Star Telegram – by Bud Kennedy
DALLAS Weary after a 15-hour police shift, Officer Amber Guyger made mistakes that were both sloppy and deadly.
The death of Dallas resident Botham Jean, 26, in what she mistook for a home invasion will haunt both her and the city of Dallas for years.
But if a police officer shot an innocent resident in Fort Worth, Arlington or anywhere in Tarrant County, the case might never even go to court.
Tarrant County has the state’s first “treatment court” diverting officers to a recovery program instead of criminal prosecution if they suffer from a stress disorder, mental illness or substance addiction.
Yes, in Texas an officer accused of a crime can be sent for treatment instead of prison.
Then he or she can go back to work on our streets.
“It’s designed to get someone who has a mental health issue into treatment, instead of just throwing them away,” said Charley Wilkison, executive director of the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT).
(His group often represents officers in criminal cases but is not representing Guyger, he said.)
Texas already has a long list of special “diversion court” rehabilitation programs, including one for veterans.
When the Texas Legislature created the new program for first responders last year, state Sen. Konni Burton, R-Colleyville, and state Reps. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth; Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford; and Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, were among those voting no.
Burton specifically raised the concern that the way the law is written, it might apply to a murder defendant.
Stickland questioned whether it violated the Equal Protection Clause.
The law’s author, state Rep. Charlie Geren, R-River Oaks, said Tuesday the law does not prevent prosecuting police for a crime. The district attorney and judge must agree before a suspect can be diverted to a treatment program, he said.
“I find it very unlikely that anyone facing a manslaughter or murder charge would ever be approved for this,” he said.
(But that’s mostly because the DA and judge have to face voters.)
The law has been in place only a year. County Criminal Court Judge Charles Vanover volunteered to preside over the first such court.
It’s meant for first responders facing a first-time DWI or drug case, for example, Geren said.
Here is the affidavit from the Texas Rangers. #AmberGuyer #BothamJean #BothamShemJean pic.twitter.com/febfUJPWrD
— Nichole Manna (@NicholeManna) September 10, 2018
Asked if she would approve rehabilitation for an officer involved in a shooting death like the one in Dallas, District Attorney Sharen Wilson sent back the answer: “No.”
Wilkison, the CLEAT executive, said he doesn’t blame anyone for thinking police will get special treatment.
“I think we’re in favor of looking at diversion programs for other citizens too,” he said.
He is sympathetic when officers say they’re exhausted or overworked.
“We don’t know what happened [in Dallas], but the way we push and pull law enforcement personnel and stretch them all different ways leads to problems,” he said, describing the way police work overtime hours as “scandalous.”
Ironically, CLEAT hosts state-mandated training sessions around the state to teach offices how to de-escalate confrontations and avoid shootings. One session was Tuesday in Cleburne.
“But home invasions are occurring,” Wilkison said.
He repeated that he wasn’t talking about Guyger.
“But in normal circumstances,” he said, “I’m not going to tell someone not to defend their home.”
This was Botham Jean’s home.
https://www.star-telegram.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/bud-kennedy/article218217815.html
‘Police Specialty Courts’ will let officers avoid prosecution (2017)
For a police officer to avoid prosecution, he or she will need to get their fellow officers to vouch that they need to be in the ‘safety treatment program’. And just like some perverted magic act, all of the officer’s problems will disappear.
“Proof of matters described by Subsection (a) may be submitted to the court in which the criminal case is pending in any form the court determines to be appropriate, including medical records or testimony or affidavits of other public safety employees.”
Police officers who’ve committed a crime will receive a get out of jail free card, simply by requesting a ‘first responder specialty court’ hearing and paying up to $1,0000 to enter into the ‘safety treatment program’.
Once a police officer has entered the ‘safety treatment program’ all charges against them will be dismissed.
“If a defendant successfully completes a public safety employee treatment court program, after notice to the attorney representing the state and a hearing in the public safety employees treatment court at which that court determines that a dismissal is in the best interest of justice, the court in which the criminal case is pending shall dismiss the case against the defendant.”
To summarize, all a police officer has to do is claim they suffered from a brain injury, mental illness, or mental disorder, including post-traumatic stress disorder while on duty and any crime they committed will be dismissed.
Do you think the public would ever be able to claim ‘post-traumatic police syndrome’ after being wrongfully arrested, beaten or targeted by the police?
https://massprivatei.blogspot.com/2017/07/police-specialty-courts-allow-officers.html
“….Weary after a 15-hour police shift, Officer Amber Guyger made mistakes that were both sloppy and deadly…..”
All evidence indicates that Officer Amber Guyger committed a premeditated murder of someone she knew. She doesn’t need treatment, retraining, or more sleep. She needs a noose, but of course, the “Star Telegram” is making excuses for her already.