To collect or not to collect? Evidence decision flawed

Job of police extends beyond arresting an offender. It includes making a community safe

There is no question that the bloody underwear involved in the prostitution case of the 7-year-old girl — (involving close relatives) James Stewart and Teri Sanchez — should have been collected. It is easy to see that now, but in the context at the time, the officer acted on ill-given advice. His decision-making process was flawed; he should have considered the bigger issue, which is: “how did blood get onto a 7-year-old girl’s panties?”

It is clear that there were many signs missed regarding the plight of this girl and her brother. A resource that is always overlooked is APS school police. Besides home, children spend the majority of their time in school; where was APS in all this? Schools have the most access to children on a day-to-day basis, why aren’t some of these cases being fielded by school police? We should not accept any excuse involving training; the best trained may have messed up this case now.

In this instance, it appears the detective was focused on the prosecution and the collection of irrefutable evidence rather than finding an explanation as to what occurred. Adults are responsible for ensuring that children are protected, and it is everyone’s responsibility to keep children safe. The job of police extends beyond arresting an offender, and it seems we have lost sight of all the other components that make a community safe.

We deserve a better explanation from the chief’s office. It appears that Chief (Michael) Geier fell into the same trap that new chiefs sometimes do — and that is to be more concerned with satisfying the troops than to admit fault. The public response did not sit well, and worse, he prematurely convinced Mayor (Tim) Keller it was under control. The response reads like a re-run of Chief (Gorden) Eden’s premature statement regarding the justification of the (James) Boyd shooting.