Residents urge sheriff to add condolences to incident posts; sheriff's office and commissioners weigh factual vs. empathetic language
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Summary
During public comment a resident suggested the sheriff—s office include a brief condolence in social‑media incident posts to acknowledge family loss. The sheriff's office and commissioners discussed balancing factual press releases with expressions of sympathy and the legal or investigatory limits on what can be released.
A member of the public identified in the record as Angie told the board on Nov. 5 that some community members were upset by a recent sheriff's Office Facebook post and suggested adding a brief condolence to the end of incident posts to acknowledge victims' families.
Angie: "...maybe at the end, you guys could have a blanket condolences thing on the end, because I feel like that's kinda what everybody's issue might be with it." (public comment)
Sheriff's office staff replied that social posts are frequently crafted as factual press releases and that the office must balance timeliness, legal constraints and the need to avoid accelerating public upset. Staff said they removed an insensitive section of a recent post and will consult their communications team about adding a condolence line in appropriate cases.
Commissioners and other speakers discussed the tradeoffs: posting too quickly risks inaccurate information; waiting too long upsets the public; offering condolences consistently raises questions about when the office should express sympathy for persons who are not identified or when investigators cannot release details. The sheriff's office said it aims to present facts about response and investigation while acknowledging certain tragic incidents where appropriate.
The exchange was recorded during the public comment portion of the meeting and no formal action was taken.