I
was off work last Monday, ill for two days with some stomach bug that’s
victimized many in our Recruiting Department.
We’re like one big day care, a petri dish where many of the more routine
annual illnesses are shared involuntarily including the latest version of the
flu and other notable, opportunistic viruses. Thanks to modern medicine this
will only be an inconvenient few days and I am anxious to return to work. The state of my health, however, is not the
point of this post rather, that I was home and when not sleeping and gathering
my strength, the news of the day dominated.
The
morning was rough and while I was counting fingers and toes, the world slid not
so blithely by. Here in Dallas some
deranged young man shot and killed his pregnant girlfriend of many years in a
Hamilton Park neighborhood home and then fled the scene. A witness to the shooting told Dallas Police
Officers (DPD) that they saw the alleged shooter drive off and that the victim in
a dying declaration identified the suspect as the one who shot her. All that
was certain and not conjecture.
An
all-points bulletin was put out for the car which was identified by DPD about
90 minutes later and a high speed chase ensued which was televised throughout
the DFW area. Eventually the shooter
made his way back to the same Hamilton Park neighborhood from whence he came
but only after loosing several volleys at pursuing police, wounding one officer
who was treated and released from a local hospital. After the suspect’s car ran a curb he bailed
out and ran into a house that only moments before was occupied by its resident
who was witnessing the chase on TV. The
story not only dominated local TV, for
several hours it was the only thing on unless you went to a premium
channel or one of the news networks and some were even showing Dallas in all
our unsplendor… like another OJ chase. And this is one of the points of this post –
the resident of the house watching that same TV program and realizing that the
suspect had wrecked just in front of his home and was headed his way, barely escaped
his home just as the shooter entered from the rear. The shooter appeared well familiar with the
house.
After
four hours and a few rounds of tear gas Dallas Swat officers captured the
suspect who was hiding in a crawl space under the house. Yours truly and much of DFW saw this all play
out in living color – a replay of numerous such events that we have seen across
our country. You really can’t hide
anymore… Much of the video was provided
by the local NBC affiliate’s Chopper 5 which we are assured was being streamed
to DPD. At some point in the future
those helicopters will probably be obsolete, replaced by much smaller airborne
drones all backed up by a system of remote surveillance cameras that will
literally cover the country. We are
already well on our way to that end and are probably the better for it… This
incident proved that.
By
the way, the suspect whose guilt of the murder and shooting at DPD officers
seems certain (we saw it on TV in live living color) is listed in the Texas sex
offender list for two convictions of indecency with a child by exposure, one in
2000 and one in 2001. He was sentenced to a year in prison on both occasions.
He was also arrested in January on a misdemeanor family violence assault
charge. The court date for that case was scheduled for next week. Looks like that charge has now been trumped
with the capital murder charge…
Then
comes the Boston Marathon terrorist attack masterminded and carried out by what
we know now to be two real sickos. The
suspected terrorists are brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev who like our
“suspected” murderer above no doubt perpetrated
the Marathon Massacre even as local law enforcement reflect that they have
photos of their explosive drop. Their reaction thereafter and the murder/assassination
of a MIT police officer demonstrate their arrogance and desperation. Tamerlan
is now dead from his attempt to shoot it out with Police while brother Dzhokhar
is now in custody. Whatever their
perceived grievance we have to wonder why they would murder and maim innocents
and how they so grossly underestimated the resolve and strength of our law
enforcement, our military and the American People. Both petitioned for asylum
and accepted refuge and the hospitality of America only to turn to the dark
side.
Prior
to their capture President Obama speaking directly to the perpetrators and all
Americans proclaimed that the bombings were, “a heinous and cowardly act and
make no mistake — we will get to the bottom of this. And we will find out who did this; we’ll find
out why they did this… Any responsible
individuals, any responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice.” The
Tsarnaevs were persons of interest almost immediately thanks to our
surveillance network and the timely photographs and video of a concerned
citizenry. And, hey how about some kudos for digital photography, social media,
front facing infra-red cameras and the extraordinary interaction of law
enforcement with all those key elements.
Closer
to home, on Monday the FBI and law enforcement officials of the State of Texas
and Kaufman County appeared closer to identifying the perpetrators of the
murder of Kaufman County District Attorney Michael McLelland, his wife Cynthia
and Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse.
Former Kaufman Justice of the Peace Eric Williams had already been
jailed for making a "terroristic threat" and appeared to the entire
world that he was involved in the shootings as well. Most in DFW feel that he was in the sights of
law enforcement and the prime suspect in the aforementioned murders. While this writer was finishing this post
word came down that William’s wife Kim was officially charged with the murders ($10M
bond) and immediately implicated her husband as the shooter who was apparently taking
revenge for pursuing theft charges against Williams for stealing County
property. He has since been charged with
the murders and with a $23M bond we are assured that he won’t be riding his
Segway any more…
So,
it was quite a Monday and I couldn’t wait to get back to work. No, reality and the press of what seems now -
more than ever - a world gone mad, wasn’t left behind. It’s just good to be with Friends and people
who care. The victims of these senseless tragedies are in our thoughts and
prayers as well as the heroic Citizens of Boston and Watertown. Kudos to all law
enforcement whether Federal, Commonwealth or local. Well
done.
Aye,
Ned
Buxton
No comments:
Post a Comment