Editor, The Smithfield Times:

At a contentious Oct. 3 meeting of the Surry County Board of Supervisors, Chairman Robert Elliott threatened to have the sheriff’s department remove critics from the meeting room.  

At the Nov. 7 meeting, I shared with the board that sheriff’s conference attendees were trained NOT to remove citizens who were not breaking the law.  One sheriff from a nearby locality told me, “That is a direct violation of your First Amendment (rights), especially at a public meeting.” I publicly asked Ms. Lola Perkins (legal counsel to Surry County) and Carlos Turner (our sheriff) to ensure that illegal orders or instructions are not obeyed.

The chair doubled down, countering that he has a duty to maintain order. On that issue he is correct; but he’s missing a key point. The sheriff’s department does NOT work for him. Its job is to enforce the law, not the will of politicians who dislike what they hear. If there is a disturbance of the peace, the sheriff’s deputies will intervene; but not just because a politician demands they take action. Furthermore, the very threat to have the sheriff’s department remove critics who were upset but not breaking any law or ordinance is what constitutional scholars call “viewpoint discrimination” – and it’s illegal. The First Amendment protects speech that is distasteful to government.

It is my hope that in the pursuit of “order,” Chairman Elliott will use his gavel and his wisdom to speak to citizens’ better angels, inspiring respect rather than attempting to compel it. Failing that, at bare minimum, it is my hope that cooler heads will prevail and refuse to participate in unnecessary, improper and/or illegal escalations.

Perhaps by embracing (not just allowing or tolerating) citizen input, the board will collectively solve the issue of respect and decorum at the root level and make the force-use issue moot.

 

Daniel A. Shaye

Surry

Editor’s note: According to a Times review of a video recording of the Oct. 3 meeting, when some audience members interrupted to say “no” to Supervisor Walter Hardy’s motion to approve the twice-a-year tax billing ordinance, Chairman Robert Elliott said: “We ask that the gallery would please remain silent. We’re going to follow Roberts Rules of Order here. We don’t need comments from the gallery. Thank you. If you cannot, we will ask the sheriff to remove you.”