Police Shooting in Hospital takes the life of a Father, Ruins the Life of a Child

POP QUIZ, what is worse than a hothead with a gun?  ANSWER, a hothead with a badge to go along with that gun. 

There is so very much wrong with the story and much of what else is so wrong is not even covered in this story.  In an article titled “Video Of Cops Gunning Down Young Father In Illinois Hospital Released (VIDEO)” written by Randa Morris for NBC 5, it is reported that “On November 11, 2014, the Lake County, Illinois state’s attorney ruled that Highland Park police were justified in the shooting death of 27- year- old Christopher Anderson. Anderson was killed by police inside Highland Park Hospital on November 3. Anderson and his nine year old daughter were taken to Highland Park hospital, following a car accident that left both with minor injuries. According to police, Anderson became ‘agitated’ over the care that his daughter was receiving in the emergency room, and pulled a gun.  Police say that the officers involved in the shooting repeatedly asked Anderson to drop the gun, before firing the nine rounds that ended his life.  Surveillance video of the shooting, which was obtained by NBC 5 in Chicago on November 19, suggests otherwise.  The video shows officers firing off nine rounds in under two seconds. While the sound of the gun fire can be clearly heard on the video, at no time can police be heard telling Anderson to drop a weapon. From the video, it’s impossible to tell if Anderson was in possession of a gun. His family members insist that he was not”. 

Now while the report covers the shooting death of the father who was also an accident victim, no mention of the trauma that has occurred to the child is mentioned.  The family seems all up in arms about the killing of the father but none seem quite as concerned as to the results all this will have on the child.  Not only does the child have to deal with a traumatic event of the accident but now she has to contend with the memory of hospitals and the death of her dad.  Imagine the lack of trust she will now have about the safety and security of hospitals, the disdain she will grow up with when it comes to health care professionals and the downright hatred she will carry for police officers or anyone of authority.  What about the child?  No one seems to be answering that question nor does it appear to be on anyone’s mind.  Family sees dollar signs while cops see justification and still no one wishes to consider the remaining life of the daughter and those involved as of any concern.

To argue who was right or wrong means to try and find an excuse for any of them avoiding responsibility and Lord knows there are plenty of blame to go around.  If the victim of a car accident, the father, had a gun, why would he not know better than to carry it into a hospital especially around his child?  If this was a justified shooting, what evidence did the state’s attorney use to come to that conclusion?  Was this decision reached just on the words of the officers or did the state’s attorney allow themselves to listen to statements from others and was this proceeding attended by a representative of the family?  Was it truly necessary to have police there and was the care at the emergency room as slow as care in many emergency rooms around this country.  Many hospitals need to rename their emergency rooms into “I’ll get to you when I feel like it room” because that is just the way things go.  No one there seem in an emergency especially the health professionals.  I guess some believe that if you sit and wait on a doctor long enough, your reason for being there will heal itself.

The father, if he did have a gun, was a hothead to pull that weapon in and around his child and I would be willing to bet that many of his family members knew he carried when they allowed that child to travel with him.  All this is predicated on him having a gun.  The other hothead was none other than Dudley Do-Right with a badge.  Piss off a man who is demanding medical attention for his daughter then kill him so that he will not be able to tell what really happened.  Don’t worry about the child, she will be so traumatized by the accident and the shooting, it will take her many years to even remember.  Don’t worry about those doctors and nurses who were in the vicinity because they will be so afraid that you will come back for them, they will keep their mouths shut or say exactly what you want them to say.

People it is time for us to look beyond the obvious and begin to look at the beginning.  When is it okay to take the life of another in the presence of a child?  When is it okay to parade around like you’re in the Wild West with a weapon in the presence of a child?  When do we stop bearing false witness about mistakes we make and start taking full responsibility of every choice we make and when do we tell the entire story from all angles instead of just looking for something that is going to get viewership or increase ratings? 

There is an officer who took a life and will never be the same.  There is a little girl who not only has to come to terms with that accident but now do it without her dad.  There is a family which appears ill-prepared to deal with that little child as she struggles through life and there is a society which condones certain crimes depending on who the offender is.  All these are much bigger questions that do not have an answer and is often ignored.  We concentrate so much on death and destruction, at what point will we say enough and begin to turn our attention to life and construction?