Police: Texas cop slain trying to protect child

Police: Texas cop slain trying to protect child

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ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- A rookie police officer responding to a domestic violence call in suburban Dallas was shot to death trying to protect an 11-year-old girl from her mother's gun-wielding ex-boyfriend, a department spokeswoman said Wednesday.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Most of the stories we see on ATS concerning LEOs are in a negative light of them shooting dogs or tazering a child.
The tendency is to make broad generalizations about the people and the profession of law enforcement.

I have been critical of the "we/they" attitudes of cops and the apparent lack of training and oversight from internal affairs. I still maintain that a level of respect and accountability would come from having "citizen review panels"

But this article shows what LEOs face in the field all to frequently and the heroism the majority display in performing their duties to "serve and protect"

Officer Smith RIP

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(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by whaaa


I'm glad the child is safe, but I am disappointed that the officer was not able to protect herself and the mother. It seems like having a police officer in your apartment at the time your ex shows up to kill you should be a pretty good way to stay safe, but I guess not. I hate to second-guess the skills of the officer, but why move toward the child instead of killing the suspect? How did a known armed assailant get into the room without the officer drawing a gun?

Tragic and Sad, but seems preventable?

Edit to add:
This isn't to spin the story in a negative light. It is nice to hear when there are police out there attempting to protect people. I have a thread up where a friend of the family was killed while on duty a couple of weeks ago. Most cops are good guys, and they are in constant danger, and if anything, they probably don't use enough force sometimes and they pay the price for it.

Originally posted by getreadyalready
reply to post by whaaa

 

I'm glad the child is safe, but I am disappointed that the officer was not able to protect herself and the mother. It seems like having a police officer in your apartment at the time your ex shows up to kill you should be a pretty good way to stay safe, but I guess not. I hate to second-guess the skills of the officer, but why move toward the child instead of killing the suspect? How did a known armed assailant get into the room without the officer drawing a gun?

Tragic and Sad, but seems preventable?

Edit to add:
This isn't to spin the story in a negative light. It is nice to hear when there are police out there attempting to protect people. I have a thread up where a friend of the family was killed while on duty a couple of weeks ago. Most cops are good guys, and they are in constant danger, and if anything, they probably don't use enough force sometimes and they pay the price for it.

edit on 30-12-2010 by getreadyalready because: (no reason given)

edit on 30-12-2010 by getreadyalready because: (no reason given)

Because she was smart enough to know if she killed the suspect the next thing you know the headlines would be how another officer was responsible for the death of another "victim". That's the spin everyone would put on it, she was trying to keep the situation from escalating, she did not want anyone to die. I can understand why she did what she did, and maybe she thought the guy in her assessment was just destraught and could be talked down? This is called good police work, giving the benefit of the doubt, and trying to calm things down instead of arbitrarily shooting first and asking questions later.

reply to post by ldyserenity


Police are under far too much scrutiny. They are not lawyers, and they are expected to make the most difficult decisions under the most stressful circumstances, and then criticized either way after the fact. It takes a team of lawyers, judges, and jurors to decide if their actions were appropriate or not, but we expect them to make those difficult decisions in split seconds under incredible pressure.

Still, in hindsight, it was only good police work if she had successfully talked him down. In this case, it wasn't good police work, because in hindsight, she should have shot him quickly.

Effectively, the child was not saved by the officer, because the man killed her, then walked to the back and killed the mother, and had the option of still killing the child. A sad, sad story, and proof of why so many officers do choose to shoot first and ask questions later. If I had a family waiting for me at home, I would always error on the side of making sure I get to go home. It might be for selfish reasons, but I would rather defend myself in court than die and not get to go home, and I don't blame any officers that act in that manner.

I read that line of duty deaths are up 37% this year.

This woman is a hero.

It is good to hear a positive story about the police for a change. My sympathy goes out to her family and friends.

could be used as an argument against citezens having guns, but i understand that all th eguns would not dissapear if the laws changed. also you get good and bad people just as you get good and bad police officers and you also get people and police officers that are ok or slightly bad but have some morals and wouldnt like to kill in front of a child. its basically just a horrible story with a horrible or insane person to blame.

i just feel sorry for the child as they have now got no chance of living a normal happy life and has a good chance of turning to drugs when they are older to escape from the pain that this evil man has caused upon her.

Originally posted by getreadyalready
reply to post by ldyserenity

 

Police are under far too much scrutiny. They are not lawyers, and they are expected to make the most difficult decisions under the most stressful circumstances, and then criticized either way after the fact. It takes a team of lawyers, judges, and jurors to decide if their actions were appropriate or not, but we expect them to make those difficult decisions in split seconds under incredible pressure.

Can't really say I shed tears for cops, part of the job. If they don't like it or find the pressures too hard then quit. The problem I see is that too many cops extend their powers and change the laws to suite their needs. They are only there to enforce the law, not interpret it nor create it.

That said this is a tragedy.

brill

Reply to post by ldyserenity

I bet it's a male/female thing that had her seeking to cover the child over disabling the threat.

Instinct takes over in these situations of life and death and extreme stress which is why people are trained constantly in simple repetition hoping that the repeated act will be ingrained to the base level of instinct.

If I had to guess it wasn't the cop in her that covered the child. It was the mother.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

reply to post by getreadyalready


All valid questions. I can say from experience that a domestic call can go from stable to violent within seconds, and I have been caught in the middle of those and have been lucky I and other officers / bystanders have not been killed. So many things are going through our minds when taking these calls, sometimes its easy to loose situational awareness.

While we all prepare for a call to go to hell, it still can catch us off guard, with devestating results. Reviewing what the Officer did might possibly show she did everything right, as hard as it is to understand that rationale.

From the linked article -

Arlington police officials said Smith, who had been an officer since February, was responding to a routine domestic violence call that didn't include an indication that Nettles was in the area or had a gun. Under those circumstances, the call required only one officer, the officials said.

"From what we know, that type of call would be a low priority," Chief Theron Bowman said.

This is a toss up.. I am not sure which call I like least, taking a Domestic Violence call, or doing a traffic stop.

Thoughts and prayers go out to the family.

Officer Down Memorial Page - Police Officer Jillian Michelle Smith

Arlington Police Department
Texas
End of Watch: Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Biographical Info
Age: 24
Tour of Duty: 10 months
Badge Number: 2650

Incident Details
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Committed Suicide

Police Officer Jillian Smith was shot and killed after responding to an apartment for a report of a domestic dispute.

Officer Smith responded to a call of a domestic dispute between a husband and wife. When she arrived, the husband had already left the apartment. Officer Smith was inside the apartment taking a report from the female victim when her husband returned.

As the husband opened fire Officer Smith positioned herself to shield the woman's 11-year-old daughter, saving the girl but receiving fatal gunshot wounds. The man then chased his wife to a bedroom where he murdered her before killing himself.

Officer Smith had served with the Arlington Police Department for 10 months and had finished her field training 15 days prior to her murder.

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere
If I had to guess it wasn't the cop in her that covered the child. It was the mother.

...because she's a female - so she MUST HAVE reacted emotionally, rather than logically (sarcasm)...

...maybe she knew what kind of scum nettles is because he has a long nasty record... maybe nettles was threatening the child with rape... afterall, he's raped kids before...

...from the article posted in the op...
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gun-wielding ex-boyfriend

Nettles was arrested by Arlington police in September for allegedly assaulting Carter's sister and her mother, Richard said. He was out on $5,000 bail, and his case was still pending

he was a registered sex offender

Nettles had convictions for rape of a child, domestic violence, burglary, failure to register as a sex offender and possession of a firearm.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/f1c1c1e6131f.jpg[/atsimg]

A true and rare hero!

You know, it is a sad reality that this has to happen too often in these times, she used her own body to protect the innocent.

May she find many rewards for her sacrifice in the afterlife, blessings to all involved... and I hope there is a special place in hell for the scumbag who shot her.

Originally posted by brill
Can't really say I shed tears for cops, part of the job. If they don't like it or find the pressures too hard then quit. The problem I see is that too many cops extend their powers and change the laws to suite their needs. They are only there to enforce the law, not interpret it nor create it.

That said this is a tragedy.

brill

+1

I agree.

This one, however, was a rookie. Probably not even in it deep enough to realize it's not all it's cracked up to be.

reply to post by Wyn Hawks


All assuming she had the guys name from the start. Generally 911 dispatchers are not comissioned law enforcement, and as such are generally not allowed to run an individual through the system on their own authority. Again generally speaking we dont care if they do since it helps us do our job, but some agencies are strict on that.

She was collecting information for the report and the info she had was the guy was gone and was not known to be armed at the time of incident. This officer, being on the job for 15 days by herself, would have no knowledge of this guy or his background unless she came across him during field training, or she ran the name through the system. I have worked calls where I waited till I had all the info before running people because they were not present, and its not uncommon for this to happen depending on call type.

In larger cities that classify a domestic as a low priority call will generally train the officers to collect the info and do paperwork at a later time since its after the fact and the suspect is gone (will vary by circumstance). While we train for it,its not common for a person to barge in the front door intent on killing anyone they come in contact with.

The guy had a weapon, hers was holstered, and he came in shooting. Using her body to protect the child is heroic, regardless of anything else we might think.

reply to post by Xcathdra


Wouldn't it be prudent in any domestic violence call to enter the home, lock the door behind you, and be wary of anyone approaching? Even if he had a key, she would have had time to put the potential victims behind a door and draw her own weapon.

If the 911 caller said the man was violent, the officer would have been a little bit guarded I would think?

I am sure this is a matter of very little experience and a whole lot of good intention, it is a sad, sad story!

reply to post by getreadyalready


Many things could be brought up as to why the Officer did what she did, but we will not know for sure aside from the account of the 11 year old girl present. It is very easy to become complacent on calls, and I am just as guilty of it as other officers. The guy was reported to ahve left the area, so the initial thought process is to check people for injuries and get medical, then collect info for the report.

Its hard to describe to be honest to those not in law enforcement how the thought process works on calls. Hind sight will always be 20/20, which is why LEO's are not judged on that, but the actual perception of the officer at the time of the incident.

A low priority call, suspect gone, apparently no injuries that required medical places officers into the mindset of collect the info for the report and look for the suspect if the crime committed meets requirements for an arrest. I am guessing that since they consider a domestic low priority, actively looking for the suspect with the way the call was logged was no where near the radar screen. Most likely it would be turned over to detectives to follow up on and do the PC statements.

As I said, we are trained to expect issues, up to and including the person returning to the scene of the crime. Just because we are trained for it does not mean that training will win in the end. There will always be an X factor present, and it occures when its least expected.

There is no human way possible for anyone, even and officer, to be ready for any eventuality that suddenly crops up. Some days you get the bear, and some days the bear gets you.

Reply to post by Wyn Hawks

Why do you make it sound as though the motivation somehow lessens the value o the action?


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

reply to post by whaaa


I have had similar comments directed at me. I am really sorry that this happened to a decent cop. There are good people in all walks of life. My sympathy to his family and friends.

What the hells wrong with some people?

She did her job to "Protect and Serve" She protected the Child with her life. She being a "Female" is really irrelevant. Not being able to handle the stress of the job is irrelevant. She was there DOING her job. She paid the ultimate price for being a Cop and handling the Stress.

LEOs here at ATS really do take a beating in public opinion and I'll be the first to admit that in many cases they deserve the criticism but in THIS case the SCUMBAG boyfriend should be grilled alive. I have a feeling that if she the COP wasn't there we'd be hearing about 3 killings including the child and one being a suicide or a manhunt in the news for some SCUMBAG who killed a woman and child that's now on the loose being a threat to more innocent people and possibly killing more innocents and or cops trying to make his escape etc.

Please show a little more respect.