CLEARFIELD – A pair of citizens voiced concerns over the sheriff’s plans to organize a volunteer posse during the public comment session at Tuesday’s Clearfield County Commissioners’ meeting.
Sheriff Wes Thurston publicly announced plans to organize a posse of about 500 volunteers in late December. Since the sheriff’s announcement, segments of the public have expressed mixed feelings and some concerns.
Fred Weaver of Clearfield first commended the sheriff for taking steps to organize a posse. “It’s a great idea,” he said. “I’ve heard that we have shrinking memberships in our volunteer fire department.
“In the event of a large-scale natural disaster or search and rescue effort, we clearly could use a well-trained, organized volunteer force. That said, I believe that there are many ways this idea can be improved upon.”
For example, Weaver said it’s been recommended that posse members wear black T-shirts and to purchase a black hat. He said that other than camouflage, he can’t imagine a less effective uniform for a search and rescue effort.
Instead, posse members should be wearing highly reflective, uniquely-colored shirts and gear. “Not only is this helpful in the event of a search and rescue operation, but it also makes the posse members immediately identifiable to members of law enforcement,” he said.
He added that “Black is stealthy, tactical wear and thus a great choice for burglars and terrorists. It’s not a particularly excellent choice for high visibility.”
In the interest of organizing the best, most-qualified force, Weaver recommended that every posse member complete a CPR training course, as well as have their blood typed to determine if they are known as a “universal donor.”
Beyond that he said that posse members should be required to complete at least the introductory courses offered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). He pointed out that there are several programs offered under FEMA’s educational arm.
According to him, both the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and the Incident Command System (ICS) would be “great starting points.” He said these would provide standardized protocols to teach each posse member their role, the command structure and how to conduct themselves while on active duty.
Additionally, Weaver said that FEMA has the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program. He said it specializes in teaching about disaster preparedness, basic disaster response skills, team organization and disaster medical operations.
So far as CERT uniforms, he said its members wear bright green, which he believes is the national standard. He said he’s sure it makes CERT members easily identifiable to members of the state police, FEMA and the National Guard.
“Organization, uniformity and standardized protocols are paramount for our posse to be useful,” Weaver said. “Having our posse educated and adhering to these standards means that if there is a change in command, both the posse members and the new commanding agency can work together as seamlessly as possible.
“There is a reason that the Army is uniformly trained. It’s structured that way so that if there is a sudden change of command, things don’t descend into chaos because some units were trained differently than others.
“Thus, the posse should train to national standards. If they don’t, in the event that FEMA or the National Guard is in command of a situation in Clearfield County, the 500-person force is rendered almost completely useless because of its lack of training and understanding of the NIMS, ICS or CERT protocols.”
Weaver suggested that posse members should not only be required to submit to a criminal background check, but also be reviewed by an established Citizen Review Panel. He said once formed, a review panel could be tasked with investigating both the applicants’ social media presence, along with accepting anonymous tips about the behavior of posse applicants.
Another thing, he said the Citizen Review Panel, could also look for would be those who have endorsed violence, street justice or any sort of “lynch mob” mentality. “The role of the posse is to be a servant to government, law enforcement and the legal system,” Weaver said.
“They are to simply be additional eyes and ears, additional helping hands, etc. Their role is not that of judge, jury and executioner. Posse members should have a clear understanding of due process.”
Charles Lombardo, also of Clearfield, approached Solicitor Kim Kesner with a question regarding liability if someone would get hurt. Kesner said it was “public comment, not public questioning,” and explained he doesn’t have the authority to respond to a public question.
“I think Clearfield County will be sued if someone gets hurt,” Lombardo said. He asked about who would cover those expenses. “You have to put them on some type of insurance, you have to have training.
“We are in a budget deficit, we can’t get a state budget and we already have a 1-mill tax increase [in Clearfield County]. My question to all of you is who is going to fund all of this.”
Commissioner Tony Scotto said so far as expenses, the sheriff didn’t present any regarding the posse at budget time. He mentioned that the sheriff also never approached the commissioners for input about his plans of organizing the posse.
“Nothing was ever sought from us,” he said. “It was bam – posse.” Scotto said the sheriff should take expenses, liabilities, etc. into consideration and research these matters more in depth. He also said many things, such as uniforms and protocol, can be worked on for the better, and he thanked Weaver from bringing issues to light.
Lombardo said since Kesner was not able to answer his question regarding liability, he would ask Commissioner John A. Sobel. Sobel, who is also a local attorney, declined to comment and only indicated the county was still waiting for a response from its insurance carrier.
Both Sobel and McCracken encouraged Weaver and Lombardo to take their concerns directly to the sheriff. Lombardo told the commissioners that he attends numerous monthly meetings, and people think the idea of a volunteer posse is just “asinine and crazy.”
Lombardo said he has the right to carry a gun anywhere but chooses not to. He said he fears if something happens in the streets, posse members will try to stop it.
“This is what we’re getting into just like that thing down in Florida with that Martin boy – dead. I don’t want that here in Clearfield County. This is what’s going on with the sheriff, and it’s not right, it should be stopped,” he said.
Lombardo asked the commissioners to voice their opinions to the sheriff, as they were high-ranked county officials who are taken seriously.
McCracken reiterated that the commissioners have made it very clear to the county’s insurance carrier that they want a definitive answer in writing regarding what it will and will not cover. He said the commissioners have turned over the posse application and related information for the review process.
McCracken said when the commissioners receive an answer from the county’s insurance carrier it will be presented to the sheriff. Also, he said although citizens can voice opinions at public meetings, he reminded that they can go directly to the sheriff who needs to hear both positive and negative feedback.
Sobel said the commissioners appreciate that the citizens express opinions at their regular meetings. However, a lot of times, he said these citizens talk to the county’s other elected officials through the commissioners.
Kesner said as solicitor, he’s in charge of all legal matters involving the county but wasn’t consulted by the sheriff prior to him announcing plans to organize a posse. He said on Monday he met with the commissioners, expressed his confidential opinion and was asked not to make any public comments.
Kesner said he has also been trying to schedule a meeting to discuss the posse with the sheriff. “My position, with regard to county solicitor, is not necessarily to predict claims, but to defend any claims if filed.
“But that doesn’t mean that I don’t have opinions about whether or not claims are predictable and whether or not risks that predict those claims need to be managed or limited.”
Kesner said he wasn’t certain how his opinions would be accepted but still intended to try to meet with the sheriff. Like the commissioners, he encouraged segments of the public to voice their opinions to the sheriff, as well.
“An elected official can create risks for the county. These cannot be managed or limited by the commissioners if that elected official insists on pursuing policies or programs,” Kesner said. He said since 1988 through risk management and cooperation, the county has never had a substantial claim.
Kesner assured that the commissioners are conferring with their insurance carrier and taking the posse issue very seriously. He said it wouldn’t be responsible for him to declare publicly what might be, and it needed to be expressed to the sheriff instead.
Lombardo said he believed the sheriff’s volunteer posse was a bad idea. He encouraged members of the public to express their opinions to the sheriff. McCracken also noted that all county officials have an open door to the public.