April 26, 2007
My close ties to the tought police
I don’t know if it’s like this for other reporters, but I never seem to loose a connection to beats I used to cover. When I see those familiar datelines from my former professional life I get excited and pour through the story, occasionally noting the byline of a former colleague or competitor and watching for the names of once familiar sources and local newsmakers.
My former beats are all small time so if I see news from them now it’s bound to be something unique and I’m usually a little sad that I didn’t get to cover things. I always try to figure out just how’d I’d have gone about putting my own version together. Today I saw one that I probably would have struggled to cover. I’m tempted to give an old and trusted source a call because I’m absolutely puzzled by his actions and the justifications he’s putting out there.
The Cary, Illinois Police Department arrested 18-year-old Allen Lee, and the straight-A Cary-Grove High School student is being charged with disorderly conduct for the content of an essay he wrote for English class. The Chicago Tribune reported on it here, and quote the police as saying the essay’s content was violently disturbing but not directed toward any specific person or location. Now, this essay was never shown to anyone besides his teacher and school staff before the police were called.
Obviously this arrest is an overreaction to the horrible tragedy of last week’s shooting at Virginia Tech. That was a case of many people missing numerous warning signs about a disturbed person, and it has lots of people talking about what can be done to prevent future shootings.
Some say we need fewer guns, or tighter restrictions to access. I’m in that camp, but others want to see the return of the wild west where everyone had a gun as they seem to believe the fear of someone else’s gun will prevent people from using their guns. It’s a personalized take on the Cold War theory of mutually assured destruction, but I think it kind of falls apart when one of the individuals involved has a death wish. Once their own destruction means nothing, they use their gun whether or not anyone else has one.
Of course another part of the way to attempt to prevent future tragedies is better mental health care, and that brings us back to Allen Lee and the thought police who arrested him for the contents of something he wrote but never published in any way. The school overreacted by calling the police, and they in turn overreacted by bringing misdemeanor charges into play. Calling in the school counselor seems like a much more sensible approach, but instead the police made a big show of how they are being tough on anyone who could possibly pose a threat to the community.
And that’s where my personal connection comes into play. I covered the town of Cary for more than a few years and Cary Police Chief Ron Delelio was a valued source, true community leader and some who I had much respect for. I covered his promotion to the head of the department after chronicling the fall of his predecessor, a man who had lost the support of everyone supposed to follow him. But that would never have been a problem for Delelio.
He made his name cracking the case of John Veysey, a serial arsonist and murder in the name of insurance fraud. (read about it here) Delelio put the piece together when Veysey hit Cary and he brought that same level of persistence to running his department. The man worked long hours and instituted a number of programs to both improve the moral in his department and their effectiveness in the community. I knew Delelio as a man who was serious about the law and upholding it to the very letter, but also as a smart and sensible person who realized the differences between the rolls a police force plays in enforcement of the law and protection of the citizens.
In this case I think Delelio might have erred on the side of enforcement, when a more measured approach would have done a better job of protecting the community. Who knows how disturbing this essay might be, but without an effort on Lee’s part to publish or promote this, he’s not engaging conducting disruptive to any order. I think arresting someone for words on paper that lack in a direct threat is a dangerous precedent.
If Delelio’s charges stick writers everywhere have reason to be afraid. If they’re rightfully thrown out, that could be the end of Delelio’s career. Lee and his family would certainly have grounds to take the town to court and if the settlement if large enough, Delelio might be forced to step down.
I guess in the end I’m relieved I wont have to cover this story. It’d be difficult to question Delelio about his reasoning because I’m so disappointed by his actions. I’m sure he thought things through as he was not an impulsive man, but his conclusion that the best way to protect people from a potential threat was a minor criminal charge seems way off target to me.