Island County deputies needed more than emergency position

As a retired deputy and former detective I am always amazed at the decision making process as it is applied to county law enforcement. Sheriff Brown attempted to curtail cuts to his manpower by doing away with the Director of Emergency Management position held by Mr. Dave Hollet. Some would say that this position is necessary and must be maintained because of all the special skills Mr. Hollet has. Sheriff Brown offered to let one of his lieutentants take on the additional responsibilities now shouldered by Mr. Hollet, which at this time appears to be staying qualified and available for that big emergency. However, Mr. Hollet and his supporters have convinced the commissioners that he is indispensible and should be retained at the cost of two deputies.

December 28, 2009 11:30 am

As a retired deputy and former detective I am always amazed at the decision making process as it is applied to county law enforcement.

Sheriff Brown attempted to curtail cuts to his manpower by doing away with the Director of Emergency Management position held by Mr. Dave Hollet. Some would say that this position is necessary and must be maintained because of all the special skills Mr. Hollet has. Sheriff Brown offered to let one of his lieutentants take on the additional responsibilities now shouldered by Mr. Hollet, which at this time appears to be staying qualified and available for that big emergency. However, Mr. Hollet and his supporters have convinced the commissioners that he is indispensible and should be retained at the cost of two deputies.

Mr. Hollet’s indispensability amazes me since we here in Island County have some of the finest, best equipped, and best trained volunteer firefighters in the state of Washington, led by men with impeccable credentials in positions of chiefs and commissioners. I’m sure that Mr. Hollet’s job could be shouldered by any of them or the group collectively in the event of a countywide emergency but I digress since it appears that ship has sailed.

It now falls to the county commissioners to assist Sheriff Brown in educating the business owners and residents of Island County in how to receive the best care. The commissioners should inform all business owners that they must install and maintain a burglar alarm system, this should also apply to all of the commissioners’ non business owning constituents. This will ensure that the sheriff will only have to respond to in progress crimes and can spend the rest of the time at the office saving gas (no sense being a presence in the community in an effort to prevent crime). The commissioners should also inform those who voted for them that if they or someone they love should fall victim to a domestic assault that it may take a couple of hours for the deputy to respond since he or she may be the only one out and would have to wait for someone to be called into respond as backup since policy (safety) dictates that two law enforcement professionals respond.

These are just a couple of the issues the commissioners must educate the public on now that they have elected to retain Mr. Hollet for the big emergency that?s coming, maybe it will be a tsunami size crime wave! Who knows?

Robert E Clark

Oak Harbor