Sheriff sounds alarm on bad BLM tactics at Bundy Ranch
It’s the BLM versus the world now.
Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie — who maintains great credibility in Las Vegas — spoke to the editorial boards of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Las Vegas Sun. He had one message: The blame for the standoff at Cliven Bundy ranch outside Mesquite rests with both Bundy and the BLM.
The news here wasn’t that Bundy should be held accountable for his actions — virtually everyone thinks that. The news was that Gillespie says the BLM handled the situation badly. It lied to the sheriff about having a place to take Bundy’s cattle once rounded up; the BLM refused to follow the sheriff’s advice; and generally the BLM helped provoke the tense standoff.
Nevada writer Tom Mitchell, who specializes in Nevada and Western issues, helps enlighten the events at Bundy Ranch. It is worth the read.
But it is Gillespie who undercuts eyes-closed BLM defenders such as Sen. Harry Reid when he says:
“I think if anybody would look at how they (the BLM) handled the protesting with the use of Tasers and police dogs, anyone who had been in policing would question those tactics. And I believe that led to the heightened interest and escalating the situation.”
Interestingly enough, the BLM squared up on Gillespie telling the Associated Press that: “It is unfortunate that the sheriff is now attempting to rewrite the details of what occurred, including his claims that the BLM did not share accurate information. The sheriff encouraged the operation and promised to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with us as we enforced two recent federal court orders. …”
Believe me, when it comes to trusting what happened at Bundy Ranch, no one is going to believe the BLM, or Harry Reid for that matter, over the word of Doug Gillespie.
And that should bring us to a new chapter in this debacle. There should be oversight of what happened at Bundy Ranch. The BLM looks like it is ill-suited to SWAT tactics and probably should not be allowed to do any more of it until we get an independent post-mortem on what went wrong at Bundy Ranch.
We can all be thankful that Bundy Ranch did not turn bloody, but that happy result is due in no part to the BLM.
Again, this in no way excuses Bundy from paying his fees, but the big takeaway must be this from Gillespie:
“I think if anybody would look at how they (BLM) handled the protesting with the use of Tasers and police dogs, anyone who had been in policing would question those tactics. And I believe that led to the heightened interest and escalating the situation.”
How about we do what the sheriff recommends. Let’s take a look at how the BLM handled the Bundy Ranch standoff before the BLM gets somebody hurt. I’m talking to you, Sen. Reid, Rep. Steven Horsford and Rep. Dina Titus. A little leadership on this wouldn’t hurt.
