FORKS — Tim Fletcher, Mayor of Forks, issued a statement yesterday addressing last week’s incident involving the harassment of a Spokane family visiting for a camping trip.
“As the mayor of the City of Forks. I want to address the events of last week and I will ask each of the council members if they have anything they want to add. I want to address now the family from Spokane who last Wednesday afternoon left Forks feeling harassed, intimidated and scared. I am very sorry about the treatment you encountered on your visit to Forks. While the sheriff and his officers continue to investigate the matter, I want to say that the events you experienced on June 3rd were inappropriate. That behavior does not reflect the Forks community of which I am proud to serve as mayor. I do not condone racism or discrimination nor will my government. Our 75th Anniversary slogan is “Everyone counts here”, and to me that means absolutely everyone. Again, to the visiting family from Spokane, I apologize how you were treated last Wednesday. I hope that you and your family can in time find a way to forgive our community for what you experienced.”
The statement came on the same day the Sheriff’s Office released a 24-minute surveillance video taken in the parking lot of the Forks Thriftway store showing the family’s bus pulling in and then being approached by several people parked nearby. A woman can be seen getting out of the bus to shop and coming back again.
The bus eventually pulls out of the parking lot and is followed by 5 or 6 vehicles that were nearby.
Sheriff’s Chief Criminal Deputy Brian King says they lack any evidence of so far of criminal harassment, including information garnered from their interview with the family. He says they are focusing their investigation on the people who followed them to a camping spot on the so-called A Road outside of town and later felled trees across the road to keep the family from leaving. Their motive for doing so is unclear, but because it was on federal forest land, federal criminal harassment and/or other charges could be coming.