WA Rep. Robert Sutherland's comments about fish and wildlife officers

[ucwarden]

Representative Sutherland recently spoke at length with the Sergeant's Union President (even though Sutherland misspelled Sergeant) and apparently agreed to provide a public apology for his comments regarding WDFW Officers.  Here is his Facebook post and a comment from someone on Facebook:

April 30th, 2020, Facebook post from Representative Robert Sutherland:  "I spoke with Erik Olson (President of the Sargent's Union for the WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife) on the phone today for close to an hour. Great conversation which allowed us to reassure each other that we are on the same team. Comments of mine during a speech in Olympia two weeks ago aimed at the Governor brought into question my love and admiration for the great work these folks do on a day-to-day basis. Thus I wanted to be clear: these are the best of the best in our society, helping keep our waters, parks and trails safe for you and I to enjoy with our family or friends. Please, next time you see one of them doing their job, why not thank them for their service!! I salute each and every one of them."

Jill McKnight wrote:  "So, are they no longer "goons with guns" ?"
Robert J Sutherland replied: "They never were. I was angry at the governor, not them."
Jill McKnight wrote:  "Perhaps in the future you might choose your words more wisely. Speaking publicly in a manner that might seem derogatory, offensive or threatening towards law enforcement officials certainly seems an odd way to express anger towards our governor."

[ucwarden]

Representative Sutherland recently spoke at length with the Sergeant's Union President (even though Sutherland misspelled Sergeant) and apparently agreed to provide a public apology for his comments regarding WDFW Officers.  Here is his Facebook post and a comment from someone on Facebook:

April 30th, 2020, Facebook post from Representative Robert Sutherland:  "I spoke with Erik Olson (President of the Sargent's Union for the WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife) on the phone today for close to an hour. Great conversation which allowed us to reassure each other that we are on the same team. Comments of mine during a speech in Olympia two weeks ago aimed at the Governor brought into question my love and admiration for the great work these folks do on a day-to-day basis. Thus I wanted to be clear: these are the best of the best in our society, helping keep our waters, parks and trails safe for you and I to enjoy with our family or friends. Please, next time you see one of them doing their job, why not thank them for their service!! I salute each and every one of them."

Jill McKnight wrote:  "So, are they no longer "goons with guns" ?"
Robert J Sutherland replied: "They never were. I was angry at the governor, not them."
Jill McKnight wrote:  "Perhaps in the future you might choose your words more wisely. Speaking publicly in a manner that might seem derogatory, offensive or threatening towards law enforcement officials certainly seems an odd way to express anger towards our governor."

And no, I couldn't find an apology anywhere in his post either, just praise for "helping to keep our waters, parks and trails safe for you and I".  Nice since WDFW officers have nothing to do with parks and trails, those duties fall on state park park rangers.

[Tbar]

So help me try to understand politics.  Sutherland was mad at Eric's boss(captain), bosses boss (deputy chief Golden), bosses boss (chief Bear), bosses boss (Governor) so you threaten the field officers. Makes sense. Maybe his model is the alternate version of Reaganomics,  trickle up maybe?

[jackelope]

Representative Sutherland recently spoke at length with the Sergeant's Union President (even though Sutherland misspelled Sergeant) and apparently agreed to provide a public apology for his comments regarding WDFW Officers.  Here is his Facebook post and a comment from someone on Facebook:

April 30th, 2020, Facebook post from Representative Robert Sutherland:  "I spoke with Erik Olson (President of the Sargent's Union for the WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife) on the phone today for close to an hour. Great conversation which allowed us to reassure each other that we are on the same team. Comments of mine during a speech in Olympia two weeks ago aimed at the Governor brought into question my love and admiration for the great work these folks do on a day-to-day basis. Thus I wanted to be clear: these are the best of the best in our society, helping keep our waters, parks and trails safe for you and I to enjoy with our family or friends. Please, next time you see one of them doing their job, why not thank them for their service!! I salute each and every one of them."

Jill McKnight wrote:  "So, are they no longer "goons with guns" ?"
Robert J Sutherland replied: "They never were. I was angry at the governor, not them."
Jill McKnight wrote:  "Perhaps in the future you might choose your words more wisely. Speaking publicly in a manner that might seem derogatory, offensive or threatening towards law enforcement officials certainly seems an odd way to express anger towards our governor."

And no, I couldn't find an apology anywhere in his post either, just praise for "helping to keep our waters, parks and trails safe for you and I".  Nice since WDFW officers have nothing to do with parks and trails, those duties fall on state park park rangers.

[jackelope]

And he followed up that post with this one.