M.Live
Body camera footage recently released to the public has ignited a debate over censorship and the role of law enforcement in libraries. The footage shows Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris searching a local library for a young adult novel, “Identical” by Ellen Hopkins, which he deemed “obscene.”
Norris was accompanied by a member of a local citizen’s group, CleanBooks4Kids, advocating the removal of what they consider inappropriate materials from libraries. The footage reveals the sheriff expressing a desire to use the book as part of a “political stunt.”
The group’s Facebook account bio reads, “We are a grassroots group that believes the innocence of our children is worth protecting.”
This isn’t the first the sheriff has tried to take matters into his own hands.
In August, Norris said he was “shocked” and “disturbed” at some of the books available to youth at local libraries and admitted to choosing to pay for copies to retain them, rather than returning them. The other book he borrowed and hasn’t returned is “Deal with It! A Whole New Approach to Your Body, Brain, and Life as a gURL” by Esther Drill, Heather McDonald and Rebecca Odes, a comprehensive and frank resource for teenage girls covering body changes, mental health and relationships.
The sheriff has defended his actions, stating his concern lies with protecting children from “inappropriate” materials. He has not elaborated further on what legal basis, if any, he believes could be used to remove material from the library.
Community response
The incident has sparked significant backlash from library patrons, educators, and advocates of intellectual freedom. They argue that the sheriff’s actions represent a form of censorship and an overreach of authority, highlighting that libraries follow established procedures for selecting and handling materials.
Concerns have also been voiced that the incident could have a chilling effect on librarians’ abilities to serve their communities.
Librarians maintain that “Identical” is a critically acclaimed work dealing with sensitive themes such as sexual abuse, potentially offering valuable support for teens grappling with similar issues.
The book tells the story of twin high school-aged girls who come to terms with their abusive father. The novel has been banned 22 times across the U.S.
“As for parental rights, parents have always had the ability to counsel their own children’s reading,” wrote Hopkins, the book’s author, for the ACLU in November. “But no one has the right to decide for my kids or yours what they can or can’t read. For local governments to decide otherwise is a travesty.”
In the midst of the national discourse, Cassie Robertson, the communications coordinator for North Idaho’s Community Library Network, expressed that the ongoing debate has posed significant challenges for local library officials.
“Our staff and patrons are facing difficulties,” Robertson told the Idaho Statesman in September. “It has evolved into a focal point during our board meetings, presenting a definite and ongoing challenge for us.”
The incident has also drawn national attention, with free speech and library organizations condemning the sheriff’s actions. Debate continues about the appropriate role of community input in determining library collections versus the dangers of censorship attempts.
“Children should be allowed to check out any book they want,” said Annie Laurie Gaylor, President of Freedom From Religion Foundation, to KOAA News in August. “They can counsel their own children about how they feel about these books, but they can’t deprive other people’s children of the opportunity to read for themselves.”
In response to a rising wave of challenges to books and materials in schools and libraries, librarians, library staff, and officials throughout the United States have resigned from their positions. This movement, intertwined with broader initiatives targeting the LGBT+ community, is increasingly leaning on the involvement of the courts, elected officials, and law enforcement.
In the past year, the American Library Association documented a historic peak with over 1,200 instances of attempts to ban books from schools and libraries.
If you want to know more about the sheriff this is what he says about himself over at the County Sheriff’s website
Sheriff
About Bob Norris
Experience. Responsibility. Leadership.
These are the words people use to describe Bob Norris. Coming from a working-class family, Bob has learned that values and service take priority over personal gain and vanity. His background includes:
- A 30-Year Law Enforcement Career – Bob has worked patrol, custody, narcotics, gangs, investigations, counter terrorism and emergency preparedness. He finished his career as chief of law enforcement services serving a population about the size of Kootenai County.
- A Proven Law Enforcement Manager – Bob has managed a multi-million-dollar budget and a staff of over 150 public safety professionals. Bob is also an expert and believer in community-based policing.
- A Supporter of Community-Based Policing – Bob has seen first-hand the benefits of crime reduction through proactive community policing. He’s also implemented, supervised and managed programs for at-risk youth, before they become adult criminals.
- A Leader of Elite L/E Teams – Bob was selected to lead an anti-terror Team at the Joint Regional Intelligence Center after 9/11. His assignment was to manage personnel and resources from local, state and federal agencies. His responsibilities also included the planning, logistics and response to man-made and natural disasters.
- A Current Member of The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team – he has a deep understanding of the inner workings of our Sheriff’s Department and the needs of our community.
- Active Supporter of the 2nd Amendment – Bob is an avid supporter of conceal carry, often shoots in his spare time and is a Lifetime Member of the NRA
More About Bob Norris
Bob is a current member of the Kootenai County Search and Rescue Team and a 30-year Sheriff’s Office Veteran. Where to this day, he serves the people in this community. Organization and community first! This makes him a perfect “fit” as our new Sheriff. He already knows the responsibilities and duties of all aspects of the organization so he can quickly and smoothly take over as the Kootenai County Sheriff.
Bob’s assignments included: patrol, custody, narcotics, gangs, investigations, counter terrorism and emergency preparedness. Bob is also an expert and believer in community-based policing.
Bob was also a graduate of the LASO’s prestigious Leadership Certification program. It’s a three-part certification where future law enforcement leaders are hand-picked to attend from his and those surrounding law enforcement jurisdictions.
After 9/11 Bob was selected out of hundreds of sheriff candidates to lead a special team at the newly created Joint Regional Intelligence Center (JRIC) to combat terrorism in the United States. Bob held a Top Secret SCI and was responsible for managing personnel and resources from local, state, and federal agencies like the FBI, CIA and US Attorney’s Office. Bob’s work also brought him international exposure when he was selected to train in Israel with Mossad (the CIA equivalent) and Shin Bet (FBI equivalent) in the war on terror.
Before leaving the JRIC, his responsibilities also included the planning, logistics, and response to man-made and natural disasters. Very few law enforcement officials are ever exposed to this kind of logistical planning operations. Bob was later promoted to Lieutenant.
It was here he learned to manage the law enforcement responsibilities for a large community. He was responsible for a multi-million-dollar budget and a staff of over 150 public-safety professionals. His last unit of assignment was Chief of Law Enforcement Services, where he served a community about the size of Kootenai County. Throughout this time he worked directly with government and elected officials as well as community leaders. It is this experience that has prepared him to lead the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office into the future.
After his retirement Bob joined the prestigious Kootenai County Search & Rescue Team where — to this day — he continues to engage and serve the people in our community. With your support (and vote), he can apply his even-handed management style and approachability here in Kootenai County, and create an even stronger relationship between our community’s law enforcement professionals and the people they serve.
Kootenai County is one of the fastest growing counties and having a Sheriff with proven leadership abilities like Bob Norris will help to ensure that the Sheriff’s Office will be able to keep pace with the County’s growth and maintain its mission of protecting the citizens’ rights while keeping the area safe from dangerous criminals. This is a critical period for the County which is why we need to have a proven law enforcement leader like Bob Norris.
Leadership Footnote: Bob was selected for many of the coveted leadership positions because of his thoughtful and approachable demeanor with his Deputies and the citizenry he served. His objective-oriented management style started with identifying the best quality staff within his unit and then to delegate them the responsibility to meet the department’s objectives and fulfill its mission of protecting and serving. The result of this leadership attitude filters down to the patrol Deputy, where they can emulate his style to create more friendly and productive relationship with the community they are dedicated to serving.
