Dear editor:
Last summer we were excited to visit Teton County yet again. We’ve lived throughout the country and world, traveling for Ben’s service in the Navy. Now that we are retired, it is nice to be intentional about our travel as opposed to going where we are assigned. Teton County was our favorite place to visit.
During our first few days in town last year Teton continued to amaze us. Unfortunately, this changed on an otherwise beautiful day of camping near Pacific Creek.
We saw someone snooping around our trailer. When Ben asked the snooper what they were doing they drove their car at him and then they quickly drove their car at Shannon. Ben fired his handgun into the ground to deter the driver, while Shannon discharged her bear spray at the car while jumping out of the way- the driver then quickly sped off.
We reported the incident to law enforcement, remained on the scene, and fully cooperated with Sheriff’s deputies. After deputies completed their brief investigation, they arrested and charged us with felony crimes: Ben for discharging his gun and Shannon for discharging bear spray.
After a year of litigation, numerous news articles, thousands of dollars of legal fees, and unimaginable stress, earlier this month the court dismissed all charges. We may never know the reason for any of this.
Mountain resort towns may feel insulated from the rest of the world. You see police violence on TV that happens in big cities. You hear about wrongful convictions on the true-crime podcasts that are all the rage.
You likely know your local police officers and prosecutors so assume they are on the up and up. The reality is that bias enters the criminal justice system everywhere.
Thankfully, we had the resources to retain excellent legal counsel, and the court in your community finally did the right thing in dismissing these charges.
With all due respect to your community, we suggest that for Teton County to achieve the “Life is Grand” motto you desire, kick the tires on your local law enforcement. Anyone who lawfully exercises their right to self-defense should have a place in your town.
Sincerely,
Ben and Shannon DeWitt
Box Elder, South Dakota
