To the editor:
I just wanted to comment about the Greene County Sheriff’s Deputies who came out to assist me Aug. 20 when the motor on my boat failed. Deputies Caleb Jans, Shane Allen and and Cale Crowder all responded to see if I needed help.
With everything going on lately in the news regarding police and citizen interactions, it is said that being detained by a police officer is one of the top five things U.S. citizens are most scared of having happen to them.
These deputies were very polite, very helpful and, more importantly, they never made me feel threatened or frightened in any way.
As a citizen, my rights are very important to me. That day I just wanted and was willing to go ahead and float my boat down to Dawson where my trailer awaited me, but I could tell Deputy Jans did not like this idea. But when I asked him if he was telling me I couldn’t float it down, he said that no, he wasn’t saying that.
Because I could tell that he was genuinely concerned about my safety and that it wasn’t about his using the authority he held over me, I reluctantly left my boat there and came back later for it.
There are a lot of people in the world doing bad things, and there are many police officers out there not doing the right things either, but we have to stop and remember that if we recognize and treat each other with respect and the inherent dignity that we are born with as a human beings, then situations may not end up as badly as you see on your computer screens.
Anyway, many thanks to you deputies. You are doing a great job! Keep it up!
Kim Allen
Bouton
