Letter: Concerns about sheriff’s public response

Published 1:30 am Saturday, July 11, 2026

Editor,

After reading the response from Sheriff Felici a number of times and read through a different lens, something jumped out at me.

I understand the desire of Mr. Brown (letter to the editor) to publicize his interaction with local law enforcement so voters can make an educated guess and the sheriff’s desire to respond to the opinion, but the manner in which the sheriff responded raises concerns.

Sheriff Felici’s public response included attempting to search for and identify Mr. Brown pretty extensively (searching in Langley for “Brown” or “J. Brown” and other variations). For what purpose? Are you trying to discredit Mr. Brown? Or are you attempting to use this information to harass? If “Mr. Brown” is a nom de plume, it seems like he was well reasoned to be anonymous.

Sheriff, the rest of your response seemed fine, but that paragraph was very tone deaf and a significant concern. Why not just leave your response to “Please reach out to me for a discussion”? It reminded me of a phrase by Lord Acton: “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Jason Gearhart

Coupeville