AN OPEN LETTER TO THE SHERIFFS OF LEELANAU, BENZIE, MASON, AND MANISTEE COUNTIES:

Your defiance of our state’s shelter-in-place mandate was as transparent in its motivation as it was detrimental to public health, law enforcement, or the need to shed light on public confusion. As professionals, you could have simply announced that some provisions are not likely to be enforced in order that your limited resources could concentrate on higher risk activities, such as dense social gatherings. As you know, the motorboat restrictions were intended to discourage people from vacationing in our area, a problem you acknowledged was of great concern. And, as you know, when law enforcement openly defies, or publicly criticizes, laws they are legally bound to enforce, they encourage people to defy them. As such, your actions have likely had a negative impact on the safety of the communities you are charged to protect. Not only do your actions undermine public confidence and your abilities to execute the duties of your office professionally and without political favor, they have sown division at a time when unity is our best defense.