LaGrange Police Chief Louis Dekmar, the subject of a recent James magazine article for drastically reducing gang violence due to aggressive policing and the issuance of warrants under a new street gang law, is schooling The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in how to place in “context” police lethal force news stories. In a Dec. 21 letter to the editor, the chief notes that the paper’s sensational series of stories highlighting fatal police officer-involved shootings “are the rare exception to the rule” and “most police encounters do not involve any use of force.”
“Context would have informed the public that the reason, in many cases, for more than 50 Georgians to be shot in their own home is because that is where domestic violence occurs, frequently resulting in serious injury or death – and a plea by the victim for a police response,” Dekmar wrote.
Dekmar was especially irritated with an article which included a scoreboard-like link which read: “171 dead; zero prosecuted.” He said it “seems to assume and suggest that the deaths resulted from some malice or at least the gross negligence of the officer. There are 37,533 sworn active officers in Georgia. The average annual number of fatal police shootings in Georgia is about 21. Thus, a scoreboard of 37,533 officers and 21 fatal shootings would provide a complete and more relevant context.”
A further admonition to the AJC reporters and editors was made by Dekmar: “Context could have been provided if the number of calls for service officers responded to during that period, which numbers in the millions, had been provided. Each arrest, citizen contact or call for service, if mishandled, can become a deadly force event.”
Dekmar also made an interesting— and under-reported– point about those killed by law enforcement officers who were diagnosed as mentally ill. “Georgia officers had almost one-third fewer shootings involving those suffering from mental illness than their national counterparts. This is related to specialized mental illness training many Georgia police officers have received in the past 10 years.”
His letter to the editor contained a final suggestion: “Explore the data, beyond the police action, and identify the public policy failures that often create the environment for these tragic outcomes.”
