Elected through Terror

Untitled Part 31

When I first came into the office to orient myself with the Sheriff's Office, the Sheriff showed me a letter of complaint he had received against one of the Deputies from the Rajneesh Chief of Police. He said I get these all the time.

I asked if he was going to answer it, and he said no.

The letter ended with how wonderful it was to be a Chief of Police in a crime free community that is so much greater than what we had to see. It was a common statement, he said, and it came in every letter.

I only had a few letters that came into my Office from the Chief in regards to my deputies' actions. I always answered them.

I remembered one, in particular, that came in concerning a deputy's driving too fast on the county road going through the property.

It seems that he was driving along the road and one of the Rajneesh was driving in front of him – adhering 'to the speed limit of 25.' The deputy had the nerve to pass the Rajneesh and put everyone's life in danger.

I talked to the deputy. He said that the car was going around 15 to 20 mph, but where he passed her was in a wide spot in the road and he had plenty of room and visibility to pass safely.

He believed the driver was intentionally trying to slow him down and interfere with him.

I wrote back to the Chief that I had discussed it with my deputy. He told me that the car was going too slow and was hampering him in his official duties; he was able to pass her in a safe location and did so safely.

I also told her if we had any further incidents of this nature the deputies were instructed to issue citations and/or make arrests.

We never had another incident of that nature.

I found, at least in things involving my Office, that if we were able to show that we knew what we were talking about and were willing to take action, they backed off.