A 53-year-old woman, apparently despondent and suicidal, was shot once in the neck on Sunday afternoon in Wonder Lake. Read the article in the Northwest Herald.
Deputies and a supervising sergeant of the McHenry County (Ill.) Sheriff's Department responded. The article doesn't say how many of them fired, but two were placed on administrative leave.
Undersheriff Andy Zinke, even after 24 years of law enforcement experience and a bid for the job as top cop in the County, put his foot in his mouth by too quickly telling a reporter from the Northwest Herald that “Use of force was justified in my opinion.”
Does the Sheriff's Department still have a Public Affairs deputy, who issues press releases?
The first question in my mind is how many times did deputies fire? The reporter wrote that deputies "fired four or five rounds". Supervisors should have known within the first hour exactly how many rounds were fired. It's a simple matter of arithmetic. You count the number of bullets still in the deputies' guns that were fired. In fact, you check the weapons of all the deputies at the scene - to verify who didn't fire. And you pick up casings off the ground or floor. And then the crime scene investigators look for the bullets that were fired. All of them.
Unlike in the Feldkamp-Bloom case in June 2011, you keep looking until you find, or account for, all the bullets. In a crime scene involving three deaths, crime-scene investigators never accounted for all the bullets.
And you find the answer to the question, "If they fired 'four or five rounds', how come she was struck only once?" Is hitting the target 20% of the time an acceptable result for a patrol deputy?
Where did the other bullets go?
The firearm is "evidence". If two deputies fired, both firearms should have been secured. Remaining rounds should have been counted, and the firearm, magazine and unfired rounds bagged. Isn't that Crime Scene Investigation 101?
But for Zinke to open his mouth and immediately defend the "use of force" is inexcusable. A press release based on limited known facts should have been issued, and the rest should have waiting for the State Police to complete its investigation.
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6 comments:
Gus, a few things. Administrative leave does not mean the deputies did something wrong.
I believe if was the reporter that said 4 or 5 rounds not the SO correct?
Why would the SP investigate this? Does the MCSO not have the ability to do this?
Are you now saying the State police don't know how to do an investigation nor collect evidence? We know you can't stand MCSO but now to add the state? Zinke did exactly right; stood by his men during this time if trauma for them,too. Suicide by cop is a well known theory; much like suicide by semi when people intentionally drive head on into a tractor trailer or stand infront of a moving train.
Big Daddy, I understand the routine use of Administrative Leave after an officer-involved shooting, while a department tries to sort out what happened.
The reporter wrote "four or five" rounds because somebody at the sheriff's department told her four or five rounds were fired. She doesn't make that stuff up. The Northwest Herald is "tight" with the sheriff's department. Some would say "too tight."
I suspect what the State Police is investigating is the shooting of her by the deputies. MCSD, or any department, should not investigate itself.
Jim Jones, I doubt the State Police got there right away to collect evidence, such as fired weapons, casings, bullets, etc. They will "Monday morning quarterback" it.
Where are you getting the "suicide by cop" story? You're using too wide a marker to connect the dots.
Gus, I didn't know the Herald was tight with the MCSO. My bad.
The story said she was suicidal. Many people who are, and mean it, but can't actually shoot themselves, stupidly point a weapon at police hoping they will do the tast for them ; suicide by cop. Based on the story, it's a easy logical assumption, much like your normal assumptions against MCSO.
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