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On March 10, 2019, at approximately 0930 hours, a Deputy Coroner Investigator was dispatched to 2951 Rockabye Lane Redding, California regarding an officer involved shooting investigation.
The decedent has been positively identified as 34 year old Brandon Starr Robertson of Redding, California. The decedent’s next-of-kin was notified and a postmortem examination has been completed. This case is still under investigation by the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office, Major Crimes Unit.
Sad situation. I really hope the officers are able to get any support they may need because these things can really take a toll (just the other day a Flagstaff officer committed suicide while on extended leave following a fatal, and by all accounts totally justified, shooting: https://amp.azcentral.com/amp/3174054002 ).
Tim,
I have similar concerns for the two officers who shot Stephon Clark in Sacramento. A reading of the multiple official reports leads to the conclusion that the officers, one of whom was also black, were fully justified in their actions, yet their lives and careers will be forever impacted. One wonders about the reading comprehension level of the hundreds of protesters.
It isn’t just the shootings. I have a friend who retired from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office. As a young deputy, he came upon a single-vehicle accident with two dead adults and a three year-old girl who was still conscious. The girl died in his arms, and the last word she said was “Mama.”
He was an utter mess for three months, but a couple of years later, he said that he was glad that he was the one to hold her. “I’m glad she didn’t die alone,” he said.
My friend didn’t go through the second-guessing and public condemnation that LEOs endure when they shoot a civilian, but the toll it took on him was horrible.
Shit. It was thirty-four years ago when I sat at his kitchen table, doing shots of tequila, crying along with him. Thirty-four years, and I’m crying now just thinking about it. The pain in my friend’s face still haunts me.
I’d say that maybe twice in the years since have I had an unpleasant encounter with law enforcement, both during traffic stops. Neither guy cited me, but they acted kind of ugly. I refused to take it personally.