System Working Remarkably Well

Tue., Aug. 18, 1998

By D.F. Oliveria daveo@spokesman.com (509) 319-0354

Scott Yager is a lucky man.

He’s lucky he’s facing a 1st District Court trial rather than a lynch mob. He’s lucky the deputies who arrested him following the June 17 shootout that killed Idaho State Police Trooper Linda Huff were professionals. If Deputies Joe Bodman and Barry Alleman had been anything less, Yager might be dead right now.

Finally, the Rathdrum man is lucky Kootenai Medical Center doctors and nurses who treated him for gunshot wounds to the neck and shoulder also were professionals. They not only nursed him back to health, but protested when guards taunted Yager.

Last week, Kootenai County Sheriff Pierce Clegg’s office concluded a month-long internal investigation, confirming that Yager had been abused verbally during his hospital stay. But it also found the abuse wasn’t serious enough to jeopardize Yager’s safety or to warrant disciplinary action against the guards.

The investigation was important because it sent a needed reminder to emotionally wrought jailers and patrol officers: Conduct unbecoming a law officer won’t be tolerated, no matter what the provocation. It also upheld a great American principle: The accused is innocent until proven guilty, even when he’s caught with a bloody 9mm pistol in his hand.

It would have been unfortunate if a deputy or two had been suspended or lost their jobs due to a comment made to Yager.

Kootenai County law enforcement has been on an emotional roller coaster since Huff was gunned down outside the ISP office on Prairie Avenue - from those who found her riddled body to those who now guard Yager. They’ve experienced the shock of having a comrade in arms slain in a cold-blooded manner and the pride in watching the community rally behind peace officers.

It would have been hard to keep emotions and tongues in check.

“While we are police officers, we also are human beings and human beings have emotions,” sheriff’s Capt. Travis Chaney said last month.

At this point, Yager has pleaded innocent to premeditated first-degree murder of a police officer and committing a felony with a deadly weapon. He has a right to make that plea. However, a 1st District Court magistrate has found enough evidence against him to bind him over for trial. He’ll remain innocent in the sight of the law unless he changes his plea or a jury finds him guilty.

If he is convicted of this awful crime, he should be sentenced to death. Then, it’d be nice to think that the professionalism evident in Kootenai County’s law enforcement and medical personnel also will be shown by Yager’s executioner.

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