There are few things as sobering as seeing a deceased person. Add the elements of being a Sheriff's deputy, still in uniform, just killed by a suspected drunk driver, and you have something even more sobering.
For those in the Lubbock area, you may recall the death of deputy Tommy Lamkin about a week back. He was on his way home after his overnight shift at the new county jail. According to his co-workers, when he left shift, he was in a great mood....he had just gotten his family vacation approved and was excited to get home and share that with his wife.
But he did not get the chance. He was hit almost head-on on the highway when a driver, already with a felony DWI due to her 3rd conviction on her record, crossed the median, BAC estimated at 3X the legal limit, and ended his life. Allegedly, of course. At the posting of this blog, she is in jail on a murder warrant....gotta love Texas law, while in the course of committing a felony and you cause the death of someone, we are talking murder in this great state!
Aside from her day in court, the focus should be on Tommy and his family.
The scene was a mess, and we were forced to shut down both sides of the highway to properly secure and process the crime scene as well as ensure the clean up. The unfortunate side effect is it caused a significant traffic flow problem, as everything had to exit and re-enter the highway further down the road. There was simply nothing we could do to avoid that.
And this is the moment when I almost got to meet the rudest and most insensitive person I've had the chance to encounter in quite some time.
While all the officers were busy, processing and collecting evidence, mapping the scene, ensuring Tommy's body was being properly taken care of, ensuring everything was in order for the pending criminal trial, every officer on the scene heard him....somewhere in the line of cars slowly exiting behind us:
"WHAT THE HELL IS TAKING SO LONG????"
We all whipped around as soon as we heard the shout, scanning the line of cars, looking for the guilty party. Alas, we could not identify the shouter and the cars slowly continued to exit. What a shame, because had the guilty party been identified, I would have been more than happy to answer his question.
So, since I could not answer it at the time, since he did not have the courage to stay around and await my answer, here is exactly what I would have told him:
"Pardon me, sir. I must apologize that we are in your way. I have no doubt that whatever you have to do at this very moment surely trumps the life that was just snuffed out here. I am so sorry that our duty of processing the scene while keeping you safe and ensuring that the alleged criminal that just killed someone, just killed a Sheriff's deputy, just ensured that his wife and two children will not see him on this earth again, is put in jail for a very long time to keep you and the public safe, which is thus interfering with your commute and interfering with your life. What is taking so long is we must be meticulous in cases like this and ensure we have every element of the crime satisfied...otherwise, the alleged drunk driver might not be convicted and Tommy's family will not have justice, and you will have another habitual drunk driver endangering you and your family. We also must take care with his body....you see, he is still in that mangled pickup over there, and I suppose I must apologize for that as well. So, on behalf of Tommy's family, I simply apologize that we are in your way...that our duty and striving for justice is interfering with your day. Please go forth and have a blessed day, sir."
At least, that's what I would have meant to say. Perhaps it would not have been quite as artful, and the language may have changed just a tad....however rest assured, it would all have been relayed in some form or another.
What a shame the rudest, most cowardly person I've encountered in many years did not stick around to hear my answer. It was a good one, I think.
God bless your family, Tommy, and find rest and peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment