In a social media post Monday night, July 31, the Pacific County Sheriff’s Office said it will not respond to questions from the Chinook Observer. The gist of it was that our coverage of the office is unfair and inaccurate.

We stand by all our coverage, particularly of the sheriff’s office. It has well-documented problems. Some predate Sheriff Daniel Garcia, while others are under his watch. A deputy facing felony charges in connection with a jail inmate’s death. A deputy accused by a fellow officer of serious misconduct on the firing range. A deputy whose honesty is officially in doubt was promoted to sergeant. That same deputy attended a far-right group’s meeting in uniform and on the clock. And the list goes on.

We have made many requests for comments and explanations. These are ignored. The sudden announcement that the office will not fulfill its professional duty to cooperate with news gathering is nothing new. As in the past, we will uncover and report on sheriff-related news with or without their cooperation. And as in the past, much of this news will be positive. There are three stories in this edition about successful drug busts in which deputies participated, for example.

Nor is it true, as the sheriff’s office asserted, that we suppress letters to the editor that praise it. Letters are well read by the public and we value them. It is best to send them to editor@chinookobserver.com. We frequently print our letters guidelines. Mainly, they must be factual and signed with the author’s true name, address and phone number.

Regarding Jeff Clemens, our dedicated north county freelancer, we stand by what we told Sheriff Garcia early on: A newsman who doesn’t irritate those in power is like a cop who never makes arrests. It is his job to make people angry when the situation calls for it.

Under Garcia, the sheriff’s office has never contacted the editor seeking a correction. A typographical error in an online story — the number 6 instead of 16 — was corrected within minutes of the sheriff’s public information officer bringing it to Clemens’ attention.

Blaming the messenger is the tiredest political ploy in the world. It is sad, but at this point unsurprising, that our sheriff’s office would stoop to this transparent and ineffective strategy. Time wasted on whining while sitting in a comfortable armchair would be far better spent out on the road protecting public safety.