VanGesen ignorant of constitutional rights

Boundary County Sheriff candidate Jon VanGesen showed up on my property in Bonner County in the fall of 2021 doing an agency assist and completely ignored a sign at the front that stated, "No warrant no entry beyond this point." In fact, on his bodycam video, VanGesen audibly scoffs at the sign as he passed it.  

At the time, VanGesen was wearing sergeant stripes for the Bonner County Sheriff's Office. The only thing that stopped VanGesen from trampling my Fourth Amendment constitutional rights was an electric twine across the driveway about a thousand feet past the sign and myself, who confronted him at that point. VenGesen, in his own bodycam footage, stated that he was there "lawfully." Unfortunately for the sergeant, he was actually trespassing once he passed the sign. He did not have a warrant. State v. Christensen would be a great case to study, but VanGesen, at this point, was already decades into his law enforcement career and demonstrated, at best, reckless behavior for a person who would dare to be a sheriff's deputy, never mind an elected sheriff.

Bonner County Sheriff Darryl Wheeler was contacted about the incident and provided training to VanGesen.  Not all sheriff candidates are created equally, nor are all respecters of your constitutional rights.  

I personally would never vote for a man who was dangerously ignorant of my constitutional rights decades into his law enforcement career.

PAUL HERNDON

Sagle