Best work of law enforcement too often goes without notice

As the mother of a young man who has struggled with both autism and schizophrenia, I have followed with both sadness and horror the shocking story of Keaton Farris, a mentally ill man who died of dehydration and starvation in the Island County jail, an inexcusable death that was followed by jail staff falsifying records to protect themselves.

I couldn’t agree more with the July 26 guest commentary by Norman Messer, that criminal charges are in order. However, I believe that in his grief over losing his friend, Mr. Messer has lost his perspective when he writes, “I find it increasingly difficult to have any respect for police officers or prosecutors.”

Yes, we read of many examples of police officers fatally shooting people, sometimes with the shootings recorded on video. However, we often get information that is incomplete, inaccurate, sensationalized and misleading.

Unfortunately, the nature of police work is such that when something goes wrong it is all over the news, but when something goes right we never hear about it. If we stop to really think, we’ll realize that for every incident of police misconduct that is proven to be true, there have been countless stories of police officers who have run into a burning building without protective gear to pull someone out, who have battled murderers, armed robbers and drug lords, who have stood in the pouring rain at the scene of a car accident to aid the injured and direct traffic to avoid a second accident, who comforted the victimized and prevented a crime by stepping into a dangerous situation.

With great joy I can currently state that my own son is now free of signs of schizophrenia and is thriving. A couple years ago that was not the case. That was the time when a Washington State Patrol trooper, whose name I can’t even recall, came to my aid and made a positive difference for my son. On that terrible day my son had been refusing to take his medication. He was hearing voices and was becoming increasingly agitated, but still refused to take his medication. I didn’t know what to do. I knew that without medication his condition would worsen and possibly become dangerous. Not knowing how the system works, I dialed 911, hoping that because I have legal guardianship I could have my son committed to a hospital until he was stabilized.

As I stood in my yard crying, an officer pulled up. After hearing what was going on, he explained that because my son was not in imminent danger of hurting himself or another, he could not be involuntarily committed, even by a legal guardian. The officer could simply have driven away at that point and left me crying in the yard. Instead he offered to go into the house to talk to my son.

What I witnessed that day left me forever grateful and in awe of what police officers do in the line of duty. That officer could have had a doctorate in psychology based on his skill in knowing how to instantly come across as my son’s best friend but also a no-nonsense officer who wanted him to know that if he ever crossed a certain line he could end up in jail. As my son’s father and I listened from the hall, this trooper told my son how lucky he was to have caring parents and a nice home, told him that he would not want to go to jail because it would not be a fun experience, told him that he had seen people do really well on their medication and get into a lot of trouble off their medication. My son, who had been in a very agitated state, was calmed immediately by the trooper’s kind yet strong presence. He did not leave until my son had agreed to take his medication and the officer knew that we were now able to take over.

Now, several years later, thanks to a special diet and an extremely small dose of medication, my son is happy, sociable, and leading an active life. One caring and competent police officer made a very positive difference for us. I know he is not an exception to the rule but is representative of the majority of officers in our area. It is the bad cops who are the exception to the rule. It is no more right to stereotype police officers based on the misconduct of a small minority in their ranks than it is to stereotype people based on race or gender.

I want to take this moment to thank that wonderful State Patrol trooper, and to thank all of police officers who put themselves in harm’s way every day to keep the rest of us safe, who maintain their composure even when verbally harangued by someone who doesn’t want to accept a traffic ticket, and who carry on with this difficult work in spite of feeling unappreciated and maligned. Thank you, officers. In my book you are heros.

Beverly Hoback is a resident of Arlington.