Walla Walla Has New Controversy--A Policeman's Tattoo

Walla Walla in some ways, has not changed since I left in 1989. It has become a destination wine producing area, which up until this year's Corona invasion, had developed a robust tourist industry.    The majority of residents, however, seem to enjoy the slow pace, wanting to keep far away from the rush of big city life.  

So, once again, in a short amount of time, the city finds itself being a center of attention for all the wrong reasons. 

About a year ago, Senator Maureen Walsh, now retiring, commented that nurses spend their breaks playing cards.  The fall out included Walsh receiving thousands of decks of playing cards.

Now another event in the town has blossomed on social media.  Earlier this year, reports of vandalism occurred at the Walla Walla shul, Congregation Beth Israel.  A Go Fund Me page raised over 5 thousand dollars from the community and beyond. 

Then, last month, there was talk of COVID  Parties, where residents were said to be trying to contact the disease in an attempt to build up immunity.  County health officials would later say that it was an exaggeration or something to that effect. 

But now there is a story with a different twist,  The Times Of Israel has run a story of  a Walla Walla police officer with a tattoo similar to the Nazi SS symbols

The tattoo according to Officer Nat Small, the officer involved, was to honor a colleague killed in a sniper attack during the war in Afghanistan.   The symbols was used by the special forces unit that Small served with.  The use of the symbol for that unit ended with intervention in 2012.   

Congregation Beth Israel has written a letter to the editor asking for apology from the department and the officer, while the Military Religious Freedom Foundation has threatened a lawsuit if the tattoo is not removed or altered and the officer is still with the force. 

Because of the controversy, Whitman College has announce it is ending its relationship with the Walla Walla Police Department, immediately.   It will no longer hire off duty officers to provide security at events and members of the force are barred from using the fitness center on the campus.  

Walla Walla police chief Scott Bieber has stirred controversy, defending the officer at a rally.

By most accounts, Small is not a bad cop, and a pleasant person, his tattoo however has put the town between a rock and a hard place and can be costly to the community in many ways.  At the time, there is no telling when and how this can be resolved.