On of my purposes in writing this blog is inform and educate people regarding law enforcement procedures, practices, etc.
The nation is currently swept up in furor over the officer involved shooting in Ferguson, MO and protests are occurring here in Salt Lake City as well. As of this writing, we do not have all the evidence on any of these shootings. But let's set emotion aside and take a look at how things really work.
#1. Law enforcement agencies never (well, maybe in certain rare circumstances they do) release the name of the officer(s) involved in a shooting until the investigation is complete. But here's the thing, this is standard procedure for ANY investigation - whether it involves cops or not. We do not release the names of people until actual charges have been filed or an arrest is made.
Imagine that you were investigated for burglarizing your neighbors home. No charges have been filed. You have not been arrested. Deputies simply came to your door, asked you a few questions and then left. Would you want us releasing your name to the press? No... of course not! Investigations are conducted to determine if a crime was committed and who committed the crime. We investigate many innocent people in the course of finding the guilty. We do not release names of people under investigation until we determine that we have probable cause to charge them with a crime. Probable Cause consists of facts that tell us that a crime was committed and the person we are dealing with is the one who committed it. Up until that point, we are not going to release a list of names of everyone we are investigating because most of them are innocent.
So going back to your neighbor's home being burglarized, do you want us to release your name as under investigation prior to determining if you were really involved?
All these demands for "transparency" are stupid. Investigations are not transparent. That's not because we're trying to hide things, or cover things up, it's to protect people who are investigated but determined to not have been involved in a crime. For a law enforcement officer, it doesn't matter if you are found innocent of committing a crime, your name will be released once the investigation is completed. Even if you are found justified, your name will still be released, and get dragged through the mud.
In each case, a human being has been killed. Great care must be taken to investigate what really happened. These take time and to expect immediate answers is ridiculous. Law enforcement agencies, at least all that I know of, will ask an outside agency to investigate the shooting. They will do their own internal investigation and review, but they always ask a separate agency to do the investigation. This ensures one cop doesn't investigate his buddy and overlook his bad or criminal actions. This creates a non-biased group of investigators looking at the facts and evidence. I know.... some of you will say there's this "us vs. them" thing and cops will always side with other cops. This simply isn't true. If a cop breaks the law, it taints all of us. I don't want his or her bad actions on me. I want them held accountable so their sins are not upon my head and so I don't share in their guilt.
Once that investigation is completed, it will be open to the public. It will be transparent. But give it some time. No one wins from a hasty investigation into something as complex as an officer involved shooting.
I believe in law and order. That's why I do this job. I have sworn an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States twice; once as I joined the military, and then again as I became a law enforcement officer. I risk my life to protect your Constitutional Rights. Cops are not above the law. If an officer breaks the law, he or she must be held accountable just like anyone else. But don't be so quick to condemn us either.
Non-Lethal Force:
In all of these protests, etc, a lot of people ask why cops didn't use non-lethal for such as Tasers. People not acquainted with human combat seem to think these things happen in a nice tidy, linear fashion and gradually build up to the point of shots being fired. That's not reality. These things happen in about 2 seconds... and often less. They are non-linear, meaning they do not proceed from A to B to C and on to Z. They start at F and jump to Z in about 1.7 seconds and you have to make a decision that you will live the rest of your life with.
So my question back to these people is this: "Why did your __________ (son, husband, daughter, fill in the blank) put us in a situation where shooting would even be a consideration?" See, if I respond to a call of a man with a gun, and I find the guy matching the description, and he reaches into his waistband, (against my commands to put up his hands), I'm not pulling out a Taser. I'm pulling my gun. So I ask, why do they put us in a shooting situation. If an officer has a gun aimed at your chest, telling to you stand still and raise your hands above your head, why would you reach into a pocket, or a jacket, or your waistband?
A Taser is a one shot deal and I have to be at least 15 feet (sometimes 25 feet depending on the cartridge) from the suspect. Let's see, my life is in the balance. My wife might end up a widow. My kids might end up fatherless..... am I going to try the one-shot non-lethal device, that requires both electrodes to connect in order to work, on a person who has put me in a life threatening situation? No, and it's ridiculous to ask that of anyone. You have put me into a lethal situation and I'm am going to use lethal force. It's that simple. If you put me in a non-lethal situation, then I'll shoot you with a Taser, but if you put me in a lethal situation, then I'm going to use my firearm. To ask me to do otherwise is unethical... especially when asked by people who are unwilling to go into harm's way themselves.
Conclusion:
No law enforcement investigation is transparent while being conducted. Once the investigation is complete, or enough evidence and facts exist for criminal charges to be filed, the names and information will be released to the public.
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