Nevada resident complains to county about BLM law enforcement

A Bureau of Land Management law enforcement officer, accused of erroneously ticketing a local for cutting wood, isn’t allowed to tell his side until the agency completes an internal investigation. Resident Brad Nelson said he and two friends were cited by Ranger Brad Sones near Spruce Mountain for cutting wood in a wilderness study area. They each received a ticket for about $275. Nelson addressed the county commission Wednesday, which has discussed BLM law enforcement issues before. But BLM representatives felt blindsided by the complaint. BLM Elko District Manager Jill Silvey said she called Commissioner Grant Gerber prior to the meeting to prepare for it. She said she was told it would be a follow-up to a discussion that occurred in January, in which the commission talked about the inconvenience of driving to Reno to fight a ticket issued by a federal employee. “I came prepared to discuss that. I did not come prepared to discuss anything else,” she said. Gerber said he told Silvey some dissatisfied residents might be in attendance but he wasn’t authorized to say who at that time. Nelson came prepared with evidence, including the GPS coordinates where he received the ticket and two recorded phone messages left on his friend’s voice mail from Sones. In one message, a voice identified as Sones said the court date had been changed. Nelson said he thought it odd the officer who issued the ticket would be responsible to call about a change of date, and he decided to double check with the court. According to Nelson, the court date hadn’t been changed. As the trial date approached, Nelson and his friends received another phone message from Sones, which he also shared for the commission. In it, Sones said the case was dismissed and Nelson could toss out the citation. Nelson called the court again to find out that the trial hadn’t been canceled, he said, although he added that two or three days later, he received a letter confirming the charges were dismissed. Even though the charge was resolved, Nelson said he felt compelled to tell the commission because he viewed the incident as a slippery slope toward an abuse of authority...more

They can do all the internal investigation they want, but you better damn well believe the BLM officer erred or the charges would never have been dropped.  No one would have known the difference if Nelson hadn't spoken to the Commission.