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Editorial: What happened along I-85 needs further explanation

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

(Updated 3:00 am)

Questions continue swirling around the fatal shooting of a UNC-Chapel Hill student early Sunday along Interstate 85 by an Archdale police officer.

While authorities remain tight-lipped as the State Bureau of Investigation launches its investigation, bits of information surfacing from 20-year-old Courtland Benjamin Smith's family in Texas and his fraternity brothers on campus are inconsistent with what Archdale police say occurred.

According to a police press release, Smith called 911 before dawn Sunday and said he was suicidal. He reportedly was shot after officers pulled over his car just over the Randolph County line and pronounced dead about an hour later at High Point Regional Hospital.

Smith earlier had attended a back-to-school bash at his fraternity house in Chapel Hill. His mother, Susan Smith of Houston, told The News & Observer of Raleigh that a friend was with him at 2 a.m. and "he was fine."

His father told the paper that his son didn't own a weapon. The police news release didn't say if one was involved or how many times Smith was shot.

Hearing a tape of the 911 call, received in Guilford County and a public record, would shed light on what may have led to the confrontation. However, the Randolph County District Attorney's office has obtained a court order sealing it, saying there's a valid reason for doing so.

But providing at least some information, nonprejudicial to the probe, including autopsy results, would help make sense out of what emerges as a senseless, mysterious loss of life.

Given the dearth of information, nothing can be ruled out. Was it "suicide by cop"? Did the two officers, now on administrative leave, have nonlethal weapons -- Taser or pepper spray? Were I-85 motorists in harm's way?

Offering some clarity now would quell rumors and still afford investigators the latitude they need to conduct a thorough investigation.

What do you think?

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atticusfinch

August 26, 2009 - 7:26 am EDT

This sorry episode speaks to the need for better law enforcement training in how to handle the mentally ill. The man called for help because he was depressed and suicidal. This fact was known to the officers who responded. Most mentally ill persons, especially the depressed, are not a danger to others. The officers should have talked to him and brought him to a hospital. Instead they shot first and asked questions later, and a young man is needlessly dead. The police should be properly trained to prevent suicide by law enforcement. I hope that the family has a really good law firm.

Voice of Reason

August 26, 2009 - 12:33 pm EDT

Armchair Quarterbacks- I love 'em! The cops should have this, should have that...I'm sorry, were you there? Last I saw there were 3 people there, and I don't remember atticusfinch being one of them.

Is this a tragic story? Absolutely! However, It pains me that so often when an officer involved shooting occurs in this country so many IGNORANT people come out of the woodwork. The police are not perfect, accidents happen, certainly; but police are well-trained for many different situations. They have to be able to think fast, make split life and death decisions to save themselves and others, all while remaining on the right side of the law. They deal with all types of good and bad people; perfectly sane to mentally ill to mentally handicapped, and have to be able to determine if there is a danger or not. Dealing with mentally ill persons is one of a police officer's most difficult duties- they can be wildly unpredictable. Anyone who has worked in law enforcement or with mentally ill subjects knows this fact.

I don't know the facts of this case any more than you. However, unlike you, and apparently many people in today's society, I don't look at a story like this and immediately accuse the police involved of wrongdoing and making mistakes. I tend to believe the well-trained police were in the right until the official inquiry tells us otherwise.

Incidentally, the original call to 911 stated the subject was suicidal. Lets consider that. Already, the police arriving on the scene have little to no idea what is going on in this kid's head. They have little to no knowledge of what he has in his car with him, and there are plenty of places to hide weapons in a car. They would already be on heightened alert, and having had no prior dealings or information on this subject were walking into the unknown. Mr. finch, can you imagine how nervous YOU would have been? Now consider this, earlier this year the Journal of Forensic Sciences reported that 36% of all officer involved shootings were labeled as "Suicide by Cop," a number that is actually on the rise (Mohandie et al. Suicide by Cop Among Officer-Involved Shooting Cases. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 2009; DOI: 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2008.00981.x). Officers in Suicide by Cop cases and their families go through a lot themselves- feelings of guilt, wrongdoing, second-guessing, depression, all because of someone else's suffering or problems. Many feel they cannot return to work. Public opinion, like yours atticusfinch, certainly doesn't help.

So, Mr. finch, the next time you see a sad story like this one, one where you think, had you been present, YOU could have done it better, why don't you pause and consider just how difficult, dangerous, and demanding a cop's job really is.

voice-of-reason

August 26, 2009 - 8:14 am EDT

As with any police action which involves a death there is a process and/or a set method of conducting an inquiry. The District Attorney's Office has decided to seal the 911 call. Will it be released? Yes eventually (assumption on my part). To make a comment that officers did something wrong at this stage of the investigation is ignorant. Should more facts come out later which puts focus on things done wrong by the officers, then a comment about doing something wrong can be made.

Wait for the facts, then make judgements. Opinions count, but don't cry wolf before the whole set of facts is known.

cr8er

August 26, 2009 - 8:27 am EDT

It's called suicide by cop. It happens everyday in America. Let the facts speak for themselves when we, indeed, learn the facts.

minkheel

August 26, 2009 - 9:11 am EDT

I agree that we all need to know more about what happened and whether or not the police acted properly. I am reserving judgment on the latter question until more information is available.

One VERY important thing to take away from this is the statements from Courtland's friend that he was "fine" about 2-3 hours beforehand and from his parents that he was a happy kid. Those of us with serious depression (and I am one) are often very good at hiding it. We can put on a happy face and say everything is fine and act "normal." Only a spouse or someone equally close can really tell what is going on. I was brutally depressed while at Carolina and I would venture to say no one I knew would have guessed -- I didn't even realize it at the time. College students and parents half way across the country would never know unless Courtland decided to let them in. The sad reality is that when you are depressed you feel so worthless and like such a drag on everyone around you that you find it (1) almost impossible to believe that anyone would help you and (2) unthinkable to bring people down further by opening up to them. These thoughts are not rational or based in objective reality, but they are all too real. There is also the stigma -- especially among men -- that depression is a "weakness" and a character flaw that makes you less of a man. Depression is a chronic disease like diabetes and can be treated. However, like diabetes, if untreated or poorly treated depression can and does kill (whether by overt suicide, suicide-by-cop, drug overdose, alcohol poisoning, DUI crash, etc.).

I think it seems apparent that Courtland was severely depressed and needed help. I hope people -- including law enforcement, fraternities, colleges, students, parents -- educate themselves about depression so that similar tragedies eventually become a thing of the past.

countryboy

August 26, 2009 - 11:46 am EDT

The N&R lives in a microwave world...got to have it now. So you can sell papers? In time the truth will be available. And it will not come from fraternity brothers 60 miles away who are clueless as to what happened. Why even use them as a source? That is not journalism...that is tabloidism.