To the Citizens of Kiowa County

Several people have contacted me regarding some misinformation that they have heard. I would like to clarify the misinformation that has been brought to my attention.  I have always maintained transparency and open-door policy at the Sheriff’s Office from day 1 of my taking office. I continue to do so.  If you have any questions regarding specific laws (or anything else) or comments, please contact the Sheriff's Office. We will always gladly respond to any questions you may have, and as always, we appreciate your feedback, which is what I have stated all along. We can’t fix what we don’t know. That is why I have always been a proponent of community policing. It takes all of us working together to build safer communities. 

It has been brought to my attention about misinformation and incorrect law being given regarding crossing the double yellow line on Maine St.  in Eads. Yes, according to Colorado Revised Statutes, you can turn across solid yellow lines to turn into a driveway, alleyway, roads etc. UNLESS otherwise marked by traffic control devices(signs) that state Do Not Turn Across Solid Yellow Lines. Those signs take precedence over the statute that says you can. I have been told that previous Sheriff’s informed citizens that it was legal. I am not sure what was said to citizens by other Sheriff’s or Deputies. I can only assume that if this is true, they were not well versed on Statutes. Nobody is being harassed about this but when one of my Deputies or myself observe a citizen doing so, we will inform that person it is illegal. No one has been issued a citation for this either by myself or any of my Deputies, it has only been verbal warnings. 

Another item being mentioned is age. It is not the age of a candidate that matters, it is however the level of experience. I have approximately 32 years of actual working as a law enforcement officer, not merely holding a certification. In law enforcement, the industry standard is a minimum of 5 years of actual experience working is required before an officer or deputy is considered as having enough experience to be proficient at the job. Longer in areas with fewer calls for service. 

Another thing brought to my attention is that some citizens are upset that the Sheriff’s Office does ‘not block traffic for funerals.’ We are a small agency, and as such have always requested the funeral directors in this area that if traffic control is needed, to notify the office 24 hours prior and we will try to have Deputies available to help. Also, on the day of the funeral, we need approximately 30 minutes notice prior to the procession. Unfortunately, smaller agencies are at the mercy of call volume in conjunction with lower numbers of employees. Emergency calls for service take precedence. 

It has been brought to my attention by several citizens that a citizen is complaining that during the wind / dust storm last year, my office did not provide anyone to block the road for emergency service personnel. I believe this was the storm where one of my deputies was seriously injured and could easily have lost his life and his patrol vehicle was destroyed when a semi driver continued on at 65 miles per hour even though there was 0 visibility. 

He then drove into my Deputy’s vehicle, totaling the patrol vehicle, and almost costing my Deputy his life. The road was closed at the scene. At that time my office was short-staffed and the only additional Sheriff personnel available was myself. After my Deputy was injured, I was busy with that and responding to all calls for service.

The subject of budgets was also brought to my attention and the need to finance personnel and equipment through grants. My team and I are well aware of grants that may be offered and actively research for grants. Just because a grant is offered does not mean that we will qualify for OR be awarded grants. When a grant is awarded, the County still needs to cover the expense and is later reimbursed by the agency awarding the grant. Just for information we do utilize grants, contracts and surcharges to help fund the Sheriff's Office. At least 3 Deputies and some of the vehicles and equipment for the office are funded through these resources. I have been charged with protecting the taxpayer’s money, and it is a responsibility I do not take lightly. I feel responsible for utilizing the taxpayer’s money wisely. I refuse to make any unnecessary purchases and refuse to waste any of the taxpayer funds. Year to date my office has not spent or over-spent any money approved for each yearly budget

I would like to add that I require my deputies to sign and swear to an Oath of Office when hired on with the Kiowa County Sheriff’s Office. I take this extremely seriously. In that Oath, it states that we swear by the ever-loving God to uphold the Laws of the Constitution and the Laws of the State of Colorado. ANYONE breaking that Oath by committing a crime will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Sometimes a case may take longer than expected, when dealing with the DA’s office, courts, etc. But the Kiowa County Sheriff’s Office will push for justice to be served to the fullest extent of the law, to include jail time if warranted, for any Deputy breaking this Oath, however long it takes.

One thing to remember about Law Enforcement, unfortunately we see people at their worst. We are not called to someone’s house to celebrate some sort of milestone, but rather, we are typically called to protect someone, either physically themselves or their property or any host of other things. With that, said, Law Enforcement Officers can NEVER make every single person they contact happy. Someone will always be upset. Whether they didn’t want their abuser arrested, or just being told they did something wrong. The thing to look for in Law Enforcement is do they treat every single citizen equally or are they giving breaks to some people while enforcing the laws on others. Do they treat friends and family differently than any other citizen. Do they promote breaking the law for some or do they enforce the laws for all. Are they rude to some, brandishing their authority with a ‘don’t you know who I am type of attitude.’ 

I pride myself with the Team that currently employed by the Kiowa County Sheriff’s office. They are serving our community well. They are knowledgeable with the laws and obtain uptraining as they want or as the Office requires. They are all honest and live by the Oath they take. They live their lives on and off duty with integrity and ethics, honesty and empathy. This is very important in ANY law enforcement agency, whether it be a small rural Sheriff’s Office, or a large city Police Department. There is no room for a dishonest Officer, whether they are covering up a crime and committing one themselves or telling others it is ok to break the law. Honesty is honesty, ethics are ethics, and integrity applies to all. 

Ethical is doing the right thing even when no one is watching. 

Kiowa County Sheriff

Bryan Williams