Omodt: Safety a priority at BOCC meetings

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SANDPOINT — Public safety and continuing the county’s business are the commissioners’ highest priorities, Bonner County Commissioner Luke Omodt said at a Tuesday press conference following a pair of Friday arrests.

Dave Bowman and Rick Cramer were arrested on trespass charges after they were asked to leave and declined to do so. The charges followed multiple meetings that were allegedly disrupted by the men, as well as emails sent to county officials by Bowman that some perceived as threatening. During a budget meeting last Friday, the men were informed that they were both being trespassed from the building and were asked to leave.

When neither complied, the Sandpoint Police were called and the pair were eventually arrested for continuing their refusal to leave. On social media, both men contend that they have not disrupted meetings, and feel like they have been unfairly trespassed from the building.

However, it is unclear if Cramer and Bowman — who was endorsed by the sheriff when he ran for the District 3 commission seat in 2022 — were officially booked into the jail. The vagueness follows a joint press release issued shortly before 5 p.m. Tuesday by Sheriff Daryl Wheeler and Prosecutor Louis Marshall.

“There was no deputy present at the administration building when this occurred,” Wheeler and Marshall said in the press release, which was posted to the BCSO Facebook page. “However, based on the videotape of the meeting, there wasn’t any disruptive behavior displayed by anyone prior to the order to leave.”

The pair questioned the validity of Omodt’s actions, claiming that the board of commissioners had not voted on or passed a motion to trespass the individuals.

“There is a distinction between the chairman of the board ordering someone to leave a meeting and trespassing someone from a public building,” the pair said in the release.

Despite the alleged calmness of the Friday meeting, Omodt said the pair has disrupted prior meetings, creating the need for multiple recesses to be called, which in turn has stalled county business.

“Disruptive and disorderly behavior has interrupted the lawful meetings of Bonner County for months and cannot continue,” Omodt said.

The pair’s actions, as well as several others who regularly attend the meetings, are the actions of a mob intended to disrupt the county’s democratic process, he said.

Omodt said the rights of the people to petition their government and their right to free speech are so important that they have both been written into law. However, he continued, these rights do not only exist for those who are angry, but also for those who are peaceful.

“Written and verbal threats of violence have no place in a public meeting,” he said.

Commissioners have been working tirelessly since February 2023 to improve, maintain and restore order and safety to the regular meetings, the commissioner said, which has not been easy.

“Unfortunately, there continues to be a determined minority of Bonner County residents whose disruptive behaviors are contrary to maintaining public safety,” he said.

Omodt encouraged anyone who attends the meetings, whether in person or online, to adhere to all the rules set in place by county officials. While one may not agree with all the rules in place, they were put there to ensure the safety of all as well as encourage the spirit of political debate for all sides.

“The health, safety and general welfare of the people of Bonner County is a statutory obligation of the board of county commissioners and all elected officials in Bonner County,” he said. “All members of the public, including our employees and elected officials, are entitled to peaceful assembly and a workplace free of threats of violence.”

Despite Friday’s disruptions, Omodt said the safety of all will be maintained and the business of Bonner County will continue as it should.

Following a dispute at the Jan. 23 meeting, Sandpoint Police Chief Corey Coon said in a letter to commissioners that the department would not assist with additional trespass complaints at the meetings without the county adopting rules of decorum, procedures or policies for such issues.

However, officers responded to the calls made Friday when the two men were trespassed, and Omodt said he does not see any problems between the two entities going forward, noting the BOCC already has those policies and procedures in place.

“Through communication with both the chief and the mayor, I believe that the public order will be maintained,” he said. 

Although SPD responded to and dealt with the trespass calls Friday, Wheeler and Marshall’s joint release claimed that Omodt should have discussed his decision with legal counsel before announcing the trespass during the meeting.

While Omodt had emailed both Wheeler and Marshall notifying them of the trespass at 8 a.m. Friday, prior to the meeting, it seemingly was not enough time for the prosecutor to weigh in.

“There are important steps to take, which the prosecutor’s office has helped previous boards with,” Marshall and Wheeler said. “It is surprising at least one of the current board members chooses, instead of receiving valuable advice, to limit liability to the taxpayers of this county and to protect both the civil rights of constituents and the safety of persons within the administration building to instead continually cast aspersions on the sheriff and prosecutor.”

The duo said that any alleged crimes must be investigated by law enforcement and presented to the prosecutor’s office for the filing of charges. According to Wheeler and Marshall, that has not happened in this case.

“We have rules in the criminal justice system,” the release said. “These rules must be followed.”

In a follow-up conversation with Omodt, he agreed about having rules in the system and referenced Idaho Code 20-612. This portion of the code states that the “sheriff must receive all persons committed to jail by competent authority except mentally ill persons not charged with a crime …”

According to Omodt, who alleged that the two individuals were not properly booked into the jail, this breaks the same rules he is being advised to follow.

Despite the sheriff and prosecutor alleging no crimes were committed during a meeting, Omodt said he takes Bowman’s threats seriously and is extremely concerned for county staff and the safety of those attending commissioners’ meetings.

“The safety of our employees, of the public, cannot be denied and it cannot be washed over,” Omodt said.

The chairman said that just as an individual cannot cry “fire” in a theater and get away with it, the same applies to written “advisements” that threaten overall offensive action or target someone for doing their job.

“There is no way that is appropriate or will stand in Bonner County,” he said.

Omodt said he will be in correspondence both with Idaho State Police as well as the governor’s office as he believes the people of Bonner County deserve good, solid government.

“I can’t even begin to express my frustration that there are written threats of violence,” he said. “That is not free speech. That is irresponsible and wrong.”

How the commissioners plan to obtain security for future meetings is unclear, Omodt said. While a sheriff’s lieutenant attends each meeting following Wheeler’s orders regarding a civil protection order Commissioner Asia Williams has against Commissioner Steve Bradshaw, Omodt said that lieutenant has remained seated throughout multiple disturbances during the meetings, and it seems unclear whether that lieutenant will step in if things should further escalate.

According to Wheeler, any deputy will step in if they deem it necessary.

“These deputies have decades of experience dealing with agitated people on almost a daily basis,” the release said. “Deputies will react if the situation calls for it and crimes are actually committed.”

However, not all county employees or residents feel confident in that assurance as the lieutenant has yet to de-escalate rising tensions in the meetings.

While some have asked that SPD step in for security, there is currently no memorandum of understanding between the commissioners and SPD. For now, Omodt said SPD is not expected to provide law enforcement presence at the meetings, though the department may be asked to do so in the future.

“For anybody who has been watching public meetings of the Bonner County Board of Commissioners, to say that it appears dysfunctional, I would say is a kind reflection of decorum,” he said. “Yes, I am willing to consider the expenditure of public funds to maintain public safety.”

Both Wheeler and Marshall said they support unity and de-escalation at the commissioners’ meetings.

“We would encourage decorum in meetings,” the pair said. “We would very much appreciate the commissioners to respect each other, communicate and engage in the county’s business. However, blaming the sheriff and prosecutor for their own shortcomings seems political in nature.”

Despite the men being trespassed from the Bonner County Administration Building, Omodt said they are still allowed and welcome to participate in the commissioners’ meetings via Zoom, but will be required to follow all rules and regulations put in place by the board.

“We Zoom our meetings,” he said. “We provide the public with the ability to exercise their free speech from a distance. But employees are in this building working every day to serve, and have an expectation of safety and the ability to go home.”

Omodt said the “inconvenience” of requiring some audience members to only attend virtually is worth ensuring the safety of county employees and residents who choose to attend the meetings in person.

“There’s no question about Zoom versus the safety of the public and the employees,” he said.

Bowman and Cramer will remain trespassed from the Administration Building until Jan. 25, 2025.