Island County Sheriff Mark Brown spoke to the PBY Memorial Foundation for the group’s meeting July 26 at the CPO Club in Oak Harbor.

Former PBY flight engineer and World War II veteran Win Stites introduced the guest speaker, following the meeting’s opening pledge of allegiance and invocation.

Brown began his remarks by paying tribute to the members in attendance, nearly all of whom are veterans.

“When I first ran for the office of sheriff several years ago, I was inspired by the faces of many of those seated around this room today,” said Brown.

The sheriff talked about the responsibilities and challenges of upholding public safety while still using public dollars wisely.

“I’m all for saving money, and using tax dollars wisely,” said Brown. “At the same time, I believe that public safety is the number one responsibility of government,” he said.

Brown pointed out that Island County encompasses the 10th most populated unincorporated county in the state of Washington. Its unique geographic features can be a potential problem for law enforcement responding to a crisis in a timely way.

“From my agency’s standpoint, the biggest challenge is a hypothetical situation where we have two emergencies occurring simultaneously on North Whidbey and Possession Point in the south,” said Brown.

Another factor to consider is the responsibility of law enforcement to use necessary force in appropriate ways, said Brown.

“Nationwide, the use of force is under great scrutiny,” he said. “Police departments in Seattle and many other areas are experiencing this reality right now.

“If you’re going to use force, you’d better know what you’re doing,” he said.

Brown said this reality only underscores the need to have well-trained personnel in law enforcement.

“My desire is to uphold public safety in Island County — the best way I can see to accomplish that is to have officers with the right training, and enough of them to call on when there’s a need for a two-officer call,” said Brown.

For more information on the PBY Memorial Foundation, go to www.pbyma.org

The foundation’s Naval Aviation History Center is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The center is located in Simard Hall (Building 12) at the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island Seaplane Base. Call 240-9500 for information.