June 2008

by Mike Coday

The top law enforcement officers in Thurston County came out on May 9th with their “guiding principles” on riot control. Thurston County Sheriff Dan Kimball was quoted in the Olympian newspaper, “People expect us to show leadership, and I think this is a statement of leadership.”

These guiding principles pay lip service to civil liberties, but the only element of these principles that is powerfully stated and unequivocal is that there will be zero tolerance for property damage. These guiding principles suggest that the exercise of our most important civil liberties must be balanced . . .