To the editor:

The Press-Tribune?s story sanitizing the Gem County Sheriff Office?s assault on the home of Michael Gibbons and Marcela Cruz (October 17) was riddled with misrepresentations.

The video of the raid shows that deputies did not identify themselves until after one of them had seized Marcela and dragged her from the home, injuring her in the process. According to the official police report she displayed no signs of abuse, a fact that warranted mention.

Your account says that Michael Gibbons was directed ?to his knees? by the deputies. In fact, he was forced to his knees with his back to a deputy who was pointing the muzzle of an assault rifle at his head ? what could be called the ?coup de grace? position. That detail is certainly germane to the story.

Sheriff Rolland defended the actions of the deputies who conducted an illegal warrantless search of the home. You did not mention that Sheriff Rolland took part in that illegal search ? which means that his assessment was self-serving.

Puzzled readers may wonder why deputies would approach a home with guns drawn ? including an assault rifle set to ?fire? ? because a neighbor called to report an argument. This question would have been usefully illuminated if you had mentioned that in a radio conversation prior to the raid one of the officers had described Gibbons as a ?constitutionalist? ? and thus, presumably, a threat to ?officer safety? owing to his attachment to that document.

In what sense does the Press-Tribune ?empower the community? when it engages in sycophantic state stenography, rather than independent journalism?

Sincerely,

William Norman Grigg

WNGrigg@msn.com

208.642. 8285