The Bullet

July 24, 2018 

On July 21st when Gene Atkins shot his grandmother seven times; kidnapped his girlfriend, who was also injured and took off from South Los Angeles, evidently, a "Lo Jack" on his grandmother's car alerted the LAPD to his location. No one at Trader Joe's in Silverlake knew what was going on as the police picked up Atkins' car and a chase through the streets of Los Angeles evolved.  Somehow,  Atkins found his way to Silverlake, a hip and friendly neighborhood ten miles north of where the mayhem began.

Whether Melyda Corado, the manager of the Silverlake Trader Joe's, was outside before Atkins crashed in front of her store or came out to investigate what had happened is unclear. Sadly, she  was  killed by 'friendly fire'.. the military term for being shot by someone who is supposed to be on your side. A policeman's bullet ended her life.

For years I have railed about police pursuits and the dangers that the public is placed in when a fleeing suspect is on the run.  That the police were initially in close pursuit and were shot at by the suspect may or may not warrant return of fire.  Of course, every round fired puts not only the cops in danger, but may excite and even enrage them. The public is in the line of fire!  

We seem to have returned to the Wild West in mentality and though the shots coming from the suspect put the police and the public in danger, every shot returned by them  created an equally untenable situation. 

Movies for years have presented exciting 'shoot outs' and gun fights.. The OK Corral is a prime example.  I, myself,  participated in gun fights in Disneyland as a gun fighter and, later, in San Jose at Frontier Village where I learned a great lesson about the power of a .45 single action revolver.  Good guys versus bad guys make for exciting  shows with stunt fighting and "High Noon" such as may still take place at Knott's Berry Farm. It's all very romantic and honestly, the weight of a shootin' iron in the palm of your hand is very seductive.

This is not to call for the end of death and destruction and guns and bullets flying creatively in the movies. This is to examine the Silverlake tragedy. To learn from it.

Police officers are human beings.  Their sworn duty is "To Protect and To Serve" our communities.  Specifically, what we see in this situation in televised reports and dash cam and body cam images, is a frantic chase and the attempt to kill the suspect while he rushed to take refuge in the Silverlake Trader Joe's.  The irony is that Silverlake is an easy going community.  TJ's is also a favorite shopping place because the employees are helpful and friendly and the groceries for sale are fairly priced and are of high quality. There's an artsy feel to shopping and their Fearless Flyer announcing specials is creative.  

How this suspect made his way from South Los Angeles to Silverlake has not been revealed. Was he on the freeway? Did he stay on surface streets?  When confronted by the police, he shot out the back window of his car and may have even struck the LAPD in pursuit. This kicks the chase into a very dangerous situation. How cops can keep their heads and not want to massacre the SOB should be part of their training.  From what I understand an airship was conducting the pursuit. 

The most terrible fact about this case is that a young woman is dead by a bullet shot from a police officer's gun.  She was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  In my perfect world, she would have stayed in the store. Why she was outside may be learned later, but we really don't know. Had she been inside, the chances of her death would have been reduced considerably.  

In the heat of the moment, perhaps cops are trained to take the suspect who has fired on them down at all costs.  Did anyone count the number of times he fired? Did he still have ammunition? Did anyone see the type of weapon that he was shooting?  Did he fire at the police as he exited the crashed car and ran into the store?  Will the step by step recollection of these moments be revealed? How far outside the store was Ms Corado when she was shot and killed?

From the TV reports that are still very sketchy, it looked like no fewer than fifteen police vehicles were on the scene with a helicopter over head.. or more than one? A new and fully equipped police car costs about $60,000.00.  That math puts almost a million dollars worth of rolling stock and airships in harm's way, not to mention the cost of the officer's salaries and factoring in the airship(s?)... a lot of effort to bring one man to justice. 

Seeing the military type action outside the Trader Joe's was chilling.  Of course, the goal is to bring the suspect down. However, with the shooting death of Ms Corado, had these officers had a slightly cooler approach, maybe the outcome could have been different.  20/20 hindsight is unfair, but still.  Here I sit,  these few miles away and simply wonder. If I can ever get the attention of law enforcement brass to respond, there may be alternatives to be explored when dire circumstances occur that may mitigate another tragedy. 

We know that we'll forget this incident as others pop up almost daily. It's too soon to figure this horrible situation  out, but by debriefing the officers and witnesses and comparing their statements, we may know more of the whole story.  PTSD will be an issue for not only the cops, but for the shoppers who were cornered in the store as well as neighbors who were peripheral to the incident and the ripple effect to friends and relatives. 

All this is just to say that our romance with guns  will never die. The idea of shooting to stop a fleeing suspect will never go away, especially if you are being fired upon.  What we need to do is examine alternative ways to stop someone on the run that will keep the public and the police safe and find a way to quickly and efficiently put the suspect away.  

We must find new ways to solve this burgeoning issue.  Mental health in 2018 is under fire and it's not difficult to imagine that more stress may lead to more bizarre events. 

 
I have some ideas and hope that the powers that be will respond. It's a very slow process.  But.. with proper training and effort, I hope that it may  make a difference.

Michael Sheehan

Glendale, California