Arrested Justice in Deputy’s Shooting

* Well! What do you know? We have had another sappy decision a la Rodney King. This time by the Orange County Grand Jury. It smells.

The killing is not excusable. It is not a close call as stated by the county prosecutor. Officer (Brian) Scanlan is trained in the use of firearms. He must have learned as a private in the Army, as I did, that you: 1. Never point a gun at another person (unless you intend to kill) and 2. You never assume that a gun in your hand is not loaded. Again, al la King, we are told that we cannot know how the jury arrived at its decision without seeing or hearing the evidence presented to it. Baloney! Officer Scanlan knew better and should be charged with having committed a crime.

SAMUEL LAMBERT

Irvine

* The expressed policy of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department is that real guns are never to be employed in training exercises.

On Christmas Day, 1993, in a public area, one of the minuscule number of black deputies on the Orange County Sheriff’s Department was shot, point-blank, in the face by a white deputy. Yet, if one is to accept the veracity of the Orange County sheriff and the conspicuously racially homogenous grand jury, Deputy Brian Scanlan, described by his department as one of the most expert and professionally driven field exercise trainers, accidentally unholstered his weapon, accidentally released the safety, accidentally pointed his weapon point-blank at Deputy (Darryn) Robins’ face, and accidentally pulled the trigger, mortally wounding Robins. This all transpired during what has been described as a “training exercise.”

The legal authority of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, district attorney’s office and grand jury has failed. Now is the time for the federal government to exercise its moral authority.

RON TERRANOVA

Huntington Beach