Ryan Cagle, an organizer for the #JusticeForTony movement, spoke again before the Walker County Commission on Monday, saying Sheriff Nick Smith had reached out to a family member of his to possibly set up a meeting between the two.
Smith told The Community Journal on Monday afternoon that he had reached out to Cagle’s brother, Parrish Mayor Bubba Cagle to possibly set up a meeting.
“Others have actively worked to disparage our efforts as nothing more than an all cops are bad movement, while treating the work we have been and are doing as insignificant,” Ryan Cagle told commissioners during the public comments portion of the meeting. “There has been a push to frame us in a bad light and it is in light of these comments about our group that I found myself surprised last week to be informed that Sheriff Nick Smith had reached out to a mutual party, my brother, the Mayor of Parrish, expressing interest in meeting with me.
“In this call with the Mayor of Parrish, the sheriff said that he believed that I had ‘many good ideas,’ and that he wanted ‘many of those same things’ that we are advocating for regarding the national opioid settlement money, mental health support in the county, and so on,” Cagle added. “The sheriff also wanted to discuss the various roadblocks that he has encountered in seeking to establish some of these things in the county jail. In this conversation, the sheriff even went out of his way to speak very positively of me and how we have handled ourselves throughout this process. I hope those sentiments are true, but it is hard to square them with his past comments about our group and efforts.”
Smith said Monday afternoon he reached out to say he would be willing to sit down and discuss things.
Smith said, “I would be willing to sit down and discuss some of the ideas and ways to spend the opioid funds, because I thought there may be some good ideas that we may be able to look at and I would like to discuss.”
Cagle told commission members due to transparency that he may not respond to the sheriff’s invite for a meeting, saying he would rather the discussions be done in a public setting, such as a commission meeting.
“This is not due to an unwillingness to cooperate, something we have made clear that we have every intention on doing, but rather because it would be out of order for us to do so in light of the ongoing investigation and his previously maligning comments about our efforts,” Cagle said. “While his intentions may very well be pure, and we have no reason to assume otherwise, given the current climate we do not feel that it would be safe or wise for that kind of meeting to take place behind closed doors or outside of the public’s purview.”
Smith assured his sentiments are pure on Monday afternoon.
“I believe in having an open mind and looking at all ways we can work together to make Walker County a better place to live for everyone,” he said.
In action from the meeting, the commission:
- Approved a resolution saying April is Fair Housing Month.
- Appointed George Hicks, Thomas Graves and Carol Hubbard to the Copeland Ferry Board.
- Discussed summer holiday schedule for county workers.
