A woman in Lacey, Washington, approached a sheriff’s deputy parked outside an elementary school and confronted him, claiming his presence was “scaring” families. The video of the encounter quickly went viral, but much to her surprise, public support overwhelmingly favored the deputy—including backing from the local sheriff.
The original clip was posted to Instagram on Thursday, February 12, and was recorded outside Seven Oaks Elementary School. At the start of the video, the woman confronted a Thurston County Sheriff’s deputy and asked, “Why are you here?” He explained that he was completing a collision report and would leave once he was finished.
The Washington woman then told the deputy that one of the teachers had said deputies had been “circling since about 8.” Seemingly confused, the deputy replied that he had not been there at 8 a.m., emphasized that he was simply doing his job, and attempted to end the conversation so he could continue working. The woman, however, was not ready to let the matter go. “You work for us, and you’re scaring these families,” she said. “You should probably go do your job where your job lives. ‘Cause I don’t see that it needs to be right here all morning.”
The deputy remained calm and explained that another deputy had left the school about five minutes earlier, while he was there to complete a collision report. The Washington woman, apparently unwilling to accept his explanation, asked him to acknowledge that his presence could be “a very upsetting sight for people.”
“For us to be able to collaborate with you all at all moving forward, you’re gonna have to show us some humanity,” she continued, describing the deputy and his colleagues as the “defending line between us and fascism.” She suggested that if he failed to do so, he was not truly part of the community.
The deputy told the woman he would not continue arguing with her and would instead focus on finishing his collision report. He then assured her that he would leave the school’s parking lot afterward.
A Karen vs. An Officer Who Showed Patience and Professionalism
Many viewers reportedly forwarded it to Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders, who later issued a statement on Facebook and even commented on one of the woman’s other Instagram reels, as comments on the original clip had been disabled. Sheriff Sanders said he planned to place a letter of commendation in the personnel file of the officer, identified as Deputy Domeno. He praised Domeno’s “tact, professionalism, and unwillingness to take the escalation bait,” adding that although the deputy had only been on the job for a few months, he conducted himself like a “30-year veteran.” “We encourage our deputies to spend time at our elementary schools, and the staff and kids absolutely love being around our deputies and school resource officers,” Sheriff Sanders added.
Although some people defended the woman’s actions, the overwhelming majority of users appeared to support Deputy Domeno’s handling of the encounter.
“I would have just rolled up my window and ignored her,”
“Well, that didn’t go the way she thought it would.”
“She really thought she was doing something here.”
And while many people may not trust the police, this officer in particular proved to have an impeccable character—at least with this woman.
