“I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy.” The Eric Clapton song seems to be the refrain of Charles Hamby and his posse of rhetorical assassins bent on lobbing lies and distortions in the direction of Sheriff Sean Smith. Personal attacks are the refuge of those lacking ideas and vision. Not so incidentally, those attacks shoot the deputy. Attacking the head damages the body of good folks who work for the department.
The La Plata County Sheriff’s Office is made up of folks doing a difficult and often thankless job well. Morale is high, as is performance, traits that trend from the top: Sean Smith.
Ask anyone: citizens, inmates, deputies. All these folks will tell you that Sheriff Smith listens and works tirelessly to solve problems.
There is a new sheriff in town. There has been for a refreshing four years. This man is the epitome of integrity and service.
Apparently, integrity and decency threaten some folks. Don’t fall for the propaganda.
Sean Smith succeeded a man who held court in a pawn shop, not a court of law. Sean is open to every citizen. He has transformed a moribund department and brought it into the 21st century. He has proactively managed our homeless problem while local officials sat on their hands.
Like my grandpappy used to say, “There’s two kinds of folks in the world; them’s that do, and them’s that complain about them’s that do.” Sean Smith is one of them’s that do.
Patrick Owens
Durango
