Spokane7
35°
August 27, 2010 in City
Valley officer kills pastor at nursery
Shooting victim was Baptist minister and Valley business owner;
Spokane police say handgun found near 74-year-old
A pastor and widely recognized Spokane Valley businessman, concerned that a prowler was on his property late Wednesday, got out of bed, apparently armed himself with a pistol and headed toward a sedan in the empty parking lot of his popular nursery and greenhouse complex nearby.
Moments later, gunfire erupted and W. Scott Creach, 74, collapsed with a fatal bullet wound to his chest after an apparent scuffle.
His killer: a uniformed Spokane Valley police officer in an unmarked patrol car.
As the full scope of the tragedy began unfolding Thursday, emotional questions piled up on all sides of the fatal encounter.
How could a property owner be shot to death by police on his own property? What happened that caused the officer to fear for his safety? What are the long-term ramifications for a community already grappling with issues surrounding police use of deadly force?
Answers were elusive Thursday, as police released little information and said the officer wouldn’t be identified for at least 72 hours, and possibly longer.
This much is known: Police said that Creach approached the officer who was in an unmarked police car at Creach’s business, the Plant Farm, 14208 E. Fourth Ave. Creach lived next to the business, which includes the adjacent Creach Greenhouse. A confrontation ensued and the officer fired his weapon, according to Spokane Police Department spokeswoman Officer Jennifer DeRuwe. An autopsy showed that Creach died from a gunshot wound to the chest.
A handgun was found on the ground next to Creach after the shooting.
The Spokane Police Department is investigating the shooting under a protocol that calls for city police to investigate officer-involved incidents taking place in the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, which staffs Spokane Valley Police.
Alan Creach, the pastor’s son, said in a statement to the media that his father suspected that the driver of the vehicle was a prowler.
“We have suffered a terrible tragedy,” Alan Creach said. “We are going to miss him.”
Alan Creach later declined a request for an interview.
Police said in a news release that a request had been made earlier in the day “for increased patrol presence” in the neighborhood and that the Spokane Valley police officer was responding to the request. They wouldn’t say, however, whether the officer tried to contact the business owner before parking in the lot, or who made the request for increased patrols.
Spokane Valley Police Chief Rick Van Leuven declined to comment about any aspect of the investigation.
However, he recently provided information to the Spokane Valley City Council showing that burglaries in July had nearly doubled compared to the same month in 2009 and reports of car prowling jumped to 156 in July from 63 the same month a year ago.
The area where the shooting took place is located in a crime “hot spot” established by the department’s criminal analysis team.
“We establish hot spots of areas where there is a concentration of incidents of crime that occurs,” Van Leuven said. “Based on that, we try to proactively police those areas.”
A worker at the greenhouses said that Creach had been protecting his property for 15 years and had gone out at night to check on the land armed with a gun.
“In the blink of an eye they destroyed a lot of people,” said the worker, who declined to give his name.
DeRuwe declined to say how many shots were fired and by whom.
Creach’s wife said she heard three shots, but a neighbor across the street said he heard only one shot, Alan Creach said in his statement to the media.
Another nursery worker, who also did not give her name, said she was incredulous over the incident. “He gets shot on his own property?” she asked.
Known as Pastor Scott, Creach founded Greenacres Baptist Church in 1971. Located at 18620 E. Sprague Ave., the church has about 300 members. A prayer service was held there at 7 a.m. Thursday with about 20 church members attending, said a church member who declined to give his name.
People who knew Creach were driving by the nursery and the church. One man left five ears of corn next to the Plant Farm sign and planter in front of the business.
“He’s been in the Valley forever, a great farmer,” said Delores Nichols, who was with a friend in front of the nursery. “We all bought plants here all of the time.”
The Rev. Bill Dropko, fellowship pastor at Greenacres Christian Church, said Creach was unable to attend pastor fellowship meetings because he was too busy trying to run the businesses.
“He was a very busy man,” Dropko said.
Alan Creach had taken charge of the business recently.
Garden writer Pat Munts, whose articles appear in The Spokesman-Review, said Creach raised high-quality plants for years. “He did a lot for the community,” she said, calling his death a tragedy. “He was an institution,” she said.
Reporter Thomas Clouse contributed to this report.
Recent stories by Mike Prager
Raceway operator gets enthusiastic partner February 11, 2012 4- Land-use rules near FAFB proposed February 9, 2012
- Light snow showers not likely to last long February 8, 2012
- City firefighters asked to bargain again February 8, 2012 189
- Congress passes bill reauthorizing FAA spending February 7, 2012 12
WSU Text-to-Win Contest 
Enter to win tickets to see Adam Carolla at the Knitting Factory 
EWU Text-to-Win Contest 
bszottlinger on August 27 at 8:06 a.m.
Greg Contos:
This is a tremendous tragedy for all involved. Mr. Contos made some very sound recommendations to posters on the previous thread and offered suggestions for topics to discuss. One of Mr. Contos recommendations for discussion was the decision of the “DA” not to respond to officer involved shootings. The involvement of the DA’s office from the scene to case conclusion is a matter of standard protocol in many other jurisdictions and not just in places like LA County or Sonoma County California but also here in the state of Washington. In other jurisdictions, an on-call DA and DA investigators are called to the scene of the incident not only to monitor the investigation of the lead agency but also to conduct their own independent investigation into the matter. This type of protocol has a three-fold purpose. First, it provides for continued monitoring of the investigative process by the authority responsible for the official call as to whether or not the officer’s actions were justifiable or criminal. Secondly, it provides a resource for the lead investigative organization when legal questions arise. Finally, it provides the public with at least a modicum of assurance that the investigation is on the up and up.
Although I would be disappointed if Mr. Contos is correct that the prosecutor is not involved in the case from scene to conclusion in Spokane County, I would not be in the least bit surprised.
I sense that Mr. Contos may have some insight with respect to how cases like this are handled in other jurisdictions and hope he would share that with us.
Brad Szottlinger
lewis8457 on August 27 at 8:07 a.m.
after he was shot the officer never called for a ambulance Creach just got to die, alone. Then they left his body in the parking lot for 8 hours not allowing the family to view it.
I hope the Creach family gets a good lawyer. They will need one to fight the charges the cops will file on their father, for protecting his own property.
My heart goes out to this family. I pray you see justice in Spokane.
lewis8457 on August 27 at 8:23 a.m.
bsz all good suggestions but that wont work here in Spokane. The Spokane area cops are a gang that is unbreakable. Meaning from prosecutor to judges no cop will ever be tried and found guilty for any reason!
Our own police ombudsman doesn’t even have independent investigative powers.
If a independent team was formed the police guild would get to have voting rights and the team would be neutered just like the ombudsman. I think we need fed help.
All great suggestions but not for Spokane our own mayor thinks it is OK to kill an innocent disabled man in a mini mart. All 7 of his murders are still working down at the public safety building.
No sadly we all know how it will go down, it will be Scott Creach fault and the officer will be given a medal and most likely a promotion like Karl Thompson got for killing Otto Zehm.
42 people in Spokane have been killed at the hands of police since 1992. And is seem to be escalating.
Ninch on August 27 at 8:31 a.m.
Something very wrong that an “unmarked” police car is parked on private property without informing the owner.
Orphan on August 27 at 8:33 a.m.
If the patrol car had been marked this would most likly never happened. All patrol and traffic cars need to be clearly marked. Save the unmarked cars for supervisors, servalance and undercover work. Ozzie you need to do away with the black jump suits, in dark/low light situations its really had to tell if its an officer, just stick with the standard uniform. Because of all the different uniforms its had to tell the LEOs from the security people. Right now I see Sheriffs deputys dressed in several different uniforms.
I for one will not pull over for an unmarked car until 911 has verified for me it is an Law Enforcment Officer, not trying to be a hard case here but you just dont know if its really who it should be.
ChefGus/ John Olsen on August 27 at 8:41 a.m.
SO….. where and why are the 82 comments on this article that were present last night moved to this apparently new posting… it seems a simple job of cut and paste if there is no “GEEK” way to do it… a not to subtle form of Editorializing and Squelching comments from the peanut gallery…… what’s up here??? John Olsen ( and don’t give me any phony excuses….. this has been brought to your attention before on Hot topics…. come on…guys n gals..
andrewz on August 27 at 8:42 a.m.
The previous comment thread that Brad mentions is available here: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/aug/26/officer-shoots-kills-spokane-valley-nursery-owner/#comments
lewis8457 on August 27 at 8:58 a.m.
Orphan you are right in fact i think the police told people several years ago do not pull over for someone you are not sure is a cop.
of course that will get you killed but still………
tardwhisperer on August 27 at 9:01 a.m.
Poor Lewis…it used to be fun to argue with you, but alas…there is truly no joy in a battle of wits with an unarmed person. One, medics are always called immediately after a shots fired call. Research some of those incidents…it’s all public record. Often the officers themselves perform first aid while waiting for medical personnel. Two, maybe you should read the paper more often and stop bloggng about stuff you do not know….the ombudsman was granted investigative powers by the city council about a month ago. Check out the police website….he is posting stuff there from his office. Get informed…..seriously….
Orphan on August 27 at 9:05 a.m.
You should not have a problem if you slow down turn on your 4 ways and call 911. It may irritate the officer but thats too bad my safety is way more improtant than a minor inconveiance for a LEO. Sorry they work for us they are the servants not the other way around.
eagleproducer on August 27 at 9:07 a.m.
I noticed the Spokesman stopped taking comments on the original thread for this story right after someone posted a link to KXLY’s coverage of this story that contained a comment from a member of Creach’s family.
The comment contained a complaint about the conduct of the reporters and specifically called one out by name.
See for yourself!
http://www.kxly.com/news/24766530/detail.html
maria on August 27 at 9:10 a.m.
How horrible. Poor old guy was just trying to protect his property and his livelyhood. I don’t know how his family can forgive this cop, even being Christians. There’s something very wrong with what that cop did. I bet he wasn’t gonna let that old crazy man waving a gun screw up his cushy night job sitting in a parking lot. He let him die without an ambulance??? Somebody needs to get fired NOW.
SpokaneLiberal on August 27 at 9:19 a.m.
@Spoketucky
If the allegations about the author of the story, Mike Prager, prove true he should be charged with a crime - something like criminal harassment. The fact that he allegedly threatened them (“That’s fine, when you need us we won’t be there”) is deeply concerning. It also leads to questions about the bias of the article and should lead to questions about the future employment of Mike Prager.
It interests me to know how Mr. Prager and The Spokesman Review will respond, if at all, to the family’s allegations.
monkeyman on August 27 at 9:20 a.m.
“… Creach had been protecting his property for 15 years and had gone out at night to check on the land armed with a gun.”
1. Would it have been better to advertise this fact over the years to deter the potential thieves.
2. Carrying a handgun probably caused the fatal event/mistake in this case.
Gun supporters would probably argue that he should have carried an assault rifle.
bszottlinger on August 27 at 9:29 a.m.
ChefGus:
By starting this thread, I was hoping to start some legitimate dialog that might be relevant to the story without having to suffer through too much of the inevitable Lewis stating his position and the cops posting their typical frustrated and often childish response. I understand your position regarding the closing of the previous thread and whether or not it had anything to do with the Creach family complaints regarding the newspaper reporters makes little difference to me. I don’t know whether Mr. Prager was rude or not, in situations like this emotions run very high and sometimes people react on an emotional level and later regret how they reacted. Even if the newspaper reporters were rude, and I have dealt with many rude ones, keep in mind there are many rude Chefs, teachers, police officers, lawyers, and janitors. Likely very Pollyannaish, but I am hoping this thread gets beyond the typical rhetoric we often see here regarding the paper, and the cops etc.
Brad
SpokaneLiberal on August 27 at 9:37 a.m.
I don’t disagree that there are many rude Chefs, teachers, police officers, lawyers, and janitors. I also think that their employers should apologize when they are rude, and reprimand or fire them for their rudeness…
andrewz on August 27 at 9:38 a.m.
@John: I posted that link to the other thread at the same time you were posting your question.
The answer is that we never moved the comments. The other thread developed on the story that was first posted yesterday morning. Because of the subscription system we have, a second version of news stories — the one that runs in the paper — gets posted overnight. In order to report breaking news AND fulfill our contract with online subscribers, the two versions are necessary, though obviously not ideal for the purpose of all-encompassing comment threads.
Although it would be technologically simple to cut and paste each of those 82 comments to this thread, it would be prohibitively time-consuming. We don’t have any staff members with that kind of time on their hands. Posting a link so people can read yesterday’s comments is the best we’re going to be able to do.
As for the discussion of why we turned off the other thread: Several comments were removed during the course of the day that contained threats or other inappropriate material. We couldn’t let that continue overnight while we didn’t have anybody to monitor it. I’m the one who made the call to do so, and so I assure you that’s the only reason.
And John, I promise I’m giving you a straight answer to this question.
Here’s the link to the other thread again: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/aug/26/officer-shoots-kills-spokane-valley-nursery-owner/#comments
bszottlinger on August 27 at 9:41 a.m.
Agreed, once it is established that it happened. I forgot to through conservatives in there. :)
Brad
westerly on August 27 at 9:42 a.m.
Don’t all unmarked cop cars have flashing lights? You know. red /blue? Seems the cop when he saw Mr. Creech approaching would think..oohh “he might not know who I am,” better hit the switch to the flashing lights ??
bszottlinger on August 27 at 9:43 a.m.
Make that, throw conservatives in there.
Brad
liarsinnews on August 27 at 10:20 a.m.
I decided to not comment yesterday until more facts were released. Same ol same ol. I found it hard to believe yesterday and I`m still baffled today at the cop checking out the property in a unmarked police vehicle. Where the heck are his brains? The cop must have been behind the door when the brains were passed out. The cops track record in both Spokane and the Valley Spokane, make me wonder about the leadership of the two departments and how come we have so many cops that obviously should never have been hired in the first place. I will not bother to list the blunders but most citizens know what is going on. My sympathy and condolences to the family. Common sense dictates it should never have happened.
liarsinnews on August 27 at 10:27 a.m.
ADDENDUM: I totally agree with Chief Gus about the SR not carrying forward all of the comments. I`ve complained to the SR about it as well. Veil perhaps??? Censorship???
garyg on August 27 at 10:33 a.m.
I apologized yesterday to Ernest Creach for our reporter’s conduct at the scene. We are extremely sorry for any additional stress we caused the family.
zelda on August 27 at 10:33 a.m.
What’s lost in all this is a discussion about the crime zone that is Spokane Valley. Deterioration of the Sprague retail corridor is so bad I don’t want to go into the few quality stores that remain. The strip consists of empty store fronts, abandoned strip malls, tattoo shops, head shops, thrift shops, vacant day-labor hiring halls, pawn shops, restaurants with hand-made signs, etc. And the decay extends through the Argonne and Mullan corridors. Take a look at what used to Spear’s Furniture and Capel Rugs.
Vagrants walk the sidewalks. Junk cars sit in the front yards of foreclosed, abandoned houses on Evergreen. Even the houses that are occupied have dead lawns and debris in the driveways.
The area is riddled with crime, undoubtedly the reason Mr. Creach armed himself. I’m not making any judgements on what happened next, but the root cause of this tragedy is poverty and crime in a city that never should have been incorporated in the first place. The retail core of Spokane Valley is a disaster zone and city hall literally and figuratively sits right in the middle of the blight.
Thoreau on August 27 at 10:47 a.m.
A man is dead and another is responsible for removing him from the planet. That’s sad.
I wonder how many people commenting here also consider Muslims as armed psychotic hypocrites.
Creach was a Christian, yet armed. Doesn’t your Bible preach non-violence, turning the other cheek? This is just another reason why I don’t subscribe to organized religion. “Do as I say, not as I do.” Oh, that’s right, I’m sure a Christian will remark: “We are all imperfect, born into sin.” No problem. Repent, and ye be saved!
Bottom line: if he wasn’t armed, he wouldn’t have been shot by the police. THAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS AND OTHER POLICE INVOLVED SHOOTINGS.
SpokaneLiberal on August 27 at 11:06 a.m.
@ Gary Graham
This is very good to hear. Thank you for your diligence.
@Zelda
Much of the blight that was downtown Spokane 10 years ago migrated to Sprague in the Valley. Even Sprague in Spokane isn’t that bad (except for the hookers) when compared to the Sprague corridor in Spokane Valley.
I think the problem is that the city thinks that no regulation is good. Look at the current City Council - they want to get rid or restrictions on buildings and mixed use development. Much of the improvement in Downtown Spokane is from mixed use development. The valley is turning into an quasi-urban wasteland, while the heart of Spokane is revitalizing.
BigE on August 27 at 11:07 a.m.
Pray for the Family, come together as a community.
Let’s stand up, I will go and be a part of a community effort, there is strength in numbers.
I am glad to see Chef Gus back, come on Peanut Gallery.
sawman on August 27 at 11:15 a.m.
Lets see we have,,,, officer Carl Oreskovich,(otto zehm) , Jay Olsen, (shonto Pete) ,,and now officer ?????? (Scott creach) ….How many more Innocent people will die before somebody does something about this. theses people die and the officer walks Scott free as usual with the old slogan (i feared for my life) now how many people will want to call the police for a prowler or anything for that matter in fear they may be shot for even answering there door. What if Mr.creach shot and killed the officer would he have been justified because he had no idea the man in the unmarked car in his driveway was a officer (we all know that answer he would be going to prison for shooting a police officer!!)
bszottlinger on August 27 at 11:19 a.m.
Gary Graham:
If you established that rudeness took place then an apology was very appropriate. Now how about reassigning this and have some of those young whipper snappers you have in there get out and start gumshoeing. I am sure the Creach family would be very appreciative of in-depth coverage of this matter as well other stories that have a direct relationship to this one. There is plenty of material out there, which is of interest to many of us and you are the only media source locally that isn’t restricted to 30 second spots or 10 minute “in-depth” coverage. You are the watchdog so lets get the binoculars and the microscopes out and get going. There are also plenty of leads posted throughout the threads on this blog that might deserve some attention.
Brad Szottlinger
consumerws on August 27 at 11:35 a.m.
Thoreau~~~ you really dont know what you are talking about! Read up on the bible and you will find that even his followers caried weapons for defence, now turn your other cheek for his namesake to fullfill prophacy.
He was NOT in the wrong for defending his own! The officer should’ve identifyed himself! Straight up! SPOKANE POLICE DEPT! There taught to Say stuff Loud! What the hell happened! I feel so bad for there family, this should’ve never happened.
Thoreau on August 27 at 11:50 a.m.
consumerws: Typical response from a Bible thumper. You can cite passages from the Bible to support ANYTHING you do or think, contradicting yourself at every turn. That’s why conversations with Bible literalists go nowhere. I don’t want this to be a tangent, so that’s all I’m saying about that.
SpokaneLiberal on August 27 at 11:51 a.m.
If I recall my Bible correctly, consumerws, and I always do, his followers carried weapons (mentioned only once), but the only time they unsheathed them Jesus was very firm that they should not. As long as we are talking about reading, research shows that it wasn’t until Christianity became the religion of Rome that Christians believed in anything but Pacifism in regards to violence. But I guess anything can be corrupted by 100s of years and official government sanction….
consumerws on August 27 at 12:03 p.m.
Jesus said no to violence because he needed to go to the cross. Not thumping here, Historically there were So many wars that were won only because of gods power, not the power of man.
Thoreau on August 27 at 12:11 p.m.
consumerws~ Cuckoo…cuckoo…cuckooooo
consumerws on August 27 at 12:41 p.m.
Your Funny! : ) you cant tell me im wrong, besides we got off on a tangent here. IQ of a earthworm.
May God bless those hurting by this terrible accident. Maybe Cops should be more aware of this kind’ve situation.
Blacksheep3 on August 27 at 12:46 p.m.
Just because the car was unmarked does not mean that it was unidentifiable. I saw this car the morning that it was towed. It was a dark blue Crown Vic (typical police car) that had the spot light on the drivers side, a large “push style” bumper, which most police cars have, and strobe marker lights that were slightly protruding from the front fenders of the car. There was also some sort of different styled antenna on it, most likely for the communications radio. In my opinion this car could in fact be recognizable by more people than not in a day light or night time situation. It’s not like being pulled over by the police in a mustang, volvo or minivan and saying “wow, I didn’t know that was a police car when I sped by it”.
@ Lewis - There was 6 firefighters/EMT’s/Paramedics and 2 Ambulance personnel there performing CPR on Mr. Creach when he died.
mtorres55 on August 27 at 12:54 p.m.
Unmarked police cars moving onto private property where burglaries have been reported…does it take a genius to anticipate the result?
What goes on in the mind of police who drive unmarked cars? Do they really expect any reaction other than fear and suspicion? If I were ever chased on the freeway or street by an unmarked car with siren and/or lights, you can bet I wouldn’t stop, for you have no idea who is really in the car - and legal or not, it’s fairly easy to get a siren or flashing light.
What kind of brain does it take to develop these policies? What possessed that cop to park his unmarked car on private property?
zelda on August 27 at 1:56 p.m.
SpokaneLiberal — I agree. Another problem is the abandoned railroad right-of-way (Milwaukee Road or Burlington, can’t remember which) that runs parallel to Sprague a block or two south from Greenacres to U-City. It’s not a road but it serves as a de facto crime corridor for “pedestrians” up to no good.
It’s an easy route for prowlers to use if they want to get to the rear entries of businesses and buildings. Maybe the police have some way of patrolling this strip of land or were trying to do more (with unfortunate results).
The situation adds to the woes of an already depressed business corridor. I’d venture a guess that Mr. Creach was frustrated and fed up with the nighttime activity along this old railroad bed.
GoViks on August 27 at 2:11 p.m.
Private property? Try a parking lot of a public business. The “driveway” is a parking lot that extends nearly 2/3 of a block along 4th between Best and Rees.
For the folks hung up on the issue of an unmarked car are you really that clueless that you can’t tell a unmarked Crown Vic is a police car? Do you really see anybody else buying, driving those big land-sleds anymore?
Quit trying to make this a conspiracy, try waiting for the facts and remember - Life isn’t fair, stuff happens and there isn’t always a person to blame for everything that you don’t like.
CountryChic99027 on August 27 at 2:13 p.m.
Sawman~
Just to correct your post:
Spokane Police Officer Karl F. Thompson, Jr. has been indicted in the Otto Zehm case; Carl Oreskovich is the attorney representing Thompson.
Also, Shonto Pete was wounded, not killed, in the case involving former Spokane Police Officer James “Jay” Olsen—not condoning, just presenting the facts.
west on August 27 at 2:16 p.m.
Right on Zelda!! Spokane Valley is goin’ down hill along Sprague corridor to Sullivan…what happened to their pipe dream when they un-incorporated and hired consultants to dream up a city with brick buildings, water fountains, pathways and people living in condos on Sprague?? Won’t ever happen in Spokane..way too poor folk live there and people with money ..avoid Spokane Valley..what a name…cousin to Spokane with all of its detriments..so lots of crime and bad stuff happening from city of spokane to spokane valley city…gads.. very confusing for people back east..two Spokane’s now??? We called Spokane Valley 80 years ago and now its called Spokane Valley..again??
ChefGus/ John Olsen on August 27 at 2:21 p.m.
Andrew …. thank you for your thoughtful and kind reply… now I understand why the “early” version does not get morphed into the new one that accompanies the Print Version…. I appreciate all you folks do with such a small staff…. hard to keep up… and also monitor the comments here….
With regards this thread…. I am a concealed carry.. and have been for Many Many years… Never have I had to take my weapon out of its place… I know and my Training is, that if I draw it I am going to use it…. and not use it to shoot someone in the Knee… the Only reason I would draw it is if I felt imminent danger for my life… and was in such a spot as I could not walk away or run away or use other physical skills to disarm the feared attacker… Using a loaded pistol to “run someone off” or scare someone is not smart… shooting someone in the back that offers NO threat of loss of your own life is a Felony… period… even on your own property…..
In my view the only justification for drawing and using a fire arm is if you are in a life threatening position…. and have NO other option… Period… John Olsen
Not knowing who said what… or even a guess at the interaction between the officer and the Pastor… it seems we should not be jumping to conclusions here…. likely there is more of a story than we have so far… patience is a virtue… john
lewis8457 on August 27 at 3:53 p.m.
Blacksheep3 thank you for the information I stand corrected.
lewis8457 on August 27 at 4:16 p.m.
tur………er tard it isn’t even fun playing with you either, your just a broken record lewis stole my gun boo-hoo-hoo
I think one constructive thing that may come out of this is the senior citizens now know they are just as a risk as the rest of us. I know my father and many of his friends feel if a person has a gun in his hand a cop can shoot the guy dead. And he is upset when the cop gets sent to court over it, wasting tax dollars. So alot of the seniors I feel have voted for Steve Tucker over the years because he does not waste their money prosecuting cops.
But now that one of their own has been put down by a cop. They will see there descion of allowing the cops free run over the criminals has esculated to include them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_brutality_(United_States)
Numerous human rights observers have raised concerns about increased police brutality in the U.S. in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. An extensive report prepared for the United Nations Human Rights Committee tabled in 2006 states that in the United States, the “War on Terror” has “created a generalized climate of impunity for law enforcement officers, and contributed to the erosion of what few accountability mechanisms exist for civilian control over law enforcement agencies. As a result, police brutality and abuse persist unabated and undeterred across the country.
sawman on August 27 at 4:41 p.m.
CountryChic99027.
I know that just making a point. THESES CASES SHOULD HAVE BEEN CUT AND DRY.. Jay Olson shouldn’t have got off at all. only reason he did was that the jury never got to know shonto was acquitted from ever being in Olson’s truck. As far as the zem thing they will leave out stuff the jury wont get to hear and Karl F. Thompson will skate too like they all do …(.he feared FOR HIS LIFE that he may be hit with a plastic bottle of POP!!!!!!!!!!!!. )
bszottlinger on August 27 at 5:12 p.m.
ChefGus:
There is always the expectation that the public will jump to conclusions. Let us just hope that the investigators and the prosecutor do not jump to any conclusions one way or the other. Although I do not know the man, the Sheriff seems to me to be a straight up fellow that will see to it that justice is done. I think the fact that he seems to be very open with the public and does not hesitate to keep the public informed to the extent he is able bolsters my confidence level.
Brad
andrewz on August 27 at 6:05 p.m.
I know this won’t be popular, but we’re going to close the thread for the evening because we just aren’t going to be able to moderate it overnight.
If you want to continue the conversation, my colleague Dave Oliveria has a post on today’s developments over at Huckleberries: http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/hbo/2010/aug/27/sheriff-no-cop-intends-hurt-public/
Thank you.