Last week’s tragic news that six people, including a Skagit County Sheriff’s Deputy, were slain by an apparently mentally unstable man from the Mount Vernon area, brings to light some difficult but important facts about law enforcement and the job of police officers.
Our profession, while mostly providing service, is also extremely dangerous and unpredictable.
The deputy whose life was taken approached and dealt with the suspect on what we would consider a relatively routine call.
She had apparently responded to calls before involving the man, and was familiar with him.
Every veteran law-enforcement officer can provide many examples of calls where we take that deep breath and say “here we go again” and try to do our best, often without a backup officer.
Almost always, the officer is able to effectively and safely deal with the situation. “Almost” is the key word here. Think about the environments and circumstances to which police officers are called.
For every burglary report and knocked down mailbox, there is also the violent domestic-abuse call, with the victim still present and the suspect blinded with rage. For every traffic-crash report, there is an alarm where the suspect may still be inside, possibly armed and committed to not being caught.
Perhaps the most critical of all are those calls involving mentally ill persons, whose behavior is by definition unpredictable, illogical, and sometimes violent.
One of the most common questions and complaints a police chief gets is the perception of “overreaction.” A middle-aged businessman is stopped for speeding, and three squad cars are soon at the scene, lights flashing.
The man calls and is upset that he was treated like a dangerous criminal.
The elderly lady is in a minor traffic incident, and four squad cars drive by while the officer is completing the report. Wow, she thinks, those cops must have nothing better to do.
Take a second and look at the perspective of the officer. Each traffic stop, each call response, each speeding ticket is an encounter with someone who is highly likely to be cooperative, law abiding and respectful.
But there is always the small chance that it won’t go that way, and the reality is that we need to prepare and respond for the exception.
It helps us follow our number one rule — go home safe to our families at the end of the day.
So, next time you see three squad cars backed up behind a person stopped for what appears to be a minor incident, I hope you’ll keep the element of officer safety in mind.
We are truly honored to serve the citizens of Kent, and realize that the vast majority of people respect the police and want us to stay safe.
However, we have to be always vigilant for those who do not. We like our jobs, and we really like our fellow officers.
We want each of them to go home safely every day.
Have a great week.
Steve Strachan is Kent’s chief of police. Contact him at sstrachan@ci.kent.wa.us, or at 253-856-5800.
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