Stephan: I have been thinking about this article for two days. After you read it you will see why. First, of course, the difference in attention each killing attracted, how much more awareness was focused on the dog than the woman. It says something about us as a society. Second, what this story tells us about how we value impaired human life. And, third, How very poorly trained American police are. This is a nation of 319 million people. It follows that a certain percentage are mentally, physically, or addictively off the rails. Why, then, doesn't it follow that our police are trained to deal with this?
The woman discussed here was sadly impaired, no question. But her knife was what used to be called pocket knife size. I don't have the sense people carry pocket knives anymore. But two police should have been able to handle a deranged woman with a pocket knife sized blade without killing here.
Shane and Jeanetta Riley on their wedding day
Credit: Riley family
Arfee, in a photo posted to the Facebook page ‘Justice for Arfee’.
Credit: Facebook
Two fatal police shootings unfolded within 14 hours, both in lakeside towns in the same corner of north-west Idaho.
The first victim was Jeanetta Riley, a troubled 35-year-old pregnant woman, shot dead by police as she brandished a knife outside a hospital in the town of Sandpoint. Her death barely ruffled the tight-knit rural community, which mostly backed the officers, who were cleared of wrongdoing before the case was closed.
The second shooting, in nearby Coeur d’Alene, sparked uproar. There were rallies, protests, sinister threats against the officer responsible, and a viral campaign that spread well beyond the town and drew an […]
People carry pocket knives to open up packages whether from Amazon or a bag of chips. If you walk in the woods or stroll in your garden, they can be handy. Nothing nefarious. Just the usual thing done for 50 years, long before everything in life it seems became suspect.