Very interesting article from the Las Vegas Sun:
Three months after he helped broker an end to a standoff between federal agents and self-ascribed militia members supporting Clark County rancher Cliven Bundy, Sheriff Doug Gillespie is talking publicly about how what started as a cattle roundup nearly led to a bloodbath in his jurisdiction.
And Gillespie lays as much blame on the feds as he does on Bundy and his supporters.
In a meeting Wednesday with the Sun’s editorial board, Gillespie said he initially agreed to a request from Bureau of Land Management officials to assist in the roundup of Bundy’s cattle from public lands after Bundy’s refusal to pay federal grazing fees. But when he learned the feds weren’t being truthful with him and he saw they weren't going to listen to his advice, he told them he wouldn't send his officers to Bundy's ranch near Bunkerville.
"'This is what normally happens,'" Gillespie said, paraphrasing the BLM's conversation with him before the roundup began in April. "'The local sheriff backs out. We know what we're doing.'"
Jeff Krauss, a BLM spokesman in Washington who is handling media inquiries to the agency about Bundy, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Bundy reportedly owed $1 million to the federal government in past-due grazing fees and fines. In turn, BLM agents in early April began rounding up Bundy’s cattle from public lands.
But the roundup soon became about much more than cattle, as evidenced by the many videos still on YouTube.
In one widely viewed video, protesters — some of whom are Bundy's sons, nephews and sisters — are gathered near the ranch. BLM officers are assembled nearby. Their police dogs are barking viciously at the protesters. The officers are heard warning protesters to back away or get bitten. The officers point Taser guns at the protesters. One person is immobilized with a stun gun. The voices of people interviewed on camera are shaky with emotion, indignation and disbelief.
Gillespie says the BLM reaction to the protests was wrong.
"I think if anybody would look at how they handled the protesting with the use of Tasers and police dogs, anyone who had been in policing would question those tactics,” he said. “And I believe that led to the heightened interest and escalating the situation."
In the end, no one was seriously hurt. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2014/jul/02/sheriff-breaks-silence-says-blm-bundy-share-blame-/
I am a huge fan of Sheriff Gillespie. He has an impossible job with a bunch of Monday morning quarterbacks, especially the morons/idiots/mentally challenged on the City of Las Vegas and Clark County commissions. he has shown the patience of Job but is a strong figure in the County, so I believe his version of what happened over anybody else's.
"'This is what normally happens,'" Gillespie said, paraphrasing the BLM's conversation with him before the roundup began in April. "'The local sheriff backs out. We know what we're doing.'"
Jeff Krauss, a BLM spokesman in Washington who is handling media inquiries to the agency about Bundy, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Bundy reportedly owed $1 million to the federal government in past-due grazing fees and fines. In turn, BLM agents in early April began rounding up Bundy’s cattle from public lands.
But the roundup soon became about much more than cattle, as evidenced by the many videos still on YouTube.
In one widely viewed video, protesters — some of whom are Bundy's sons, nephews and sisters — are gathered near the ranch. BLM officers are assembled nearby. Their police dogs are barking viciously at the protesters. The officers are heard warning protesters to back away or get bitten. The officers point Taser guns at the protesters. One person is immobilized with a stun gun. The voices of people interviewed on camera are shaky with emotion, indignation and disbelief.
Gillespie says the BLM reaction to the protests was wrong.
"I think if anybody would look at how they handled the protesting with the use of Tasers and police dogs, anyone who had been in policing would question those tactics,” he said. “And I believe that led to the heightened interest and escalating the situation."
In the end, no one was seriously hurt. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2014/jul/02/sheriff-breaks-silence-says-blm-bundy-share-blame-/
I am a huge fan of Sheriff Gillespie. He has an impossible job with a bunch of Monday morning quarterbacks, especially the morons/idiots/mentally challenged on the City of Las Vegas and Clark County commissions. he has shown the patience of Job but is a strong figure in the County, so I believe his version of what happened over anybody else's.
Any thoughts on who should be his replacement?
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