Body camera footage recently released to the public has ignited a debate over censorship and the role of law enforcement in libraries. The footage shows Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris searching a local library for a young adult novel, “Identical” by Ellen Hopkins, which he deemed “obscene.”

Norris was accompanied by a member of a local citizen’s group, CleanBooks4Kids, advocating the removal of what they consider inappropriate materials from libraries. The footage reveals the sheriff expressing a desire to use the book as part of a “political stunt.”

The group’s Facebook account bio reads, “We are a grassroots group that believes the innocence of our children is worth protecting.”

This isn’t the first the sheriff has tried to take matters into his own hands.

In August, Norris said he was “shocked” and “disturbed” at some of the books available to youth at local libraries and admitted to choosing to pay for copies to retain them, rather than returning them. The other book he borrowed and hasn’t returned is “Deal with It! A Whole New Approach to Your Body, Brain, and Life as a gURL” by Esther Drill, Heather McDonald and Rebecca Odes, a comprehensive and frank resource for teenage girls covering body changes, mental health and relationships.

The sheriff has defended his actions, stating his concern lies with protecting children from “inappropriate” materials. He has not elaborated further on what legal basis, if any, he believes could be used to remove material from the library.

Community response

The incident has sparked significant backlash from library patrons, educators, and advocates of intellectual freedom. They argue that the sheriff’s actions represent a form of censorship and an overreach of authority, highlighting that libraries follow established procedures for selecting and handling materials.

Concerns have also been voiced that the incident could have a chilling effect on librarians’ abilities to serve their communities.

Librarians maintain that “Identical” is a critically acclaimed work dealing with sensitive themes such as sexual abuse, potentially offering valuable support for teens grappling with similar issues.

The book tells the story of twin high school-aged girls who come to terms with their abusive father. The novel has been banned 22 times across the U.S.

“As for parental rights, parents have always had the ability to counsel their own children’s reading,” wrote Hopkins, the book’s author, for the ACLU in November. “But no one has the right to decide for my kids or yours what they can or can’t read. For local governments to decide otherwise is a travesty.”

In the midst of the national discourse, Cassie Robertson, the communications coordinator for North Idaho’s Community Library Network, expressed that the ongoing debate has posed significant challenges for local library officials.

“Our staff and patrons are facing difficulties,” Robertson told the Idaho Statesman in September. “It has evolved into a focal point during our board meetings, presenting a definite and ongoing challenge for us.”

The incident has also drawn national attention, with free speech and library organizations condemning the sheriff’s actions. Debate continues about the appropriate role of community input in determining library collections versus the dangers of censorship attempts.

“Children should be allowed to check out any book they want,” said Annie Laurie Gaylor, President of Freedom From Religion Foundation, to KOAA News in August. “They can counsel their own children about how they feel about these books, but they can’t deprive other people’s children of the opportunity to read for themselves.”

In response to a rising wave of challenges to books and materials in schools and libraries, librarians, library staff, and officials throughout the United States have resigned from their positions. This movement, intertwined with broader initiatives targeting the LGBT+ community, is increasingly leaning on the involvement of the courts, elected officials, and law enforcement.

In the past year, the American Library Association documented a historic peak with over 1,200 instances of attempts to ban books from schools and libraries.