By Eric Valentine
An effort by the Ketchum City Council to publicly discuss the hot-button issue of policing tactics and other law enforcement policies is being met with criticism by Blaine County Sheriff Steve Harkins. But not because of anything to do with the controversial topic itself.
On Friday, July 10, Harkins penned a 752-word post on his personal Facebook page clarifying and correcting a story that ran in the Mountain Express newspaper the same day. The article (Sheriff declines Ketchum’s invite for public discussion on police practices) claimed as its headline suggests that the incumbent sheriff was skirting around the issues raised by the Black Lives Matter movement, which council members put on their regular meeting agenda to discuss with the public and the Ketchum Police Department (which is operated by the county sheriff’s office).
A Shot At The Sheriff
According to the article, council members Amanda Breen and Courtney Hamilton expressed “disappointment” that Harkins asked to meet in private with a portion of the council first before having a public discussion. The article went on to quote Harkins from 2017 around the time he was sworn into office: “I work for the citizens of Blaine County, and building trust and transparency will always be a priority for me.”
Translation: Now more than ever, the politicians setting policy are expecting—at the very least—the optics of police transparency.
She Said, Sheriff Said
The article went on to state that, ,according to Breen, the presence of the press was at least part of the reason Harkins declined to speak at the Ketchum City Council session “after a reporter with the Mountain Express requested to be invited to the private meeting,” the article stated.
Harkins refuted that particular claim in his Facebook post.
“I am not sure what private meeting Councilwoman Breen is referring to about where a reporter was refused access,” Harkins said.
Harkins claims the Ketchum City Council put the issue on the agenda without asking him (which they have the right to do), but given the national climate surrounding law enforcement practices, it would be best, he believed, to first have a private conversation.
“Our response to Mayor Bradshaw was we have found these meetings (specifically, public discussions regarding the police) are sometimes not constructive or reported accurately. I have seen these local and national discussions take place and it is a ‘no win’ for the police. A recent comment said if I knew a trap was there, why would I step in it? Very true.”
Harkins did not stop there in his analysis of the matter. What follows is a summary of the sheriff’s other points of contention.
1. Harkins stated in his post that upon Breen and Hamilton’s election, he invited them to meet with him to discuss all things policing. Harkins said his recollection is that Breen said thanks but never followed up and that Hamilton never responded at all.
2. Harkins said he respects the Mountain Express publisher and appreciates the paper’s efforts to keep the community informed, but added that he hopes it would do more to “unite our community.”
3. Harkins defended his commitment to transparency and reinforced his commitment to change. “I will always support having discussions about change. We make changes every day at your sheriff’s office that makes our community a safer and a better place,” Harkins wrote.
4. Harkins also drew a line in the sand between the cringing policing methods the nation has seen carried out and what he says folks in the Valley receive. “Please support our local police. We are not Minneapolis, we are Blaine County. We have shown our community what good, trusted and professional law enforcement is and have done so for many years,” the sheriff said.
