Washington Sheriff’s Deputies Turned Back
December 28th, 2007
Court papers detail slayings of six in Carnation
The daughter of two of the victims has been arrested along with her boyfriend in the slaying of six on Christmas Eve in Washington state. They will probably be charged today.
The murder weapons are apparently 9mm and .357 Magnum handguns.
Though this crime is grisly and tragic, what’s been bothering me the most about it is the response of authorities to a 911 call:
Late Wednesday, investigators also revealed that someone inside the home called 911 during the shootings, but the caller hung up without saying a word, said King County Sheriff’s Sgt. John Urquhart.
Two King County sheriff’s deputies went to check on the house, but they turned back without speaking to anyone at the home when they encountered a locked gate, Urquhart said.
“From everything I’m hearing, it wouldn’t have made a difference,” Urquhart said.
He may well be right that it wouldn’t have made a difference, but is that how we’re expecting law enforcement to respond? According to the news story, the two home owners were killed first, and the other four “a short time later.” What if that call came in during the initial attack? Couldn’t the arrival of the sheriff’s deputies possibly have prevented further murder?
Sheriff’s officials said the 911 call was made from the house at 5:13 p.m. Monday and lasted about 10 seconds. The police dispatcher didn’t hear anyone talking, but told investigators there was “a lot of yelling in the background,” but it “sounded more like party noise than angry, heated arguing,” Urquhart said.
After the call was disconnected, the dispatcher placed two calls to the home, but the calls immediately went to voice mail, Urquhart said.
Two deputies were sent out at 5:19 p.m. and arrived at 5:45 p.m., Urquhart said. They found a locked gate — which isn’t in sight of the house — and didn’t go farther onto the property. According to the dispatcher’s log, the deputies reported: “Gate is locked, unable to gain access.”
It goes on to say that though a firm sequence of events hasn’t been established, it’s believed that the call was placed “near the end of the slayings.” If that’s the case, of course, the 32 minute wait between the call and the arrival of the deputies at the locked gate would have been too long for them to help even if they hadn’t turned back. It will be interesting to know if they determine if the call was placed during the initial attack or the later one.
In any event, it is simply another illustration of how total dependence upon the authorities to protect you in a crisis is a hopeless cause. All too often events unfold far too quickly for anyone outside the immediate situation to affect the outcome.
Tags: WA
