Supporting law enforcement officers

This last year has brought a lot of negative publicity to the law enforcement profession. Incidents in Ferguson, Baltimore, Texas, Pasco and many more have been all over the national news. Most of the time we don’t hear all the facts in these cases, just what the media feels is important.

What we also don’t hear much about is the numerous acts of bravery and heroism that are performed by law enforcement personnel every day, and I would suggest that these greatly outnumber the ones that the media chooses to inform us about. Where everything we do is now caught of video, where is all the video of the lifesaving acts performed by police officers all over the country? The media tends to focus on the negative and not the positive.

Are there law enforcement personnel out there committing bad acts? The answer unfortunately is, yes, but these are a small group, by in large law enforcement personnel do make the right decisions in critical situations every day.

When hiring for law enforcement positions most agencies go through stringent background checks, polygraphs and physiological testing, but in the end we are hiring

people, who are not perfect and do make mistakes. There are those times that regardless of all the testing and background checks, people that should not be in law enforcement slip through the cracks, although given the proper training, and necessary resources most law enforcement personnel do make the right decisions.

The citizens of Adams County should be proud of our deputies, corrections staff, dispatchers and Administrative staff.

In my 31 years here in Adams County these are some of the finest, hardworking and dedicated people I have had the opportunity to work with. They really do care about public safety. They live in our communities, are raising their families here and want it to be as safe and crime free as possible. They work less than desirable hours, frequently miss family events, and holidays, and are not recognized enough for the sacrifices they make. Deputies quite often respond to calls by themselves not knowing how long a backup unit may take to arrive if they request one.

Please join me in supporting the Adams County Sheriff’s Office personnel, as these men and women do a job that many people are either unwilling or incapable of performing.

Adams County Sheriff John W Hunt Ritzville