PSPOA President William Hutchinson responds to Brett Kelman's "Pulling the Trigger" tabloid report
A peace officer being put into a position where they must use deadly force is one of the most horrific things that can happen in law enforcement. It is a decision of last resort that most often happens in a matter of seconds and only when an officer fears for their life because of the violent action of a suspect. It is not a decision that is ever made lightly. Officers who have been forced to take a life to protect their own, carry the burden of their action with them the rest of their lives.
For a free society to properly function, the rule of law is vital. Our laws must be respected and enforced when violated. Everyone deserves equal justice under that law. Those entrusted to uphold the law must always be held accountable and their actions open to scrutiny from the very public they serve and protect.
Such scrutiny must be objective and include all information available. It cannot cherry-pick some information and neglect others. That creates an unjustifiable bias that leads to false conclusions. Sadly, that’s exactly what Brett Kelman’s article on August 17, 2014 did. Rather than providing the Desert Sun’s readers with a truly investigative report, Kelman published a tabloid style article full of innuendo and devoid of facts. Kelman’s aim obviously was to mislead the Desert Sun’s readers and stir up public controversy.
Brett Kelman’s article was disservice to our community and an insult to every peace officer who puts their life on the line daily to protect our community from those who prey upon the innocent through criminal acts and violence.
Kelman failed to properly do his research before writing his article. He failed to educate himself on police policy, tactics, case law, state and federal law and learn how it is applied in the real world scenarios.
He failed to examine how many potentially life threatening incidents an officer is involved in where deadly force would be justified, but was not used.
He failed to report how many times officers are shot at in the line of duty by criminals.
He failed to mention how many times officers are attacked in the line of duty.
He failed to show how the criminals in our community have become more dangerous as they do not fear consequences for their actions, since they no longer fear going to jail or prison as California’s sentencing laws have changed to give many criminals little more than a slap on the wrist for their criminal acts.
If the Desert Sun and others in the media wish to investigate and report on officer involved shootings, they owe it to the public to be as well educated as they can be on the topic before releasing a report. Reporters should go on ride-alongs, attend a citizen police academy, participate in a shooting simulator, talk with police officers who have been involved in these type of situations about their experiences and get some education on these matters before jumping to conclusions.