Police officer safety seen as a critical need

By RAYMOND L. DAYE
Co-Editor

Law enforcement officers call it “the end of the watch.” The public just calls it an officer killed in the line of duty.
Two recent murders of police officers have heightened local law enforcement agencies’ awareness of the critical need for officer safety.
Police administrators are stressing the importance of personal safety and reminding their officers of the lessons they learned in training -- be alert, be smart, observe proper procedure and protocol, be polite but stern.
“We talked to our deputies the day after the state trooper was killed,” Sheriff Doug Anderson said. “We also sent each one a letter advising them to use extra caution, to be aware of their surroundings, and to stay safe.”
Anderson said all of those things are drilled into deputies during their training, but after months or even years of doing the job with no incident or threat of an incident, a police officer can take his safety for granted.
It only takes a second for a routine traffic stop to turn into a tragedy. What seems like just one more barroom quarrel can turn deadly. A husband and wife dispute can end with the police officer being killed by one of the arguing parties.
Anderson said the Avoyelles Sheriff’s office uses the body cameras the deputies wear for training purposes.
“We review the video to see how the deputy responded to certain situations -- to see what he did or failed to do, safety-wise” the sheriff said. “We can then point out issues of personal safety to the officer.”
Anderson said no deputies have been shot at or had to shoot at anyone while he has been sheriff.
No Avoyelles deputy has died while on duty.
He said the purpose of training is to keep deputies alert and safe.

Municipal police
“You never know what will happen, day by day,” Marksville Police Chief Elster Smith said. “You just have to be prepared for it if it does happen.”
Smith said Marksville has not implemented any new procedures, but officers have been told to remember their training and to stay safe.
Bunkie Police Chief Bobby Corner echoed that, saying the town is not doing anything different.
“Before every shift, we have a briefing about anything going on and what to be on the lookout for,” Corner said. “We always tell the officers to be safe and careful.”
Corner said his officers do not feel less safe and there does not appear to be any change in attitude of the public towards police.
Mansura Police Chief John Johnson said the town’s officers are wearing bullet-proof vests and have been told to increase their awareness in light of recent attacks on police officers.
“We are beefing up their training on how to approach traffic stops and on general protocol for contact with the public,” Johnson said.
“It seems like things are getting worse,” he said. “I hate to see public servants who put their life on the line every day being killed by people who take their life for no reason. It seems there is a lessening of respect for the police -- not here, but overall.
“We can say, ‘That doesn’t happen here,’ but it’s getting closer and closer,” Johnson continued. “We have to be prepared. I know all of our officers’ family members are concerned about the officers’ safety.”
Cottonport Police Chief Ernest Anderson said the recent events highlight the need for police officers to back each other up.
“I have told the officers here that if you’re on one end of town and you hear your partner say he is pulling someone over on the other side of town, you need to go over and back him up,” Anderson said.
He said there are two officers on patrol at all times.
“If I’m out there and I hear my partner is making a stop, I’m going over there,” Anderson said. “It doesn’t make sense to sit there doing radar when I could be the one that saves my partner’s life.”
Anderson said the department has monthly meetings, and an important topic is the need for officers to be safe.
“I stress that they must always have their vest on, that the body camera has to be on, and that they should know where their partner is at all times. It’s important.”
After the recent police murders, Simmesport Police Chief Brandon Spillman issued a statement to “all of the residents and commuters in Simmesport” notifying them that town police officers were on “a higher than usual level of alertness” due to the recent killings.
“I urge anyone who comes into contact with our officers to be understanding and patient, as our safety along with your safety, are our number one priority,” Spillman said in the written statement. “A high level of professionalism and respect will still be maintained. However officers may ask certain things of whoever they are contacting -- such as requesting to see both hands or asking you to temporarily step away from a potentially hazardous area.”
In his statement, Spillman said officers may have “a more serious and cautious demeanor,” but that should not be interpreted by the public as “aggressive.”
“I can assure you that the cautiousness is very much warranted at this point in time,” Spillman said. “I would ask anyone dealing with law enforcement officials to please obey any lawful orders given and understand the orders given -- agreed with or not -- are for the safety of all persons involved in the situation.”
Ideally, there should be two police officers responding to high-risk situations such as domestic disturbances and barroom/parking lot brawls, Hessmer Police Chief Kenneth Smith said.
Unfortunately, small towns and villages such as Hessmer don’t always have the luxury of providing backup on those calls.
“It would help if all of the police departments worked to gether, to provide a backup for the police officer in those situations,” Smith said.
“The camera systems -- those on the vehicles and the body cameras -- are fantastic,” he continued. “They can tell you firsthand what actually happened.”
However, they can’t keep the police officer safe in a dangerous situation.
“I tell the officers all the time, especially on domestic disturbance calls, safety first,” Smith said. “They also have to know how to talk to people to calm them down. You can’t just order people around.”
Moreauville Police Chief Scott Lemoine and Plaucheville Police Chief Claudia Johnson could not be reached for comment Friday.

State figures
So far this year, Louisiana has buried nine law enforcement officers who died on duty.
The state is tied for first with Texas on a list that nobody wants to lead. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund reports 80 police officers have died in the nation so far this year, up slightly from the 72 at this time last year.
Most of that increase is due to traffic-related fatalities, a NLEOM spokesman said.
Texas’ population is five times larger than Louisiana’s and it has about triple the number of law enforcement officers.
Louisiana has averaged about five officer deaths per year over the past decade, and had only three in 2014. Its previous high was nine deaths in 2007.
Last week was one of the most deadly for Louisiana peace officers in recent memory.

Trooper Vincent
Senior Trooper Steven Vincent, 44, was shot in the head on Sunday, Aug. 23, when he stopped in response to a call of a possible drunk driver who had run off the road in Calcasieu Parish. He pulled over at the scene.
The driver, Kevin Daigle, 54, got out of the truck with a sawed-off shotgun and fired at Vincent, who was struck in the head by two or three buckshot pellets.
He died the next day.
In that case, two or three drivers stopped to provide assistance. They were able to take the shotgun from Daigle, get him on the ground, and restrain him with Vincent’s handcuffs, State Police Superintendent Col. Mike Edmonson said.
Daigle’s roommate was found dead that Monday afternoon.

Sunset Officer Nelson
On Aug, 26, Sunset Police Officer Henry Nelson, 51, was shot with his own gun after responding to a domestic disturbance call.
Harrison Riley Jr. is accused of stabbing his wife and two other women before Nelson arrived. He then managed to get Nelson’s gun and shot the police officer.
Nelson was the cousin of Riley and also of stabbing victims Shameka Johnson -- who died -- and Surray Johnson, who was hospitalized in critical condition. Riley's wife, Courtney Jolivette Riley, was also taken to the hospital where she was listed in stable condition with stab wounds.
So far this year, three other officers have been fatally shot -- one in Shreveport and two in New Orleans.
Besides the five shooting deaths, the other on-duty police deaths included two officers who died of heart attacks, one who was struck by a car at the scene of a vehicle fire, and one who died in a collision during a high-speed chase.
Nationwide, 22 police officers have been shot and killed. Louisiana, with five shooting deaths, also leads that list.

Police officer safety seen as a critical need | AvoyellesToday.com | Avoyelles Journal, Bunkie Record, Marksville Weekly | Avoyelles Parish, La.

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