Bullying led to tragedy

Lack of judgment, no people skills – call it what you want, Officer Hirzel killed a senior citizen on his own property because the officer could not be respectful and try to defuse a situation.

Mr. Creach isn’t here to tell his side of the story. This is a travesty:

• That this officer felt threatened by a senior citizen. He had put the gun away.

• When bullying didn’t work, the only way to defuse this situation was to kill this man?

• I don’t even live in Spokane, and I know who Mr. Creach was. You were on his property!

• That you went on vacation after killing someone, like it was “oh, well, another day on the streets.”

I have the utmost respect for officers, who put their lives on the line on a daily basis. We all make mistakes, but don’t make them with deadly weapons. The Creach family will suffer for your lack of judgment for the rest of their lives.

For the sheriff to defend any of this behavior is reprehensible. What could possibly warrant the killing of a senior citizen, a leader in the community, an upstanding business owner? A bully showing his authority with lack of conscience.

Barbara Bentley

St. Maries