Folks, there is a line between gossip and information. In recent revelations about candidate Stolley, that line may very well have been crossed.
Put another way, when we observe human behavior, and a person knows that he is being observed, doesn’t he change behavior just because he knows he is being watched? What happens when the observer is affecting the results they claim to be simply observing. When an observer becomes a participant and not just an observer, do they forfeit the right to claim to simply be observing?
Really, I’m not trying to confuse things. The observer in this batch of revelations has shown themselves to be a participant in the events which they are reporting. Does this participation invalidate their claims of being an objective observer? In this case, said person admits that they reported Stolley to the FBI over his mishandling of the child porn case mentioned in this post and a previous one.
Anyway, here’s the latest via our good friends at Facebook.
Community members are questioning Travis Stolley’s suitability for Boundary County Sheriff, citing concerns about his adherence to law enforcement protocols and ability to fulfill the duties of the office.
Allegations from 2019 suggest Officer Travis Stolley did not follow prescribed procedures in handling a case involving child pornography on an iPod.
* See documents in my comments below (must be on Boundary County Watchman comments not a shared post)
Following the 2020 Dr. Drake murder, questions arose about Stolley’s adherence to local, state, or federal procedural protocols regarding the use of gloves.
* Please see video attached for reference.
Further concerns arising from Stolley’s historical financial record, including a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy filing in 2014. Copies of this Bankruptcy Court filing is available on request.
These concerns seem relevant to any informed decision by the voters in selection of candidates for Sheriff and might bear on fitness for the duties of this elected office.
Facebook Post
Here are copies of screen grabs concerning reporting Stolley to the FBI. My concern is that the dates are within the last week and not from time of this info going public.
The above prompted a response by Stolley posted on Facebook.
I will start by saying this, Adrienne Norris is correct about the bankruptcy my family went through. As part of my interview process with the BFPD this was disclosed and discussed with Chief Bob Boone in 2014. He trusted me to overcome this experience and I have always been grateful to him for giving me the opportunity to serve our community.
It was one of the most humbling situations I have ever gone through. I knew going into this process these kinds of issues would be brought up, considered and discussed. I’m okay with you making decisions based on fact and totality of the circumstances. We are all a sum of our life experiences and this is part of my life story.
iPod/CSEM issue.
More important to me than anything else is the privacy of the individual(s) actually involved with this case. Their privacy needs protected as much as possible. I will not disclose specific details which may disclose personal information.
Can you imagine what it’s like to have someone bring up a mistake or bad choice you made when you were young over and over again?
I’ve spoken with the victims family and they want this to be left alone and have asked people to respect their privacy. Instead they were directly attacked by a select few on another social media site.
I know for a fact the victims family doesn’t think anything wrong or improper happened with the investigation. So why do people that don’t know or have the facts of the case keep trying to be a victim when they aren’t actually involved?
Victim blaming is one of the worst things I can imagine doing to someone. Bringing this up over and over keeps pressing an issue without any regard for the real victim in this situation, a young child.
I have explained to Adrienne Norris in person the truth of this, as I will do now. She chooses to either not believe me or not care about the facts and listens to someone who has an obvious bias.
Here are the facts
There 100% was not a crime committed. I did not confiscate any device because based on the information and facts provided to me at the time, there wasn’t a case to investigate. I had the device in my possession long enough to hand it to a parent of the juvenile. The content of the device was reviewed and no criminal activity was found.
Again based on the lack of evidence of a crime this was referred to the parent to handle. The parent handled the issue as any of us who are parents of teenagers in today’s society would, by being the parent.
If there had been evidence any explicit content had been shared at all, an investigation would have occurred. But that was not the case. The parent removed any content of their child on the iPod and left with the device.
Addressing the next part of Adrienne’s post in reference to Brian Drake’s murder case.
This was potentially an active threat scenario were it was a real possibility we could have located someone who had just taken the life of another person by use of a firearm.
We responded to a shots fired call, we located a deceased male and cleared the entire office building looking for a potential shooter/murder suspect.
We thought this person could be inside and possibly hiding behind any one of those doors or cabinets. Once we cleared the scene of any potential active threats a perimeter was set and investigators called.
The video referenced shows parts of us clearing the initial scene after we entered the building a short time after discovering the body. This building was a tactical nightmare to clear.
For info on the Brian Drake murder, see the following:
It sounds like nobody was ever prosecuted for this crime once the confession of Daniel Morre was tossed.
Murder charges against Bonners Ferry chiropractor dismissed
Family issues reward in 3 year old murder case, continue quest for answers
Oh, for those of you keeping score, this is not the only unsolved case in the area. Last summer a guy supposedly drove north of town, took a walk into the forest, and ended himself. Despite an intensive search, his body was never found. All evidence of suicide is circumstantial.
Stolley’s Facebook post ends on a less than positive note.
The reality is what happens in real life policing isn’t always like the movies. It’s fluid and often chaotic but we can learn from each experience and focus on professional training to improve. As Sheriff that will be a priority!
I’ve said this before and I’ll end by saying it again.
I’m not a perfect person or candidate. I do however care about the integrity of investigations and the wellbeing of our community.
In the above, Stolley seems to admit that not everything was done by the book but they had good intentions so that is what counts.
Conclusion
Folks, Stolley is a nice guy to talk with and he’d be welcome to a BBQ at my house (if I had a BBQ which I don’t) but I don’t think he’s ready for the big chair in the Sheriff’s Office. Youth and inexperience seem to be handicaps for Stolley that he has yet to overcome.
For readers in the once golden state, politics here seems more like running for high school student body president than a real office making important decisions. Such are things in a very small community.
In contrast to the sheriff’s race, lurking on the edges of campaigns for state legislative offices are characters that remind me of our good friends the Just-Us-Brothers. I will have more on these characters in an upcoming post.