Councilor accused of trespassing not a victim

In regard to City Councilor Adam Nilsson’s letter/rant/ramble, published in the Herald Aug. 9, please stop! You were caught red-handed in the act of spray painting (vandalizing) property you don’t own. The fact that some other vandal had applied a previous coat doesn’t make it better or OK, and trespassing will always be trespassing.

If you had just admitted your obvious guilt, taken your lumps and kept your mouth shut this whole thing would have been a non-issue. You would have possibly had some public sympathy or credibility had you not, in your own words, (Herald article of Aug. 4), admitted that you were in fact painting on a building you didn’t own or have permission to paint on.

Now I fully admit I did not witness deputy Maldonado’s behavior at the scene of the crime, but any deficits in his behavior will never be an excuse for yours.

I live in the city and don’t have many interactions with sheriff’s deputies or any other law enforcement. However, on the two occasions I can think of in the last 10 years, both were actually good experiences, including being stopped for speeding out by Phillips Reservoir.

Considering the last election results, the majority of Baker County residents would disagree with your calling the sheriff’s department “poorly led, ill-equipped or undertrained.”

You are not being persecuted. You are being prosecuted. There is a big difference.

A lone officer, in a remote area with poor communication comes upon two people engaged in the act of committing a crime, and it turns out one of them is armed. Were you expecting a hug? Or did you think the officer would recognize your status as a city councilman and say oh, sorry, Mr. Nilsson, please paint away and feel fee to trespass any time you want? You are not the victim.

I don’t know if Maldonado is, as you stated, “not qualified” to work in the capacity he was hired for, but I can think of one city councilor for which those words certainly apply.

Kevin Luckini

Baker City