Editor:
Before Larry Berger writes a letter to the editor, he needs to get his facts straight.
First, Sheriff Spruell is standing up for the citizens of Montezuma County, which has not been done by previous sheriffs for many years.
Second, Sheriff Spruell told the Forest Service if they closed a Forest Service road illegally, then he would take law enforcement action; he did not say he would arrest them for doing their job legally.
Third, Sheriff Spruell did not fire the deputy who was making remarks on a social media website; the deputy resigned from his position.
Fourth, Sheriff Spruell has never said that he will not enforce the new gun laws; he stated it will be hard to enforce the new gun laws. How will law enforcement officers be able to determine when an over-capacity magazine was purchased, when there is no manufacture date or purchase date on the magazine.
Fifth: Yes, law enforcement officers have the power to arrest individuals for crimes they commit, but it is not law enforcement that changes a person’s life; it is the actions that person chose that change their life. If a law enforcement officer changes a person’s life, it is because the law enforcement officer tried to lead the individual on the right path from which they are going.
Sixth: Sheriff Spruell does do background checks on every employee before they are hired with the sheriff’s office. The two prior employees you are speaking of were hired by prior administrations and kept their positions or were promoted within the agency.
Lastly, when you have around 80 employees, unfortunately one or more of them will make a bad judgment in their career. I, for one, am proud to live in Montezuma County with a sheriff that will stand up for citizens.
Chelsea Philpott
Montezuma County