Michael McKinney was a Ball State University student.
He could have been your roommate, your best friend, your fraternity brother.
The situation surrounding his death is incomprehensible. The fallout of the event is harder still to imagine because most of us weren't here to see it.
However, it happened at our university in an area you might live in. This event affected the entire university and incoming students for years after.
We shouldn't treat this as if it is some long-forgotten, minor incident and as if the people didn't exist.
Michael McKinney was a real person who had a family.
Robert Duplain, the University Police Department officer who shot McKinney, was a 24-year-old man whose life was changed forever.
Real people are involved in the fallout and the trial. They have feelings. They should be treated with some consideration.
Comments in response to Tuesday's article, "A family's fight," range from supporting the McKinneys to a snarky remark stating, "If I were an officer and someone was coming after me in the dark, there would be MORE than 4 bullets put in him."
An unfortunate series of events occurred that led to this moment in Ball State history. The actions of several culminated into an event that forever changed Duplain and the McKinneys.
McKinney was doing what many college students do.
He was out drinking, but he was 21.
He was on foot, not behind the wheel.
He had arranged a place to stay for the night, but he went to the wrong house.
When thinking of typical safe drinking behavior, McKinney's only mistake was the excess of his drinking. Otherwise, he planned his night to be as safe as possible. He knew he would be drinking and made accomomdations for the night.
Duplain was doing what University Police officers do.
He completed university-required training.
He responded to a report of a robbery.
He was confronted by someone who he presumed a criminal, and he followed police protocol.
Yes, there is much greater context to everything that went on. But when you get down to it, the people who were involved were people, not mysterious historical figures.
One fateful November morning not so many years ago the lives of hundreds were changed in one moment, including Duplain's and McKinney's. Duplain lives with the memory of his actions, and the McKinneys live without their son or brother.
Consider the families involved, consider the hearts that were broken.
Then consider the comments that were made online.
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