Sheriff’s Chance to Gloat Takes Refreshing Turn

We’ve seen that troubled face before. It’s the face of someone outside the boundaries of normal American life, watching from the sidelines as everyone else plays a game that the person doesn’t fully understand but desperately wants to.

This time, the face belongs to Lori Elizabeth Fischer, whose booking photo Orange County Sheriff’s Department authorities displayed this week on a large poster to announce her arrest for allegedly leaving razor blades and other sharp objects at various South County parks.

It was hard to look at her forlorn face and not form a connection between her and Andrea Yates, the Houston mother convicted this year of drowning her five children. Luckily, no children have been reported injured by the dangerous objects found in the parks, and that is one of the elements that will make Fischer’s case an interesting one to follow.

In other words, whoever left the razor blades chose not a direct attack on children but one that was a step removed. Authorities believe it was Fischer who planted the razor blades, nails and other objects in sandboxes, under swings and at the bottom of slides. In addition to finding nails in her vehicle after they stopped her near a park, they recovered journals with entries that alluded to the ongoing episodes at the parks. They also believe she was the anonymous caller who on various occasions telephoned them with warnings that objects would be planted at specific parks.

In the current lexicon, Fischer’s alleged actions amount to terrorist acts against children.

But even as authorities released some details of their investigation, the county’s top law-enforcement official sent the discussion down an enlightened path--namely, the mental health of someone who would do such things.

“It may be a cry for help,” said Sheriff Mike Carona of Fischer’s alleged actions.

That’s unusual talk from a law-enforcement official, especially when not a lot is known yet about Fischer’s mental health. Unusual and refreshing.

There is a context here, and authorities were quite willing to release some of the writings from journals they found in Fischer’s car and home. One of them included the lines “Nails, razorblades, broken glass/The innocence is shattered/Yellow police tape encircles/The once peaceful haven.”

We’ve all heard cops scoff at the emotional sensitivity and pain implicit in such writings. While not minimizing the alleged crimes, Carona chose to take a broader view.

I asked his spokesman, Jim Amormino, about that Thursday.

“Mike Carona is a very sincere, compassionate man,” Amormino said. “He is speaking from the heart. I think he was speaking out of compassion. Our job is to enforce laws, but I think this shows there’s a human side of a law-enforcement officer, and the statement by the sheriff emphasizes that.”

Amormino said he didn’t think Carona’s statement would irk the Orange County district attorney’s office, which will prosecute Fischer if she is formally charged.

“He’s speaking from compassion and not [as an expert in mental health],” Amormino said.

It’s much too early to weigh in on Fischer’s state of mind and what the proper punishment should be, if she were to be tried and convicted.

I’m merely applauding Carona for not grandstanding in a case where good detective work gave him the opening to do just that. Instead, the sheriff has done a far better thing by widening the lens as the case now will unfold in the weeks ahead.

That said, Amormino seemed intent on leaving me with an accompanying view of the investigation.

“It does show to us, she did have specific intent to hurt someone,” he said. “The only thing that prevented it was the huge public awareness program.... I lived this case for a month. I went on every single call. The razors were placed in upright positions, strategically placed under slides and swings, in many incidents buried and not visible to the naked eye. I don’t want to get into the mental-health issue, but these were deliberately set with the intention to hurt someone, as opposed to getting attention.”

Fair enough, but perhaps with his boss’ remarks of a day earlier still fresh in his mind, Amormino quickly added: “But, personally, I do feel sorry for her, quite honestly.”

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Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Readers may reach Parsons by calling (714) 966-7821 or by writing to him at The Times’ Orange County edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or by e-mail to dana.parsons@latimes.com.