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.
“The sheriff’s over reaction to me sounds like he possibly had more than 1 drink.”
Eight ounces of bourbon in a single glass would be ‘one drink’.
Just saying.
Should have retired yesterday with honor.
Now your just a jack booted thug who cant be trusted with firearms.
According to the ring doorbell video he saw the paper turkey, took it off the door and read it. He then said "that's bull---t and hollered to his wife to get him his gun.
Finally, a knowledgeable and reasonable post.
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.
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Good point. This probably wasn’t his first time abusing people unfortunate enough to come into his crosshairs.
Maybe police should just shoot everyone they encounter. You know, just to be safe.
No I will not apologize for calling out a stupid ignorant post. Why would anyone apologize for that?
“but IF you were in law enforcement and officers around the nation were being ambushed, shot, beaten”
Just because these things are happening does not relieve the sheriff in question from using good judgement, nor does it empower him to abuse citizens. When one sees little girls running away from one’s door, who’ve just taped a thank you merry Christmas note to it; it is hard to comprehend how a trained, very experienced sheriff, thought it was proper to grab his gun, point it at a woman and little girls and then go about pulling the woman out of her car by the hair. Sorry, not going to support this scumbag sheriff after doing this kind of crap to the very citizens he’s sworn to protect, and it is very surprising that anyone would Everyone involved in LE should be embarrased by this sheriff’s behavior. And our fellow citizens who do excuse this kind of behavior are an even bigger problem than is the sheriff. Meaning people like you.
Actually, you’re wrong.
Based on having very little information, you go after posters expressing reasonable opinions.
You don’t know the background of the events in question. I would guess you’d change your tune if you did.
What is the background of events that would cause him to change his tune?
Whoa, this looks like one of those topics that brings questionable posters out of the woodwork.
The background of events is what would clarify whether the sheriff was justified in what he did.
There are some scenarios that would justify it.
Maybe you and other posters here support defaming the sheriff’s character as though you were judge and jury.
This has no direct bearing on the case but it gives us information that the attorney general might be mentally retarded:
“Idaho’s attorney general refused to join the lawsuit asking the Supreme Court to stop Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin from casting their electoral votes.”
https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/politics-government/election/article247765425.html
“There are some scenarios that would justify it.”
What plausible scenario would justify it?
So, you’re another one; the cops are never wrong, even though this one was drunk and all he did was pull a lady, who presented no threat, out of her car by her hair and then point his gun at her and the little girls in the car.
Yea, right I’m wrong on this one. Don’t think so. That sheriff should be relieved of his badge right now. Obviously he’s been in this job for far to long. And I would say it is you who should reflect a little more on what behaviors you think its just fine for cops to display.
They chose their side. It’s not ours.
Their ‘us vs them’ mentality will lead to carnage.
He just dug his hole deeper with this one:
“”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.””
Kids sure have come a long way from flaming bags of dog poop.
Philip Brailsford is a free man after murdering Daniel Shaver.
It’s your job to answer that.
If you claim there aren’t any plausible scenarios, you’re saying we should convict him on the internet.
Way to convict a man for something you know nothing about, and then condemn others for voicing a different opinion.
You should strongly consider moving to another country.
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