An Ohio sheriff is warning anyone coming into his county “to abuse police” to “think again.”
“I won’t tolerate it, period. You shoot at the police, expect us to shoot back. I will not allow my deputies or any law enforcement officer in Butler County to take the abuse I have seen over the past several months. If you come to this county expecting a free pass to harm one of my men or women in uniform keep in mind, nothing in life is free,” said Sheriff Richard K. Jones of Butler County, Ohio, in a statement.
The sheriff’s office said Jones had seen “lawlessness” directed toward police in New York City, Chicago, Portland, and other major cities, including protesters launching frozen water bottles and pointing lasers at police officers.
Hundreds of officers have been injured in the protests and riots that have gripped the country this summer. In New York City, nearly 300 officers were injured in protests held after the death of George Floyd in May.
At least 140 Department of Homeland Security agents in Portland were injured after demonstrators targeted the agents with lasers. In his testimony to the Senate, acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said at least three officers will “likely lose some portion of their vision.”
He added, “It’s very powerful. This is not the laser your cat or dog will chase on the ground. This is very — it hits the eyes. It will heat up the nucleus of the eye, and it will give it permanent damage.”
In Chicago, some attendees at a Grant Park Black Lives Matter rally threw frozen water bottles and fireworks at police. One officer suffered a broken eye socket as a result. United States Park Police officers at Lafayette Park near the White House had bricks and frozen water bottles thrown at them, according to White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany.
Jones is no stranger to controversy. He made national headlines in 2017 after announcing he wouldn’t let his deputies carry naloxone, a drug that can reverse opioid overdoses, arguing that his deputies don’t carry insulin for diabetic emergencies or respond to bee stings.
“I’m not the one that decides if people live or die. They decide that when they stick that needle in their arm,” he said at the time.
