Residents ask Vernon County committee to disavow 'constitutional sheriff' movement

Multiple Vernon County residents used the public-comment portion of a Public Safety Committee meeting to urge local leaders to disavow and monitor the Constitutional Sheriffs movement and related seminars that have been circulated in the county.

The speakers said the movement, often tied to a literal reading of the Tenth Amendment and organizations such as the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, promotes an outside view of law enforcement authority that some residents called “extra-constitutional.” “A group that holds themselves above the law has sought to bring their ideas about there being a category of law enforcement named constitutional sheriff to our county,” said Barbara Richards, a Vernon County resident. “I ask you as leaders of our public safety community to disavow and monitor…