Regarding the letter, “Judging officer isn’t justice either”: I am sure the officer is a very nice man, father, police officer and more, but that is not what is being called into question. No doubt this accident had to be under a scrutiny of review and only now the Snohomish County prosecutor’s office has received it.
The main reason many civilians are skeptical or raising questions is there is a belief, accurate or not, that there are two laws, one for civilians and one for police, with regard to firearms and their being safely secured. If any civilian, and I am not talking about an ex-felon or someone who stole a firearm, but a civilian, with a legal written permit, had failed to secure their weapon and had that weapon been found by a child and used, that civilian would already be in custody.
Yes, this was a tragic accident and yes, the officer and his family will grieve forever, and I will take the letter writer at her word and say the officer is a very nice man but that is not the point! The point is: Anyone with a firearms permit, be they police or otherwise, must have their weapon secured especially when children are around. Both parents left their vehicle thinking, or not thinking, that the weapon was secure or won’t be found and both were wrong. Children are capable of getting into lots of things, many of which are lethal to them. We hold the police to a higher standard because they do carry a weapon but the fact is whether you carry a badge, a lunch pail or a briefcase, if you legally own a permit to carry a firearm you must have it secured, especially around children, or deadly accidents like this happen.
I didn’t, and won’t, judge this officer, but will wait to see what happens. But this does not dampen my belief that firearms, unsecured with children nearby, are a deadly accident waiting to happen!
Steven Arnhold
Everett
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