CHIEF: Treatment has been unfair

I have spent the last nine years in Spirit Lake, and love this little community I live in. It has its faults, but what small town doesn’t? I want to publicly say that I feel Chief Pat Lawless (he will always be Chief Pat to me) did a great job for Spirit Lake. So many rumors are going around about him and his character, and I just want to say that he did a great job for Spirit Lake. If anything he may have been too nice. He always was fair in every situation, and in my opinion he doesn’t deserve this backlash he is getting. If he is guilty for having a crude conversation, then we all are guilty of it. Does that mean we all should be fired from our jobs, or should we have to resign?

People have personal problems, people don’t always agree, people don’t always do the right thing, people say things they don’t mean, and mostly people joke around about crude stuff sometimes. We are human, and we are all flawed. I am guilty of many things in my life and have a whole list of my wrongdoings, does that make me a criminal? No. I like to think my differences and my opinions make me a human.

I worked with Pat for a short time a couple years back when I was the activities director for Spirit Lake Parks and Recreation. In the two years I was in the position, I never witnessed any unprofessional behavior by Chief Pat. He always went above and beyond to be helpful to everyone, in all situations. He didn’t create any drama in the workplace, nor did he do anything that would question his character to me. He was a hard worker, always on time, and always willing to put others before himself. I feel that the things the media have said about this man have been false and unfair.

I encourage you all to look deep into your flaws and faults before we judge Chief Pat. I don’t know the truth about what really happened, as I haven’t asked, and to me it really doesn’t matter. All I know is that I am not supposed to judge others, I know Chief Pat did the very best he could do, and I along with many others in Spirit Lake are very sorry that, that just wasn’t good enough for the community. No matter the reason of why he is gone, he will be sorely missed. Thank you Chief Pat Lawless for your service to our community.

TONYA REED

Spirit Lake