Police say domestic violence the worst calls
The Royal Register News
I have worked with police agencies throughout my 40 years of newspapering and have had occasion to discuss their work and their lives.
To a man, they have said the most fearful, most volatile calls involve domestic violence. You never know what's going to happen.
"They can get ugly in a hurry," one Toppenish officer said 20 years ago.
And it's not just men who lose control in those situations. Many a policeman has been attacked by a woman who has called for help in the first place.
"They get mad when you tell them you have to arrest their husbands," the same officer said.
The incident at Royal City on Oct. 24, which ended in the death of Pedro Salgado Ceja, is the first I've reported involving a death. I thank God I haven't had to deal with more.
There are no words to describe how you feel about the incident. It was well beyond unfortunate. There is sorrow to go around in Royal City.
Police Chief Darrin Smith doesn't know the legal relationship that existed between Ceja and the woman Officer Rey Rodriguez was trying to remove to safety. But Ceja and the woman had children together, he said. You feel for them and other Ceja family members.
Dale Foreman, of the Columbia Basin Investigative Team, reported that Rodriguez was okay last week even though he was "shocked." But you wonder, and you feel for him. Officers practice with their weapons but hope they never use them.
You also have to feel for New Hope domestic violence center personnel. They are likely still in some degree of shock, especially the advocate who was on this call.
You can bet New Hope workers have dealt with violent situations before but, perhaps, not one that ended like this. This advocate, fortunately, was just outside of the line of fire and clear of that shovel.
Now comes the judgment. A group of independent investigators, who were not there, must determine if Rodriguez was justified. The county prosecutor will have to decide if the shooting was legal. The public will pass judgment too.
The overriding fact I hope everyone keeps in mind is that Rodriguez was the only one who could make his decision, and he had scant time to do it. No matter how much time the CBIT and the public have to make their judgment, Rodriguez had less than eight minutes.
The call for assistance from New Hope came at 5:10 p.m. Rodriguez's call for help was made at 5:18. Take away the time it took to get to the scene and the time it took to get to the radio, Rodriguez probably had less than six minutes. Take away the time needed to assess the situation, he likely had less than four minutes.
Truth be told, Rodriguez probably had only seconds after Ceja picked up that shovel.
One argument police detractors will likely make is that a gun was too much response against a potential shovel attack. Maybe, but shovels can kill. They can bludgeon, and they can slice.
It was a peasant Mexican force armed with shovels that defeated the gun-toting French Army at Puebla, Puebla, Mexico on Cinco de Mayo in 1852.
The CBIT must do its investigation and render its verdict. That's the way we do things in America.
It would be nice if we never had to. It would be nice if all adult men and women were good to each other.
There is a reason police dread domestic violence calls.
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