Last week, after reading the online editions of the DailyNews, I became particularly curious about the timing ofnumerous articles concerning students' alcohol consumption --directly and indirectly speaking to the killing of MichaelMcKinney.
For whatever reasons, the Daily News has taken thissomber moment to expose the evils of student drinking.
Apart from what one might think of the bona fide dilemma ofstudent partying and its resulting tribulations, this hasabsolutely nothing to do with the homicide of McKinney by an agentof the state.
Do not allow news articles or television reports of carousing oncampus misplace your focus on the true issue. What actions orevents that brought McKinney to the house where he was killed arenot germane to the issue.
Stories of McKinney's late-night tour of several neighboringbars might be newsworthy and might clarify what he was doing in theearly-morning hours, but such reports do not articulate the truematter: The shoot/don't shoot assessment that an officer of theUniversity Police Department made.
It is my belief, simply, that if a police officer (even arookie) cannot fight off a single, unarmed aggressor withhand-to-hand combat techniques, knowing that backup is secondsaway, that officer should not don the badge.
Almost certainly not, however, should the officer bear all theblame. Only he knows if he felt endangered with serious injury ordeath before he shot.
If Officer Duplain, however, was required to attend the policeacademy in Plainfield before being ordered out on patrol, would hehave reconsidered his deadly actions against McKinney?
Would not the knowledge gained from graduating from the policeacademy been useful in the officer's assessment of the situation?Would the intensity of his personal-threat evaluation been alteredhad he been fully qualified in hand-to-hand combat or in the use ofless-than-lethal force (pepper spray, TASER)?
The Muncie Police Department's and the prosecutor's office'sinvestigation has received a good deal of press exposure, butlittle notice has been made that the exclusive encompassment isonly to collect and preserve evidence (physical and testimonial)and determine if the office should file criminal charges or impanela grand jury.
Given the reality that a vast majority of police actionshootings do not result in criminal charges, Duplain, in myopinion, will not be charged with a criminal violation underIndiana law.
Sadly, according to Associated Press, it appears that theuniversity has hunkered down in its position that its officer didno wrong and that his training was adequate. This public-relationsgyration cannot transform the reality that a UPD officer killed anunarmed student.
Would the fatal shooting ever have occurred if the officer wasfully trained or required to team up with another, more-weatheredofficer? Doesn't the university have the responsibility to affordits employees an adequate level of training to do their jobs?
The people of Indiana -- and particularly of Ball State --should demand that the Revised Indiana Code be amended so that allpolice officers are required (by statute) to graduate from anaccredited police academy before they are entrusted with the powersand responsibilities in which their commission affords them. To doless is a compromise the citizens of Muncie should nottolerate.
The punishment for McKinney's night on the town should not havebeen a death sentence.
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