DARTMOUTH — Bristol County Sheriff Paul Heroux is calling for the resignations of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and the now deposed Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Greg Bovino, saying their incompetence has undermined public trust in law enforcement nationwide following the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal agents.
In a statement issued Monday, Heroux said that following the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, which represented two of three recent instances where U.S. citizens were shot by federal agents, Noem and Bovino deviated from standard national law enforcement protocol by publicly declaring the agents’ innocence before reviewing the results of a formal investigation, adding that their matching statements contradict what independent observers can determine from video footage of both incidents.
“The legitimacy of law enforcement is necessary to maintain the consent of the governed,” Heroux said, adding that when law enforcement’s legitimacy is undermined, it erodes public trust and undermines voluntary compliance, which prevents law enforcement from doing their job…