July 2024. Blues Vol 40 No.7

DR. TINA JAECKLE blue

DR. TINA JAECKLE blue mental health The Psychological Impact of Criminal Accountability 168 The Blues - July ‘24 As our nation has encountered the devastating consequences of an increased number of mass shootings, especially when it involves innocent children, we are now seeing more calls for criminal charges for responding officers. When there is a potential question of negligence on the part of law enforcement, both the surviving families and prosecutors are now moving forward with seeking accountability through criminal charges. However, these cases are often legally difficult to prove as demonstrated by the criminal trial of former Broward County deputy Scot Peterson. A jury acquitted him on all charges of felony child neglect, three counts of culpable negligence and one count of perjury. Peterson, a school resource deputy, stayed outside during the February 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Now another tragedy continues to play out on the national stage. According to the Washington Post (Voisin, June 2024), a grand jury indicted the former chief of the school police force in Uvalde, Tex., in connection with the botched response to the 2022 mass killing at Robb Elementary School, finding that he bears responsibility for the lengthy delay in killing the gunman. The indictment released Friday echoes much of what state and federal law enforcement leaders have concluded in their own reviews of the attack that left 19 students and two teachers dead. Prosecutors allege Pedro “Pete” Arredondo failed to identify the attack as an active shooter incident, even after hearing gunshots and being informed that a teacher had been shot and there were children still inside. The indictment also asserts that Arredondo was the incident commander, something he has disputed. Arredondo was charged with one felony count of abandoning or endangering a child for each of the 10 children who survived the attack inside classrooms 111 and 112 by pretending to be dead or hiding among the dead. He was booked at the county jail on Thursday, June 27, and later posted bail. In addition, a former officer, Adrian Gonzales, was also indicted. Prosecutors said he and Arredondo were the first on the scene. Gonzales was indicted on 29 counts of abandoning or endangering a child. That figure represents the combined total of 19 child victims and 10 child survivors. The officers are the first to face DR. TINA JAECKLE criminal charges in a shooting that sparked outrage over both the violence of the 18-year-old gunman and law enforcement’s lengthy delay in entering the classroom and killing him. Texas leaders initially praised the law enforcement response but later acknowledged officers had waited 77 minutes to confront the gunman. Legal experts said the charges appear to mark an unprecedented application of the child-endangerment statute. Legal experts could not recall any previous case in which Texas law enforcement officers had faced child-endangerment charges, which are typically brought against parents, caregivers or individuals related to victimized children. But there is a subsection of the law that gives prosecutors room to charge an individual they think knowingly acted or failed to act in a way that led to a child experiencing imminent danger of death or bodily injury. There is ample evidence show-

ing law enforcement’s inaction that day on body-camera videos, radio communications and other records. However, whether Christina Mitchell, the Uvalde district attorney, wins a conviction, the charges “send a message directly to law enforcement that if you are police officer and know a child is in danger, you cannot wait an hour to engage with a bad actor.” As these cases unfold, the entire law enforcement community, as well as the grieving families, are closely watching. But there is, without question, a psychological impact on those who serve and protect and increased questions on responsibility and accountability in these situations. Fortunately, there are countless officers in our country who would never hesitate to put their lives on the line to save others, especially children, and we are deeply grateful for their heroism and sacrifice. These criminal cases may indeed send a strong message to those law enforcement officers who hesitate to respond. Time will certainly tell. The Blues - July ‘24 169