Sheriff Daniel Coverley of Douglas County, Nevada got deep into his feelings earlier this week after the local public library decided it wanted to take a stand and support the Black Lives Matter movement.
Coverley got so into his feelings at the library’s proposed diversity statement, which noted that it “denounces all acts of racism, violence and disregard for human rights. We support #BlackLivesMatter,” that he quickly crafted his own statement, telling the library not to bother calling 911 again.
“Due to your support of Black Lives Matter and the obvious lack of support or trust with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, please do not feel the need to call 911 for help,” Coverley wrote at the end of his statement. “I wish you good luck with disturbances and lewd behavior, since those are just some of the recent calls my office has assisted you with in the past.”
Coverley, who addressed his letter to the Douglas County Public Library Board of trustees, also took the time to claim that “data simply does not support claims that law enforcement is systemically racist or structurally biased.”
“Numerous Black Lives Matter protests have resulted in violence, property damage and the closing of local businesses, sometimes permanently,” the sheriff added. “To support this movement is to support violence and to openly ask for it to happen in Douglas County.”
Library Director Amy Dodson told the Reno Gazette Journal that the proposed statement was not meant to be anti-police.
“It simply was meant to state our inclusivity at the library, that we are open and welcoming to everyone and we treat everyone equally,” Dodson said. “I want the sheriff’s office to know we do love and support our law enforcement here. We would never want to support a movement to defund the police, so to speak. I think a lot of this has been a big misunderstanding.”
Anyway, Coverley ended up getting what he wanted, I suppose, as the statement was ultimately tossed out.
According to the Gazette Journal, the proposed statement was meant to be considered at a Board of Library Trustees meeting on Tuesday, but that got canceled “due to overwhelming amount of community response.”
The library had posted its statement to its Facebook page, but county officials made them take it down, saying that it violated a policy against using government websites to promote a political agenda.