Officer, Taxpayers Deserve Better

In the words of the old movie favorite, “Cool Hand Luke,” Bonner County law enforcement has a failure to communicate - among departments.

As a result, an Oregonian who reportedly shot a sheriff’s deputy Nov. 12 is free. The suspect and his victim are preparing to sue the county. And 38 law officers, past and present, have published a newspaper ad condemning Prosecutor Tevis Hull for the snafu.

Certainly, Hull deserves the lion’s share of blame for suspect Reyham Higgins’ surprising release last fall from Bonner General Hospital. Hull didn’t file charges against the suspect in time (and for that matter still hasn’t).

But the sheriff’s office bears some responsibility, too - for not bird-dogging a case of vital interest to patrol officers. If they’re harmed in the line of duty, deputies should expect their administrators and the county prosecutor to react quickly and cooperate.

Apparently, Hull and Sheriff Chip Roos don’t realize they’re working for the same boss: Bonner County taxpayers. The turf war between their departments has hurt orderly law enforcement and possibly exposed taxpayers to two major lawsuits.

The interdepartmental tension boiled over after Deputy John Givens was shot responding to a dispute near Samuels, about 14 miles north of Sandpoint. Suspect Higgins and his brother reportedly opened fire on Givens and other officers called to the scene by a tenant the Higginses were trying to evict. A bulletproof vest possibly saved Givens’ life.

Givens wounded Reyham Higgins with a shotgun blast.

The prosecutor’s office, which had an investigator at the scene, filed criminal charges against Higgins’ father and his brother. But for some reason didn’t charge the main suspect within the two days permitted by statute. Higgins was freed after being chained to a hospital bed for nine days and has filed a tort claim complaining that he was detained illegally.

Hull has tried to excuse himself by saying that he was waiting for the paperwork from the sheriff’s office. But that argument falls flat. Since a deputy was involved in the gunfight, the investigation had been turned over to the state Criminal Bureau of Investigation. Hull’s office would have found that out if it had tried to find the “missing” paperwork.

Since this case blew up in their faces, the two Bonner County departments have pointed fingers at each other. Hull has accused the sheriff’s office of sloppy work; the officers have complained about the shooting incident and that good cases routinely are plea bargained away.

The sniping makes for interesting newspaper headlines - and advertisements. But poor law enforcement.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = D.F. Oliveria/For the editorial board