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Kristine Prince
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No Apology Needed???
1 star|6 comments|September 13, 2007|348 reads
 

Pastor shot by deputy doesn't get an apology

BY JASON KOTOWSKI, Californian staff writer

 

Pastor John Pace said he isn't looking for much. He believes an apology for being unintentionally shot is a fair trade.

Pace was struck by a bullet on April 29 when Deputy Eric Jackson fired at a fleeing suspect in the 500 block of Decatur Street. The bullet traveled across Pace's back and lodged just below his right shoulder blade, where it remains.

The pain was constant throughout the first month and Pace also suffered from insomnia. His condition has improved, but he said the wound still aches or itches sometimes.

And he tires more quickly than he used to. Pace said he never forgets the bullet is still inside him.

"I don't know if I'll ever return to 100 percent," Pace said.

Throughout the ordeal, the Kern County Sheriff's Department never offered him an apology, Pace said. He understands it was an accident and doesn't blame Jackson, but he wants someone to own up to what happened.

It's nothing he wouldn't ask of anyone else, including his congregation at Riverview Southern Baptist Church.

"I preach accountability in a world of unaccountability," Pace said.

A sheriff's shooting review board ruled in early May that Jackson was justified in firing his gun. The suspect he was aiming at, Casey Abercrombie, had run from his vehicle after a traffic stop and pulled a gun on the deputy, according to reports.

Abercrombie is scheduled to stand trial on a charge of possession of a gun by a felon and has a readiness hearing scheduled in Superior Court on Oct. 19.

When the review board released its findings, Sheriff Donny Youngblood said it looked at the overall picture of what happened. Jackson feared for his life and had a right to defend himself, he said.

On Wednesday, Youngblood said it would be inappropriate for him to apologize to Pace because the deputy was cleared of any wrongdoing. He's sorry whenever anyone's shot, but he's not going to apologize when a deputy's actions have been ruled justified.

"I can't apologize for the officer doing what he's supposed to do," Youngblood said.

Pace said he and his wife, Mary, are praying on whether they should get a lawyer.

Mary Pace said she's concerned about whether her husband's condition will deteriorate because of the injury. She suffered from nightmares after the shooting.

"Is the bullet going to come out, is it going to go deeper in?" Mary Pace asked. "I don't know what's going to happen."

Pace said he has the utmost respect for law enforcement, but he doesn't think he's been treated fairly.

"I haven't seen justice served," Pace said.

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I cannot begin to describe how disappointed I am in the attitude of our new sheriff.  Since when is it "inappropriate" to apologize when an accident occurs??  This pastor has not even gotten a phone call or a letter from the sherrif's department acknowledging the incident.  Meanwhile, he has medical bills piling up and despite the pain that he still has, has had to return to work as a truck driver in order to try to pay for them.  I cannot believe the city is not doing anything to help.  From the looks of things, there are no plans to either.  Even accidents have consequences Mr. Sheriff!!  Here is a man who has sacrificed a lot to help a poor community in Bakersfield who now has even more limited resources to continue the work.  Uff!!!

 
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zachary snow
 zachary snow
September 13, 2007
Thats ridiculous. Just becasue the actions of the deputy to shoot a criminal were justified doesn't mean that shooting the wrong person was justified. Maybe he should learn how to shoot his gun before he just starts firing. What if it had been a child?
Kristine Prince
 Kristine Prince
September 13, 2007
Exactly!  Plus, if that bullet had just been an inch or so to the left or right it would have hit a major organ and Pastor Pace would be dead or paralized.  Then what?  Still just an "oops?"  He will have that bullet forever.  Two sets of doctors have said it is too risky to take it out.  My concern is infection due to having that thing in his body for so long. 
Suzanne Taylor
 Suzanne Taylor
September 13, 2007
This is certainly frustrating.  I think the whole thing has to do with a larger, legal, issue, though.  I'm sure Deputy Jackson wishes he hadn't hit Pastor Pace, and I'll bet he'd love to express his regret.  But, official apologies can be construed as an admission of some sort of culpability in the matter, which would leave the police dept. vulnerable to lawsuits. 

This might be a great opportunity for the pastor to role model forgiveness to the community.  Of course, I'm not in his shoes.  If an officer shot a family member in the course of aprehending a criminal, I don't know what I'd do.  I do, however, think their should be some sort of monetary compensation, at least to cover the cost of medical care and rehabilitation.  That seems like an appropriate response by the Sheriff's Dept.
Ronda Schlosser
 Ronda Schlosser
September 13, 2007
Thank you Suzanne for addressing the bigger issue.  We live in a lawsuit happy country, and you are right, an apology would be construed by some money hungry accident attorney as an admission of guilt for wrong doing.  The officer did what he is trained to do, it could have just as easily been the suspect shooting and missing and hitting an innocent bystander, and then everyone would be up in arms about him not being shot first by the officer!!!  It is a sick world when an officer defends himself and is put on trial for it. 

All that being said, Youngblood is completely in the wrong with the way he handled the situation.  He could have conveyed his regret to the family while at the same time defending his officers actions in a way that acknowledged the suffering that has occured.

As for Pace getting an attorney, Biblically that is WRONG.  This is as Suz. said a great opportunity to model forgiveness, and to talk about the REASON for forgiveness. But it is also a great opportunity for the rest of us to contact Youngblood to put pressure on him to allow his officer the opportunity to meet and apologize to Pace. 

As far as compensation for his injuries, this again leads to opening a door to set up a bad precident.  The next thing will be Law enforcement having to compensate criminal's families when they are injured during a pursuit, or standoff or gunfight.  We are already dangerously close to this, if not already going thru it in civil court trials after the felony trials are done.

You can not expect officers to have the courage to stand up and defend you day after day, night after night, putting thier own lives on the line, if they also have to worry about losing everything they own, thier freedom, their families, for doing what you expect them to do.   My husband had the priviledge of pledging to "if neccessary, lay down my life, rather than swerve from the path of duty".  And he really does consider it a priviledge to be able to make that pledge!!  When we start looking at officers and treating them as regular "civilians" we strip them of their authority.  Criminals know this. Criminal families know this, and they are working hard at making officers look just like them.  Officers are not criminals. And should not be treated as such.   

Kristine, as for infection, if his body hasn't rejected it yet, (and if it had they would find a way to remove it), then it won't cause any worse problems later.  He can't have an mri ever again. If I remember his size correctly, this is not an issue in any case. His shoulders were too broad to fit into a scanner! :)

Z and J, obviously have never shot a gun at a moving target while moving.  I am surprised just one shot was fired.  Also, you have no idea of where Pace was standing, if he was within the officer's line of sight, he would not have fired his weapon, bullets do go through walls, fences, cars and still cause serious injury.

Sorry if I sound testy, but this hits way too close to home for everyone to get mad at the officer for doing what we expect of him to do.  It is far too easy to make judgements while in the comfort of our homes, knowing that they are out there willing to take a bullet to protect me and my children.
Suzanne Taylor
 Suzanne Taylor
September 14, 2007
I heard Youngblood on the radio yesterday.  He expressed his regret about the whole incident.  He even went as far as to say he was very sorry the pastor was caught in the crossfire and shot.  He sounded very sincere. 

I still think if innocent bystanders are caught in the crossfire the compassionate response would be to cover medical expenses.  However, I can see where this could be abused.  For example, a group of people go into a store, one pulls out a gun to rob the place and a cop shoots the person with the gun and two other people who were in that group.  Those two might demand the police dept. cover their medical expenses because they weren't pointing the gun.  Very gray area.  Bummer.  In my simple brain, it seems like the right thing to do.  
Kristine Prince
 Kristine Prince
September 14, 2007

Sorry if it came across that I was upset with the officer.  I totally respect and admire the men and women who daily risk their lives for our safety.  I echo what Suzanne's saying.  Medical expenses should be covered in a case such as this.  If I have a car accident and hit someone, I am expected to cover medical expenses for anyone injured.  Actually, my insurance covereage should cover that.  Why wouldn't the same apply in this case?  I don't see Pastor Pace wanting to sue for the sake of sueing.  He is not one out for money.  However, somehow those medical bills have got to be paid.