Proud but sad

[frankykeno]

I'd like to ask those of this forum to keep the family of Detective Keith Dressel in their collective thoughts.

http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=6117576

He was killed by a 15 year old in the early morning hours this past Wednesday by a single shot to the chest. He was not wearing a vest as he was an undercover detective. He leaves behind a wife and two children, ages 4 and 6.

Years ago I was an emergency services dispatcher at my hometown police/fire department. I remember from those days the dedication of the officers and the worry their families always have that one day they may simply never come home. My heart breaks for this family with two small children now left fatherless because two teenagers decided to have handguns and sell drugs at 2 in the morning. It has come out that Detective Dressel did not fire first, he chose to try to grab the kid and was shot close range. His decision in this tense and immediate situation to not shot a kid probably cost him his life, but I can understand it. He was a decorated officer who had in the past run into a burning building to bring out an elderly person. He will be missed in a community that badly needs his calibre of officer.

Both of these teenagers have records, both are described as "troubled". It's very sad that no one could redirect their lives away from this mess and this is the result. It's also terribly sad that handguns are this easy for kids in trouble to get hold of.

I'm very proud however that this case was brought to such a swift resolution and that the parties responsible are now behind bars. It sends a hard but good message to Toledo, which lately has been experiencing a lot of gang violence, that shooting our law enforcement officers is going to be dealt with swiftly and justly and no rock left unturned you can hide under.

[Nate]

and what's even worse? they're minors...they'll probably be out by 18 with a sore wrist from the little slap they get on it.

Judge: " don't do it again"

edit..the 19 y/o might get life

[CeraDigital]

I seen that on the news. Its quite a shame what kids can and will do these days. Its rather disturbing they kill someone because they were going to get in trouble for curfew reasons. I hope darn well they get more than a slap on the wrist for this. They're more than old enough to know the consequences for taking a life are....especially if theyre old enough to make that decision to pull the trigger, to avoid the law...

[joepythons]

What a loss .Its sad that the ones who care about helping others lose thier lives .

[Vomitore]

If it were me, I'd publically hang those kids. I'd publically humiliate them before execution. I don't care what terrible background you had and use to try and justify your actions. Killing someone is just not excuseable. It's stuff like this that I could care less about the murderer and their life. If you were to do something serverly drastic to end an innocent person's life, then I think the killer should have their life taken in such an extreme you strike fear. That's the problem with America is there's no real fear put into people. Yes you can't run a nation on fear but when it comes to things like this, you need to be hard as can be. So the people that if you wanna be extreme? We can take extreme measure's to return "the favor" back to you.

[frankykeno]

and what's even worse? they're minors...they'll probably be out by 18 with a sore wrist from the little slap they get on it.

Judge: " don't do it again"

edit..the 19 y/o might get life

Nathan they aren't treating this lightly. They are publishing the 15 year old's name and picture (which normally is not done with minors) as well as seeking to have him tried as an adult, as well they should in this case.

Andrew, no one goes out simply breaking curfew with two fully loaded handguns as both these young men did. It is reported that they were there to make a drug deal and in fact assumed, until the officers identified themselves, that the three men were the ones they apparently were waiting for. The officers unfortunately treated this as a curfew violation at first and this may be what lead to a very sad series of events.

In the end this is a wakeup call to this city to deal with it's gang and drug issues as well as the access so many kids have to guns here as well as for the Chief of Police to get the funding for proper body armor designed especially for officers in undercover situations. Technology has advanced when it comes to body armor made to look much like normal clothing, I hope Toledo's mayor now sees the sense in purchasing some of this.

[Nate]

^^

[frankykeno]

One last comment from me. I've been less than impressed with the current mayor of Toledo since we moved here and I'm even more so during this awful turn of events. He is apparently out of town but can't seem to find a plane ride home to his city. I'm sorry but I can't think of a single thing a city mayor can be doing right now that is more important than coming home to lead his city through this and personally go see the officer's widow, his children and his parents/extended family as well as speak to the officers of Toledo PD.

[CeraDigital]

In the end this is a wakeup call to this city to deal with it's gang and drug issues as well as the access so many kids have to guns here as well as for the Chief of Police to get the funding for proper body armor designed especially for officers in undercover situations. Technology has advanced when it comes to body armor made to look much like normal clothing, I hope Toledo's mayor now sees the sense in purchasing some of this.

I can agree with you on this Jo! Most people see Toledo as a nice city when they're just driving by; by what they read; and living here a short period of time, but Toledo is infact a somewhat dangerous place. There's gangs everywhere...Bloods, crips, xbloc etc. Its quite sad what Toledo's youth has become. If you've seen or read anything about the Lagrange street festivals, theres always gang fights, people getting shot, stabbed, murdered etc. Its actually sad. A few years ago, they had to have the police walk a single file line, with loaded weapons and shields down lagrange street and break up all the gangs, as well as they had a few helicopters flying by with a spot light. The North end (where this happened), and the South side (where I live) are the two worst areas here.

All I can hope for is these kids get what they deserve, and that the officers family can pull through this tragedy. I couldn't imagine loosing a parent at that age, or loosing someone close to you over something as rediculous as what had happened. Its sickening!

About the Mayor...thats Toledo for you. This is one of the reasons I joined the Army. I want to get out of this place. I cannot stand it here. The system here is completely butt end backwards, and nothing seems to get handled the way it should. I wouldn't be suprised if he doesn't show up for a while to handle this situation...