End of Watch: Deputy Michael Norris, Monroe County Sheriff's Office, Georgia - September 13, 2014

One of my purposes with this blog is to honor Texas Peace Officers who are killed or who suffer other fatal incidents while in the performance of their duties.  Although this is a sad mission, I have felt that it was a privilege and an honor to hold up their names in this blog.  I would love to honor ALL peace officers in the United States who give their lives in the service of their nation and their communities, but frankly the number of officers around the nation who lose their lives in the course of their duties is so great that I myself would probably need professional help if I focused on all of them.  So I usually limit my blog to the deaths of our heroes in Texas.  Today, however, I have to make an exception to this limitation.

Last week, a young police officer in Forsyth, Georgia was shot, along with his partner, while attempting to communicate with a barricaded suspect who had threatened to commit suicide, and who had a pistol in his possession. The family had tried to reason with the suspect but to no avail.  They called police to handle the situation.  As soon as the officers arrived and announced themselves, the suspect began firing his pistol.  Several rounds penetrated the door and walls of the residence, striking both officers.  Deputy Michael Norris, age 24, was struck in the head and went down immediately.  His partner returned fire into the residence and struck the suspect, who then meekly surrendered and demanded medical attention for the gunshot wound to his leg.   Officer Norris was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced brain-dead.  The other officer survived his wounds and will likely make a full recovery.  Of course the wounded would-be suicide will likely make a full recovery as well.  But a young widow and her child will never see their policeman again in this lifetime.

The utter needlessness of this officer’s death, the utter senselessness of his murder, really struck me, and I am not certain why.  But as I pondered these events, certain things crossed my mind.  For one thing, I myself have been this situation more times than I can remember when I was on the Waco Police force.  I served back in the dark ages, in the 1980’s and 1990’s.  Some things have changed in law enforcement since then, and some things have not.  What has not changed is that even though a situation is dangerous and urgent, time is usually NOT as critical as relatives of the would-be suicide THINK it is.  And, time is USUALLY on the officers’ side.  What I mean is that it is not critical to dramatically rush into the kill zone and “talk” the person out of committing suicide.  This idea was not stressed so much in the 80’s because the two officers arriving on such a scene were “it.”  There was no cavalry coming to save the day.  Whatever happened was up to the officers and the suspect (or victim, if you want to call the suicidal person that).  All the officers were told was to end the situation as soon as possible, hopefully by subduing the person and getting medical help for him or her.

Flash forward three decades and certainly there have been some MAJOR changes.  First, almost every jurisdiction has its own SWAT team, or the county sheriff’s office has a SWAT team that will serve any community in the county.  Second, with the events of 9/1/01, even the smallest of police departments have, or have access to, an armored vehicle and advanced weaponry designed to displace armed suspects from barricades, such as inside residences.  Thus, it is not necessary, many times, for regular uniformed police to approach a situation such as the one in which Deputy Norris   lost his life.  Instead, the first responding officers can secure the scene and evacuate persons in harm's way, then wait for the SWAT team and armored vehicles.

I believe one thing that has not changed with most police officers over time is their desire to help people in times of great danger.  Thus, police officers sometimes make the decision to enter a building or room in which an armed person is barricaded, without waiting for SWAT teams to arrive.  These officers certainly have their heart in the right place, but, as deadly incident after deadly incident show us, many times regular patrol officers are killed while trying to handle situations that would have been more appropriate for a SWAT response.  I am in no way insinuating that Deputy Norris and his partner made the wrong decision, as I was not there and was not under the pressure these two officers were.  Again, I am just pondering the idea that, in many cases, hostage or barricaded subject situations are not as time-critical as officers (and family members) might think.  Instead, once a scene is stabilized, it is possible for regular uniformed officers to wait for SWAT teams to arrive and take charge of the entry.  Sometimes the mere arrival of SWAT officers and armored vehicles is enough to hasten the conclusion of an incident due to the desire of the subject not to be shot.

What I now have to say may seem cold, and I do not intend it to be, but it is my true belief that the life of a person who wants to kill himself or herself should not be traded for the life of a police officer or anyone else who desires to continue living.  Mental illness is a difficult thing to understand, and a person who has reached the point where he can no longer deal with his mental illness is both deserving of sympathy AND UNPREDICTABLE IN HIS BEHAVIOR.  Thus, one person who threatens suicide may be easily convinced to seek professional help, while another individual simply and with no warning kills himself.  Another person may desire to die but does not have the fortitude to kill himself or herself.  This person is the most dangerous to police officers.  This person creates a situation in which confrontation with the police is inevitable and is most likely premeditated.  The person may open fire on the police without any preamble, without any discussion, and with the sole intention of shooting officers so that they will be forced to fire back and possibly kill the shooter.  In my opinion this person is either indifferent or totally uncaring that he or she will possibly kill others before being killed.  But in this case the advantage (time) is on the side of the police because nothing will happen until the police confront the suicidal person.

Suicidal persons are responsible for many officer deaths each year.  I sincerely hope that the death of Deputy Michael Norris, and of other officers killed in similar situations, will not have happened in vain.  I hope that law enforcement agencies will stress to their officers that there are many times in which it is possible, and much safer, to wait for SWAT units to arrive and handle dangerous situations.  Training officers need to stress that there is no shame or "cowardice" in this, but instead, the increased possibility of ending a dangerous situation without any officers dying in the process.

I also sincerely hope that officers themselves will discern that there is no cowardice in waiting for the appropriate unit to respond to a hazardous situation.  I know from personal experience that officers can experience a sort of "macho" feeling in which they are "man enough" or "woman enough" to handle the barricaded person without calling in the SWAT team.  Officers who began their service in the era before SWAT need to understand that the SWAT team is there for a purpose, and younger officers need to understand that there is no shame in waiting for the appropriate response capability. 

Deputy Michael Norris himself ensured that his death was not in vain.  He had stipulated early in his career that he would be an organ donor in the event of his death.  His wishes were carried out in the hours before he was taken off the life support system.  Deputy Norris was just at the beginning of his career in law enforcement, and at the beginning of his life with his family.  I offer my deepest sympathy to his family and his colleagues.  I know that Deputy Norris has joined that Thin Blue Line on the other side.  I continue to pray for the safety of all police officers as they do a job like no other in the world. 

Thank you for your brave service, Deputy Norris.

Skeleton In Your Closet? No Problem. Drop It Off At Your Local Goodwill!

The donation sorters at an Austin, Texas area Goodwill Thrift Store were rather shocked this past August 28th when they found a human skull in a container of miscellaneous donations.  Since skeletons and human remains are not part of the fare normally received at Goodwill, it was no surprise that the folks at Goodwill called the police right away. 

Austin police investigators have already said at this point they do not suspect foul play, but they are curious why the skull ended up as a charitable donation.  They have in fact called for assistance from the public in locating the person or persons who donated the anatomical specimen.  I hope the police are not premature in deciding that no foul play was involved.  After all, a person can only be separated from his or her head by some serious accident OR by "foul play."  The police may be operating under the assumption that whoever had the skull had a legitimate reason for owning said skull.  I suppose it is along the same line as keeping a relative's ashes after cremation.  But it may be also that someone has provided evidence in a missing person case, as well.

The most surprising thing to me is that this is the fourth skull that has been "donated" to Goodwill this year.  It turns out that three skulls were similarly donated to the Goodwill Thrift Store in Bellevue, Washington.  Police there also stated they did not suspect foul play.  Police officials said that two of the skulls were obviously parts of "clinical skeletons" that were used for medical education.  The third was that of a Native American and was believed to be as old as one hundred years.  While they may never learn who donated the skulls, the police were able to get the Native American skull to a tribal council in Washington state which would presumably be able to render proper respect to the remains, possibly even locating the tribe and family and returning the skull for traditional burial.

As the story of these grotesque donations becomes common knowledge around the country, I suppose it is not inconceivable that serial killers and criminal gangs will start dropping off all or part of their victims at their nearest Goodwill Store.  And in this new climate of human remains donations, I suppose if you have a skeleton, literally, in your closet, this might be the time to donate it to charity, as well.  Just don't ask for a receipt for income tax purposes!

Galveston Texas - September 4, 1900

September 4, 1900 fell on a Tuesday, and for the people on Galveston Island, it was a fairly ordinary Tuesday.  The islanders, at that point in time, had no idea of huge catastrophe that would befall them only four days later.

The Galveston Island of September, 1900 was a source of great pride for the state of Texas.  The port of Galveston was the only deep water port west of New Orleans at that time.  The people of Galveston enjoyed food and goods that most people in the United States could only read about.  The culture of Galveston was also a point of Texas pride, as Galveston had become a major door of immigration for people coming from Europe or Asia.  Most immigrants moved on to points north, but many immigrants remained on the island, creating a cultural experience unique to the island.  The population of the actual city of Galveston was listed at 38,000.  Several hundred more people lived along the length of the island outside of the city.  Even at this early point in Galveston's history, there were bridges connecting it to the mainland, and railroad lines carried freight to Houston and to cities northwest of the island.

Yes, Galveston Island and the city of Galveston were indeed the pearls of Texas.  But on this Tuesday, the 4th of September, clouds were beginning to gather on the horizon.  As ships and boats began arriving from the Caribbean and southern points, news gradually spread throughout the port that a hurricane had struck Cuba and was most likely headed for Galveston Island.  As the days passed, some people left the island just in case the storm did make landfall there.  But others, either not hearing the news, or not believing that the storm was to be feared, remained.

It may be difficult for us in the modern world to understand this reticence to leave the island, but in 1900 the people actually had a valid reason to stay, even as knowledge of the impending storm made its way up and down the island. In 1889 one of the most prominent meteorologists in the United States was sent to Galveston to oversee the opening of the first weather station there.  At that time the National Weather Service was a section of the United States Army Signal Corps, and Mr. Isaac Cline was one of the better trained weather forecasters of his time.  Mr. Cline spent several years studying the weather patterns and the ocean currents around Galveston.  Known widely as a very gifted forecaster due his accurate predictions of floods in Tennessee and across the lower Great Plains, any statement made by Mr. Cline concerning the weather carried a great deal of weight with city and county leaders on Galveston Island. 
 
In 1891, Isaac Cline published articles in which he stated there was little danger of a major hurricane striking Galveston.  Many residents of Galveston, some of whom had lived on the island much longer than had Cline, had been calling for local leaders to construct a seawall on the windward side of the island, that would run at least the length of the city.  Others, including city and county officials, trusted Cline and his weather expertise.  The seawall called for in the 1890's was not constructed, and the weather pattern seemed to bear out Mr. Cline's pronouncement regarding serious storms.  After all, the last hurricane of any consequence had been recorded in Spanish records more than one hundred years earlier.  But as more sailors arrived that Tuesday, September 4, 1900, as they warned the people and as they themselves sailed away into calmer waters, a storm to beat all storms bore down slowly and relentlessly on Galveston Island.

To Be Continued.