Earlier this week, a jury acquitted the officer charged in the Uvalde, Texas school shooting. It was the right thing to do.
The mass shooting in a school in Uvalde four years ago was an absolute tragedy. It was tragic in that 19 children and two teachers were murdered at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022.
Equally tragic was the horrifically botched response from law enforcement personnel, who appeared at the scene immediately after the perpetrator breached the premises.
We know now that the best way to mitigate damage in a school shooting is to have a full-out, immediate attack by law enforcement agents to disarm the shooter. That’s not what happened at Uvalde. There was so much confusion regarding the chain of command at the site and the law enforcement leaders were timid and equivocating. There were over 370 officers at that school standing around for 77 minutes.
With all that said, what would be the purpose of putting any of these law enforcement members in jail?
They goofed up, and they have to live with that shame for the rest of their lives.
We can’t blame the underlings because they have to follow orders. Those at the top hesitated and made the wrong decisions.
But should we be telling police officers that if they err in judgment, they could be put in jail?
We think not.
Years earlier, police officer Scot Peterson was put on trial for not doing enough to stop the Parkland, Florida shooter. While the perpetrator was wandering the halls shooting at students, Peterson was cowering behind a car, wondering what to do and waiting for backup. He must live with thatshame for the rest of his life.
But again, what would be the purpose of indicting him and putting him in jail?
Of course, when officers go beyond just bad judgment and enter into the range of murder, as was the case with Derek Chauvin in the George Floyd episode, there should be criminal consequences. But merely making a wrong judgment call should not be subject to prosecution. That would put every officer at risk and perhaps prevent them from taking certain actions in the future where they otherwise would.