March 31, 2011
Teresa Raaf,
Supervisor Malheur National Forest Patterson Bridge Road John Day, Oregon 97845
Ms. Raaf,
Regarding the pending cooperative policing agreement between the US Forest Service and the Grant County Sheriff, I am advising you in writing that I will not be signing the agreement. I do not believe that it is in the best interest of the people I serve or the Grant County Sheriff’s Office to continue with the agreement. There are several issues that I will bring to your attention that at this point I will not go into detail about. The issues include, but are not limited to, how US Forest Service LEO’s treated citizens of this county in October and November of 2010, Travel Management Plan, illegal road closures, grazing, logging, wood permits, prescribed burns, unemployment and other socio-economic issues this community faces today. There is a general mistrust of the federal government by the people of this County, State and Nation. You are aware that I had sent at least two requests to the US Forest Service asking for information that pertains to where the US Forest Service gets its Constitutional authority to have law enforcement officers within Grant County. One response that I have received in writing is that their authority is given through the Cooperative Policing Agreement that this agency has signed in the past. Upon asking for clarification and a second request, the response was that I needed to check with my District Attorney. Neither response in my opinion is adequate. Under Article 1 Section 8 of the United States Constitution, the federal government is limited in its powers and authority. Your jurisdiction as I see it is limited in nature to the Federal Building in John Day. Within the confines of Grant County, Oregon, the duties and responsibility of law enforcement will rest with the County Sheriff and his designees.
Sincerely, Glenn E. Palmer
Sheriff for Grant County
cc: Grant County County Court Grant County Forest Commission Walt Merritt (via fax)
