"The
casualties of this kind of action are always
unfortunate. But, on the other hand, we've freed a lot
of youngsters. And I've extended my condolences to the
families.". |
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Sheriff Shrub Addresses The Community
Posted May 3, 2003
thepeoplesvoice.org
by Keetjie Ramo
Joe Shrub, Sheriff of Gulch County, Colorado, addressed a crowd of cheering
deputies and county residents today in a speech that local insiders
speculate will launch his campaign for re-election in 2004. Sheriff Shrub
gained nationwide attention last month after he ordered an assault by deputies
on River Rock High School that killed two students and left several others
with permanent injuries. Huey Maddas, the student whose suspicious
activities triggered the incident, escaped the deputies and is still at
large, although he is believed to have been wounded in the incident.
Since the tragic Columbine High School shootings in nearby Littleton in
1999, Shrub has waged a war on juvenile delinquency in the county. An
affable man with close allies on the River Rock City Council and School
Board, Shrub declared a zero tolerance policy against crimes and
misdemeanors by minors. In the county, any youth who arouses suspicion at
school or in the community now may be detained by deputies or police
officers and held without a hearing in a special juvenile detention center
in River Rock City, the Gulch County Seat. In addition, after pressure on
city and school officials by Shrub and his supporters, Rock River City
passed a "Good Citizen" regulation that subjects students at River
Rock High School to random searches. The regulation also allows law
enforcement officials to examine library and computer records to monitor the
web surfing and reading choices of minors. Although some county residents
whom Shrub has dubbed "effete intellectuals" have protested these
policies, the Sheriff remains popular among parents and students. They
support his claim that a safe Colorado depends on the county's crackdown on
acting-out teenagers.
Huey Maddas, a nineteen year-old senior, was a bright and charismatic
student, but a reputed bully who got in frequent fights and who led a gang
of other ne'er-do-wells, the self-styled "Democratic Guards." The
group cut classes, smoked pot on school grounds, defied teachers, and
terrorized younger and weaker students. Last December, after Maddas became
involved with the daughter of River Rock City's Mayor Donald Rice, a close
friend of Sheriff Shrub, the youth attracted the attention of local power
brokers, and became the focus of Shrub's campaign against youthful
misconduct. In January, the Sheriff revealed that he had information that
Maddas as an eighth grader had supplied money and ammunition for the 1999
Columbine shootings. Shrub claims that this information came from an unnamed
student, who provided evidence that supports this assertion. However, the
Sheriff has been vague about the nature of this evidence.
In late February, Shrub told the City Council in a closed session that he
had evidence that Maddas and his gang were amassing lethal weapons that
would be used against the community of Rock City. He cited
"subversive" websites visited by members of the gang, as well as
evidence of "violent games" on their home computers. In spite of
strong objections on the part of some Council members, the Council voted by
a narrow margin to allow the Sheriff to use arms, if necessary, to protect
the community against Maddas and his youthful followers.
Acting on tips from student informants that Democratic Guards led by Maddas
had brought backpacks loaded with guns and bombs to the high school, on
March 5 Sheriff Shrub sent a special team of deputies to the school. With
information that the gang was in the school's all-purpose room, the
deputies, in full SWAT gear, stormed the room where an assembly was in
progress. When gang members attempted to flee, to the horror of the
assembled students and adults the deputies opened fire on the group, killing
a gang member and a female student and injuring several others, including a
small child who was attending the assembly with her mother. The injured
Maddas was able to get away after another boy, not a gang member, pushed
Maddas down and rushed him out a side door to escape from the bullets.
Deputies believe that other non-gang members aided Maddas in his escape, and
that students may be hiding the fugitive and caring for his wounds. (A first
aid kit from the school turned up missing after the melee.) After the
assault, Sheriff Shrub told television cameras, "For you students who
are aiding and abetting this reprehensible monster: you're next."
A search of the backpacks carried by the Democratic Guards on the day of the
incident turned up several bags of Doritos, an assortment of cookies and
candy, four six packs of soda, a bottle of vodka, several packs of
cigarettes, and a dime bag of marijuana. A spokesman from the Sheriff's
department said that the vodka and soda bottles could be used to make
Molotov cocktails. Although no other weapons were found either in the
backpacks or the students' lockers, deputies believe that the gang may have
stashed large caches of guns and ammunition in the school building and on
the grounds. The search for weaponry continues.
In his well-received speech tonight at the meeting of the Sheriff's
Benevolent Society, Shrub praised his deputies for their heroic actions at
Rock River High School. "We've eliminated a friend of the Columbine
shooters," he said, "and Colorado is a safer place for students
because of you." Asked after his address about the student
casualties, Shrub said, "The casualties of this kind of action are
always unfortunate. But, on the other hand, we've freed a lot of youngsters.
And I've extended my condolences to the families."
Bio: Keetjie Ramo, Ph.D. is a retired social work educator whose previous op-ed
and lampoon pieces can be found on www.thepeoplesvoice.org
ramok@mchsi.com (okay to publish)
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