Sheriff Sutton address COVID-19, peaceful protests

Coffee County Sheriff Dave Sutton spoke at the June 8 Coffee County Commission meeting and had a message for the commission and for the residents of the county.

Sutton said that he needed to thank explicitly Coffee County Emergency Management Agency Director James Brown and County Administrator Rod Morgan for their service during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I just want to take a few minutes to give a personal thank you to James Brown and his office and all the help we’ve had during this COVID-19 (pandemic),” Sutton continued, “along with Rod (Morgan), who has made sure that we have every piece of equipment we need, not want but need.”

Sutton acknowledged that the Sheriff’s Office has struggled with the COVID-19 virus but said that things were looking up.

“We’ve had a rough time at the sheriff’s office,” Sutton said. “As you may know, many of my folks got sick with (COVID-19) but we’re all back up except for one and we hope to have our other person back in the next couple of days.”

Sutton also took time to address peaceful protests in the area and how proud he was of those that have taken part peacefully.

“I want to say a special thank you to all the citizens of Coffee County,” Sutton continued. “During this civil unrest we’ve had the last few days we’ve had demonstrations here in Coffee County, but they have all been peaceful, the people have been good to work with and we’re not seeing anything out of the ordinary. We thank those citizens for cooperating with us as we go through this era.”