Green River police chief meets with US Attorney General

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Green River Police Chief Tom Jarvie meets with US Attorney General William Barr. Photo courtesy of the City of Green River.

Wyo4News Staff, [email protected]

GREEN RIVER, WYOMING (August 17, 2020) —  Green River Police Chief Tom Jarvie spent last Thursday in Cheyenne visiting with US Attorney General William Barr.

Barr hosted a roundtable featuring federal officials and Wyoming law enforcement. The event included police chiefs, sheriffs, and other members of local law enforcement.

Jarvie says it was a worthwhile experience discussing the many issues rural law enforcement faces every day. Jarvie wrote the letter below to his police officers:

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“Hi All,

     I wanted to take a minute to fill you in on Attorney General Barr’s visit to Cheyenne yesterday.  He was in Wyoming for a few things, but among them, he took 2 hours out of his schedule to have a round table discussion with LE leaders in the state.  Among those present were US Attorney Mark Klaassen, Interim DEA Director Shea,  WHP Col. Haller, DCI Interim Director Williams, Lincoln County Sheriff Johnson, Sublette County Sheriff Lear, Converse County Sheriff Becker, Campbell County Sheriff Matheny, Cheyenne Chief Kozak, Casper Chief McPhetters, Rawlins Chief Palmer, Cody Chief Baker, Powell Chief Eckert,  Academy Director Bayne, Wyoming POST Director Walsh and several others I can’t name from memory.

     After some introductory remarks by others, AG Barr took a few minutes to address several topics to include a $1 Million grant he was bringing for the DCI Crime lab, the proposed national certification requirement and other broad ranging efforts coming out of the Department of Justice. Regarding the certification proposal, AG Barr indicated he envisions this project as an extension to certification efforts already in place in many states, like they are in Wyoming. In areas like ours, he does not believe there will be a great shift in what we have been doing. However, in states that have no uniform certification or where standards vary greatly between areas of the state, he believes the national certification program will provide needed continuity and guidance.

     As AG Barr spoke, he strongly conveyed his support for all law enforcement officers. He reflected on how members of the military were mistreated in the late 60s and early 70s. He expressed how this was wrong and how he is glad to see that has changed in the years since that time. AG Barr sees law enforcement officers as bearing the brunt of dissatisfaction across the country now and strongly believes you should all be treated as the hero’s you are. He believes not only should funding for law enforcement continue, but it should in many cases increase. He also believes the vast majority of Americans share this view across all demographics. He said, there are those who want a stronger relationship with the police, but they overwhelmingly do want police in their communities.

    He also reiterated the truth we in law enforcement all know in that physically resisting police officers is dangerous, it is dangerous to the officers, to the people resisting and to anyone nearby.  He expressed that if mistakes are made, or something is done wrong we have ways of dealing with that in court or through departmental procedures and that physical resistance is never the right answer. 

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    AG Barr then opened the floor for questions and comments from those in attendance with the goal of better understanding the challenges we face in rural law enforcement. Over the years, I have seen several influential people from Washington speak at various events, they have often asked if there were questions at the end of what they had to say, but time has always been limited and their responses have never involved much depth.  I can certainly say, AG Barr broke this mold and was truly interested in hearing what Wyoming LE leaders had to say.  Follow up statements and concerns from those attending revolved around assistance with training, teamwork with federal partners, the necessity of qualified immunity for law enforcement, challenges of responding to calls involving a mental health crisis, difficulty in marijuana cases now that hemp is legal and leadership on the national level to counter the many false narratives regarding law enforcement.

     The one topic I would like to elaborate on is qualified immunity.  AG Barr is only the second person to serve as Attorney General more than once.  The first time was for President George H. W. Bush.  Ag Barr indicated he was sued well over 300 times during that tenure and he has been sued in his capacity now.  He said he would not be able to do his job and would not take the job without qualified immunity. He believes it is every bit as essential for police officers and will work to ensure it continues.

     Overall, I came away from the meeting with confidence that AG Barr knows the challenges we all face in law enforcement. He believes we are making a difference and will do what he can to continue supporting our efforts. AG Barr was direct and realistic in his discussion and brought up some areas where law enforcement can improve to include building better relationships within the community.  It was also very obvious he understands some rural law enforcement challenges are unique compared to larger cities and is willing to listen to ideas that can help us bridge the gap when we are short of resources for a particular challenge.

     In this time where you constantly see negative national press, I hope you find some relief in knowing AG Barr cares enough about you and your efforts that he came here to hear about it.

Take care and keep up the good work,    

Tom”

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