Posted on 12/20/2021 6:04:06 AM PST by servo1969
BLACKFOOT, Idaho — The sheriff of Bingham County is facing felony charges after investigators say he pulled a gun on a group of girls, dragged their youth group leader out of her car by her hair, and threatened to shoot her while holding a gun to her head.
The Idaho Attorney General's Office on Tuesday charged Sheriff Craig Rowland with aggravated battery, aggravated assault, and exhibition of a deadly weapon.
Rowland told Blackfoot Police Chief Scott Gay that he had "really screwed up" during the Nov. 9 confrontation, which happened after a youth group came to his door.
According to a probable cause affidavit, the seven girls, ages 12 to 16, were delivering paper "thankful turkeys" to people around the neighborhood as part of a youth group activity.
The girls would deliver the turkey thank-you notes by taping them to a recipient's door, ringing the doorbell, and running away before the person inside could see who had left the note.
Rowland told investigators that at about 8 p.m., his Yorkie began to bark so he went outside and saw two people running away from his house.
According to the affidavit, the girls returned to their youth leader's car giggling, and told her they had tried to leave the turkey, but had nearly been caught by Craig Rowland so had been unable to deliver it. The group delivered another "thankful turkey" to a house nearby, then returned to the sheriff's home to try again.
Rowland told police that a few minutes after he had seen people running away from his house, his Ring doorbell activated and he heard his front door rattle.
The sheriff said he got his gun, and stepped outside wearing long johns and socks.
The woman supervising the youth group told investigators that the girls returned to her car after leaving the turkey, and she was driving away past the sheriff's home when she saw Rowland standing in the road waving her down.
The youth group leader stopped and opened her car door, illuminating the inside of the car where the seven girls were sitting, and told Rowland that they had just been dropping something off for his wife.
She said Rowland looked into the car, pointed his gun at her, then pointed it at two girls sitting in the front passenger seat. The sheriff then aimed the gun back at her, the woman said, and told her to "get the f-- out of the car," the woman reported.
As she moved to put the vehicle in park, the woman said, Rowland grabbed her by the hair, yanked her from the car, and aimed his gun at her face, holding it just inches from her forehead.
Multiple girls inside the car reported hearing the sheriff ask the woman who she was and say "I will f----shoot you," according to investigators.
The youth group leader, who grew up in the house next to Rowland and considered him a family friend, said she told Rowland her name and that she was his neighbor, but added that the words did not seem to register.
"That's when I really got scared because the gun was still at my head and he didn‘t know who was," she said, according to the affidavit.
Rowland told police that he did not recognize the woman but she was "terrified," and that he ultimately told her to "get the f--- out of here."
The sheriff admitted to investigators that he had pulled the woman out of her car by the hair and pointed a gun at her, demonstrating aiming it at her head or neck, according to the affidavit.
Rowland said he had had one alcoholic drink earlier in the night, but was not drunk or impaired.
"I had all of my facilities with me, I was clear as a freakin bell," he told investigators.
Rowland told investigators that the recent time change had "really messed me up" and said he was on edge because of interactions he and his wife previously had with members of the community.
"I have been doing this job for 36 years. I've had drunk Indians drive down my cul-de-sac. I've had drunk Indians come to my door," he said. "I live just off the reservation, we have a lot of reservation people around us who are not good people."
Investigators with the attorney general's office reviewed footage captured by the sheriff's Ring doorbell camera, including a video that shows the girls taping the turkey to the door and running away.
In the video, Rowland steps outside, looks at the note, and appears to read the words "thank you" aloud.
"That's frickin' bullsh--," the sheriff says in the video, before calling to his wife to "get my gun."
The Idaho Attorney General's Office was called in to investigate and prosecute the case to avoid any conflict of interest with the Bingham County Prosecutor's Office. A summons was issued for Rowland on Tuesday.
Rowland remains the elected sheriff of Bingham County, but agreed to take a leave of absence after the investigation started, according to East Idaho News.
Shoshone-Bannock tribe spokesman Devon Boyer called the sheriff's comments about Native Americans "extremely offensive." No tribal members were involved in the incident, the tribe said.
“We ask Rowland to officially step down as Sheriff and offer a public apology to the Fort Hall community," Boyer said in a Thursday statement. “We hope the woman and the children involved will be able to heal from this traumatic incident. This incident should not have occurred but proves racism still exists. We need major relationship building between our communities.”
The sheriff previously generated controversy in 2016 when he said that a statewide bill to streamline the collection and tracking of rape kits was unnecessary because most reports of sexual assault are untrue.
Aggravated battery carries a possible 15-year prison sentence, while aggravated assault is punishable by up to five years.
Rowland is due to appear in court Dec. 22 for an initial appearance.
And stupid, too: "...the recent time change had "really messed me up""
“I live just off the reservation, we have a lot of reservation people around us who are not good people.”
This comment is why he is being prosecuted. They are just using this incident to get rid of him.
TBH, though, the guy is unstable and needs to go.
No, I'd say stupid 'youth group leader' AND stupid sheriff.
If you're going to do the turkey thing at all, for Pete's sake, don't do it at 8pm.
Let's forget for a minute that a Sheriff was involved. If you or I acted like this Sheriff, what do you think the consequences would be?
I understand that law enforcement can come under great strain. However, if they can't handle it or they believe their badge gives them a green light to act any way they want - then they have no business being a cop.
Sounds like he is a bit of a Turkey.
“One could maybe understand if this happened in some crime ridden ‘hood, but Blackfoot, Idaho? It is a quiet little town mostly populated by Mormonites.”
The crime rate in Blackfoot is apparently quite high:
https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/id/blackfoot/crime
Yes, and this was a Mormon youth group who was putting up the turkeys. The parents of those girls are going to make sure his career is done. (and with good reason if this is how his decision making goes)
You got the right answer.
Out West the hatred of American Indians outperforms hatred of blacks in the old South. This inherited hate remains from the terrible atrocities committed by both sides during the Western Expansion and the Indian Wars.
Put the effing nutcase away.
The single statistic which really skews Blackfoot's crime rate is rape. Just a few extra incidents in a town this small will really do that.
The demographics of certain minorities can really do that as their idea of what constitutes rape and the majority population's idea of what constitutes rape differs considerably.
You’re nuts and a real authoritarian if you believe this jerk of a sheriff acted properly. You might want to get some help for your sociopathic tendencies.
I’m going with being a complete asshat AND drunk.
And yet he managed to get the “drunk Indians” meme into his little excuse(s).
Thank you!
Sadly, there are cops who believe they can act above the law. Sadly, we have internal affairs departments and courts who exhonerate criminal cop behavior.
Ashli Babbitt - need I say more?
Out in the middle of the street in his “Long Johns and socks.”
Not sober, not in control, especially when he saw a car with a woman driver and 4 youn girls. Grabbed her by the hair and put the gun to her head? He needs to be charged with a felony, thrown out of office or fired AND horse whipped by a man who can teach him what it means to terrify a woman and little girls.
Your post is beyond insulting and nasty....
...but IF you were in law enforcement and officers around the nation were being ambushed, shot, beaten......
..you might not appreciate someone ringing your doorbell at night and disappearing....
...might make you worry a bit
I don’t expect you will apologize but you sure have a familiarity with the ugly.......not a great way to go through life
This guy sure went into a murderous rage in a hurry, and without knowing what if anything the girls had done. Makes you wonder what other power mad crap he’s pulled over the years — he obviously is prejudiced against Native Americans. Any shooting or violence he has ever been involved with needs to be reviewed.
yeah,the moron was probably drunk out of his mind ... not really someone who you want as a LEO, especially a head LEO ...
Huh???
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