Central Florida lost another deputy this week.
Today's Orlando Sentinel
Thomas: Officers jump into harm's way every day
Feb 11, 2005
Officer Peter Lavery got called to a domestic dispute in Newington, Conn.
He was in the house looking for the suspect. When he entered the basement, he was ambushed and gunned down.
Deputy Robert Hedman got called to a domestic disturbance in Otero County, N.M. He was shot by a man who had just killed his pregnant girlfriend.
I could give seven more examples.
Domestic disturbances claimed nine of the 53 cops killed by gunfire last year in the United States, according to The Officer Down Memorial Page Web site.
Domestic disturbances have claimed one officer so far this year. He is Lake Deputy Wayne Koester.
He is another good man who died because it was his job to intervene in other people's problems.
The man suspected of shooting Koester is Jason Wheeler.
He had a volatile, sometimes violent relationship with his girlfriend, Sara Heckerman. Three years ago, deputies arrested Heckerman for throwing a fire log at Wheeler. He refused to prosecute.
More than a year later, deputies returned to break up another dispute between the pair. They returned yet again on charges of possible child abuse. The couple had two children.
The tragic finale came Wednesday morning, when Heckerman called 911.
"My old man has lost it, and he has promised me that if a cop pulls into that driveway, there's going to be a gunbattle," she told the operator. "He's a big boy, so you might want to bring more than one. He almost killed me yesterday, and I didn't call yesterday 'cause my kids -- I had to get my kids out of there."
Now that everybody is safe, let's have the cops go fetch the lunatic.
How much would I have to pay you to walk up to that house after receiving such a call?
Would you do it for $31,616 a year?
That's what Koester made.
If you go through the checklist, you will see that he died of circumstances that are painfully familiar and predictable.
The couples involved in these disputes often are not married. He usually has a criminal history.
Neither has much of an education or bank account. Wealthier couples turn to counselors and lawyers to manage their disputes. Poorer couples tend to use the cops.
It used to be that the police would try to restore the peace and walk away. Now they try to arrest the abusers. But often a victim does not prosecute, and the charges are dropped. Sometimes the victim even turns against the cops.
The couple gets back together. And the relationship festers until the next explosion requiring a police response.
I don't know the answer for this one. The SWAT team can't respond to every domestic disturbance.
So whichever officer gets the call must walk up to that dark door as vulnerable as a soldier approaching a pillbox. He or she goes because there is nobody else to send.
A father of two children was killed. Officers put so much more on the line than their own lives.
But despite that risk and the lousy pay, we are fortunate that there are guys like Deputy Koester who want nothing more than to be good cops. Koester worked hard for that goal. And according to everyone who knew him, he succeeded.
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