I have tremendous respect for Snohomish County Sheriff Rick Bart. However, I cannot disagree enough with the decision to eliminate the canine units from his staff. Yes, budgets can be impossible, but this reaches farther than most of us know.
What does this say to the scouts who look forward to the demonstration at their annual Camporama, as well as other community events? What does this say to all the children who participated in the “Pennies for Puppies” program to provide funds to purchase a canine officer? What does this say to the Whidbey Island Kennel Club that provided several thousand dollars to replace canine Officer Recon when he was killed, as well as the refurbishment of a sheriff’s vehicle to accommodate the new canine officer? What does this say to the human officers who might be injured or killed in the line of duty because there is not a canine officer to respond to a situation?
The cost of lawsuits was noted in the article. Everyone makes errors. Are we next going to eliminate the human officer because they make errors under stress? If a person is committing a crime and is hurt by a canine officer in the process, oh well!
I encourage Sheriff Bart to do the right thing and reconsider this decision.
Monroe
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
