Sheriff Donna Buckley: Protecting Everyone Except the People Who Elected Her
Barnstable County Sheriff Donna Buckley has a job description. It is, broadly speaking, to enforce the law, run the county correctional facility, and keep the people of Cape Cod safe. Based on her record, she appears to have interpreted this job description very loosely — particularly the part about “the law.”
Standing With Illegal Aliens Over the Rule of Law
In a move that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago, Sheriff Buckley publicly announced that her department will not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in their federally mandated mission to remove individuals who are in this country illegally. She stated — with what one can only assume was a straight face — that her staff “will not act as ICE agents.”
Let’s be clear about what this means. When the federal government seeks to deport someone who has entered the country illegally, potentially with a criminal record, and asks the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Department for cooperation in holding that individual, Sheriff Buckley’s answer is: No. The Sheriff of Barnstable County has chosen the interests of people who broke federal immigration law over the interests of her own constituents.
She has since doubled down, refusing again to cooperate with ICE even as the current administration has made immigration enforcement a national priority. The voters of Barnstable County should ask themselves: when did they elect a sanctuary city sheriff? Because nobody on the ballot said “vote for me and I’ll shield illegal immigrants from federal law enforcement.”
Taxpayer-Funded Casino Trips
Investigation by the media found that Massachusetts law enforcement agencies — including county sheriff’s departments — used taxpayer-funded credit cards to spend tens of thousands of dollars at casinos across the country. Public agencies using government credit cards at casinos. With your money.
The Barnstable County Sheriff’s Department was among the agencies scrutinized. The next time you hear about a budget shortfall, or cuts to public services, or why the county can’t afford something your community needs — remember the casino receipts.
A Culture of Misconduct at the Barnstable County Correctional Facility
Under Sheriff Buckley’s watch, a female lieutenant at the Barnstable County Correctional Facility was found to have called female subordinates degrading, sexually offensive names in front of male coworkers. The workplace culture in the county jail — the institution Sheriff Buckley is responsible for running — had deteriorated to the point where this behavior was apparently tolerated long enough to become a documented scandal.
A Barnstable County corrections officer was also arraigned for allegedly beating an inmate in his care. The officer entrusted with the safety and custody of detainees allegedly used physical violence against someone under his supervision. When one of your own violates the basic obligation to not assault the people in your custody, that is a management failure — and management in this case means Sheriff Buckley.
The Richard Corey Jr. Hire
Among the most troubling items in the Buckley dossier: the hiring of Richard Corey Jr., a former state trooper who was convicted in Boston Federal Court and sentenced to 3.5 years in federal prison. After his conviction and release, Corey reportedly found employment in the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Department. The question that demands an answer is simple: Who approved that hire, and why?
Massachusetts sheriffs need to be held accountable when they hire ex-cops with federal convictions. Accountability, however, requires someone to do the holding — and in one-party Cape Cod, that accountability has been conspicuously absent.
The Road Stop Incident
Audio of a Sheriff Buckley road stop — documented and publicly available on SoundCloud — raises questions about the sheriff’s conduct during a traffic stop. We invite our readers to listen and draw their own conclusions about whether this is the conduct expected of the county’s top law enforcement officer.
The Pattern
A sheriff who refuses to enforce federal immigration law. Taxpayer money spent at casinos. A female lieutenant creating a hostile work environment. An officer arraigned for beating a prisoner. A convicted federal criminal hired to work in the department. An audio recording of a troubling traffic stop.
Each item, taken alone, might be explained away. Taken together, they paint a picture of an institution that has lost its moral compass — and a sheriff who has either lost control of her department, or never had it to begin with.
The people of Cape Cod deserve better. They deserve a sheriff who enforces all the laws — not just the ones that align with her political preferences. They deserve a sheriff who can manage her own department before worrying about managing the border policy of the federal government. They deserve accountability, not excuses.