I sent this letter to Benton County Prosecuting Attorney, Andy Miller, today. It was written a bit off the cuff, as healing the divide between police and citizens is not an issue I had thought much about before this month. Here is the letter. Consider taking some constructive steps, yourself. Andy, I feel strongly that we need to deal with the national crisis in confidence caused by police shootings of unarmed citizens. I encourage you to take steps that could help restore a measure of our confidence in law enforcement. I don’t claim to be particularly knowledgeable about the operations of a prosecutor’s office, but appointing a special prosecutor in officer-involved shootings is an idea that I think is worth considering. I’m not putting this idea forward because of any specific concerns about local events. My impression of local cases of police shootings has been favorable to police. To address the national loss of confidence, we need to act locally, perhaps coordinated at the state level. I support assignment of a special prosecutor to deal with investigations, charging, and prosecutions for all officer involved shootings, because local prosecutors have to work hand-in-hand with law enforcement. Conflict of interest has to be dealt with. The idea of having the state prosecute was recently proposed by New York’s Attorney General, and has been met with resistance from prosecutors. I expect their feelings are hurt, that someone is asserting “We don’t trust you.” in a way. They need to get over that feeling and do what is right for justice. Bringing in a special prosecutor should be automatic and as ordinary as a judge’s recusal. I expect there are dimensions of ‘loss of control’ that prosecutors are uncomfortable with. It is for the greater good of all that we build back our confidence in law enforcement through more rigorous and even-handed treatment of shooting events involving law officers. What struck me in the Ferguson situation was that the prosecutor chose to make the Grand Jury the ‘court’ without the benefit of cross examination of witnesses. That is a miscarriage of justice, in my opinion. He had a chance, in court, to let a jury decide the merits of the case, but instead he ‘directed the verdict’, so to speak with his handling of the grand jury. I am sure you have an opinion on this, too. The country, including Missouri, would be better served if Ferguson’s prosecutor yet brings the indictment forward simply under his own signature, and allowed the courts to decide the merits of the case. A court need not find the officer guilty, to have restored some confidence in the process. As it is now, it looks like ‘the fix was in’, and we need to avoid that perception in the future. The root problem isn’t the prosecutors, it lies with law enforcement, but prosecutors can play a positive part in the rehabilitation of law enforcement’s reputation. This is why special prosecutors, however administered, are needed in these circumstances. There are many in Benton County who would welcome this change to our system, and I encourage you to pursue it. If you don’t, the cloud will remain longer over our law agencies’ heads. Thank you. Respectfully, Ivar Husa
Posted on: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 07:30:11 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015