office has several experienced, dedicated and talented detectives that took this statement very hard. Cook has NEVER been a detective. Property crimes not worked like they should be? He should walk into the Detectives office and tell them this personally and see the response he gets. The statements he makes about cyber crimes and sex crimes, I would say he is quoting one man’s interests there. There is a task force on sex crimes, there is a task force for narcotics and traffic offenses are a priority.
The Sheriff’s Office has several four wheel drive patrol vehicles with questionable mileage. You have to take into consideration what is available and what can really do the job that law enforcement does on a daily basis when you consider this. The public wants capable service and the Sheriff’s Office stives to provide this with personnel and equipment and this includes vehicles.
Cook says things are not well with the Sheriff’s Office. He is wrong. Things are changing for the Sheriff’s Office and I beleive for the better.
He states that the Sheriff’s Office has declined under ineffective leadership and hints towards the current Sheriff Wilde. Sheriff Wilde is a leader and is not affraid to roll up his sleeves and dig in right along with his people from my experience.
Cook is not a motivator. He is good at pointing out the negative and tearing people down. He says he will hire more people to place in many task forces and divisions. If this was so easy, it would have been done. Money for the Office is an issue but it is strangled by the noose of the county justice fund.
Cook won’t walk into the office and clean it up like Dodge City even if he says so.
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0 0 That’s good to hear and I thank you for sharing your information.
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0 0 I am Sheriff Wilde and I have approved this message. (comment 35)
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0 0 lol Guest House. And I too, say thanks Vintageport. Locally, this is one of the most important issues on the table as far as I’m concerned. I appreciate you shedding some light on the subject.
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0 0 Guest House is like one of those kids in high school that never had anything intelligent to say but loved to make fun of those who did. Come on, you remember them.
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0 0 I didn’t take his comment as making fun of anybody. It appeared to me that it was only a joke, which is what seems “why what” thought as well. Geez, lighten up a little.
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0 0 Just when I think things have calmed down a bit. The extreme sensitivity of some posters just amazes me. GuestHouse directed no rude comments towards anybody, yet a joke (which was pretty funny to me) still managed to bother someone. Incredible. I honestly don’t know how some of you make it in the real world.
I think the poster that didn’t like the joke was one of those kids in high school that ran home and cried to mommy everytime somebody teased them on the school bus, you know the ones I’m talking about.
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0 0 Facts the Readers should know:
[Content removed by moderator - this forum has a history of allowing anonymous posts. Attempting to reveal the specific identity of an anonymous user is not appropriate.]
I thank him for his service, his opinion, and for bringing up a very important topic, that of the election of Sheriff. It is very important for a democracy to have choices. There has been no choices in the Sheriff’s Office for a number of years. Appointing a Sheriff is not the democratic process by which our elections are supposed to work. I wish to preserve the democratic process. I offer a point of view and a choice that is not administrative.
I gather from his comments, that vintageport supports the appointee, Paul Wilde who is also a very fine administrator.
Vintageport … is not law enforcement certified. He has never done any law enforcement. He has never supervised Cook. He has never worked with Cook. He has never so much as had more than a brief conversation with Cook.
As officers, we take an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution. One of our basic rights as citizens, is to run for public office, and freedom of speach. I sincerely apologize vintageport if I have offended you by running for office.
Statements on my web site that vi
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An issue I feel of importance with the sheriff’s office is pertaining to the (national) increase in the use of tasers. It has been my understanding that a tasers purpose was to be a last resort before use of lethal force. However, at the city council meeting where Wilde assumed his current position I inquired as to the tasers place here in Bonneville county. He told me that my view was incorrect and that a taser can be used by an officer any time he feels there is uncompliance. (Those may not be his exact words as I am not lucky enough to have a photographic memory.)
Could this not be defined as “pain compliance”?
If you do not feel taser use is an issue just google the words “taser & death” and see what you find.
Am I making much ado about nothing or does anybody else find these tasers alarming?