Santa Cruz County Sheriff David Hathaway defended his decision to stop responding to calls about protests at a border-wall construction site near Lochiel, saying federal authorities should manage a dispute involving federal land and personnel. In a statement Monday, Oct. 12, Hathaway said U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers had made what he called “disingenuous” requests for help removing peaceful protesters. He said his office concluded that federal officers and contractors were not in danger and rejected the idea that local deputies should take on border security duties while thousands of federal personnel were present. Hathaway also disputed claims that protesters were responsible for violence. He said the physical clashes he knew of involved masked federal officers using chemical agents and dragging protesters away. Protesters, he said, had also called his office seeking protection from federal officers. “I was not about to start a war with CBP by having my armed officers confront the armed federal officers,” Hathaway said, adding that the situation required federal decisions. His office has 45 sworn officers covering 1,238 square miles, according to the sheriff. The dispute follows a Friday letter from the Arizona Sheriffs’ Association accusing the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office of failing to preserve public safety after repeated requests for help involving alleged violence, threats and property damage. Association President David Clouse, the Navajo County sheriff, said state laws were being violated and local law enforcement should not leave the work to federal agents. The protest centered on a more than 150-year-old cottonwood tree in Lochiel, east of Nogales, that opponents of the border-wall project had occupied. On Monday, Border Patrol agents reportedly arrested at least 20 people and used a cherry picker to remove a protester from the tree before cutting it down. Hathaway also criticized the sheriffs’ association as politically biased. He said he stopped paying dues and let his membership lapse after disagreements with its leadership; Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, another Democrat, is also no longer a member, Hathaway said. Clouse rejected the accusation, saying the association includes Democrats, Republicans and an independent and does not make political endorsements or statements. The disagreement raises a practical question for residents and protesters in the border county: which agency is responsible for responding when local law enforcement and federal officials disagree over public safety at a federal construction site. Hathaway says his small department should not be put in the position of confronting a much larger, armed federal presence; Clouse argues that local officers still have a duty to enforce state law.