The Observation Deck

kate parker wrote:

Grace O'Malley wrote: What could have been done to avert this tragedy?

in short, nothing. if the kid was mentally imbalanced, then it would have been up to those that loved him to look out for him. he could have been a maniac for years. no one knows what the situation was with the deceased. i feel for his family but clearly the situation warranted police intervention up to and including possibly shooting him. i for one, am grateful to the first responders who got the situation under control. the families of the police are in my prayers as i'm sure they were frantic knowing that their loved ones were in harm's way.

Kate


You have really nailed this one. I am willing to bet when the "Brad" woke up this morning he knew he would not make it through the day. Having spent the afternoon down there, you hear many things from the neighbors and people that were there.

His mother was quoted as saying "He will either kill himself or it will be death through police suicide." Not only was the young man shooting at his girlfriend in the front yard, but also at cars just driving by. As I go through my photos it is amazing the shots he made on the police SUV. It is amazing as you stand behind the SUV and where a bullet was lodged and follow it through the driver's window right to second floor window that he was shooting from.

There is no doubt it is a tragedy and I am sure people will look at meds that were or were not taken, and the rumor is he was drunk(girlfriend and aunt). But It was not the first time the police were there(neighbors) and he was violent at times(neighbors). I did not find one person that said, "He was quiet, I never would have thought..."

What really struck me was how well the police handled the situation, and under some very tough pressure. For those that have not seen SWAT in action, it is a "regional effort" so that police from Rocky River, Bay, etc are involved. It seemed to me, an outsider, that the transition was seamless. Chief Malley was in control throughout the day, and other public officials like the mayor, Law Director, and other from fire and public work stayed a respectful distance away and not once tried for air time. Kudos to the school system who reacted properly, and kept everyone safe. He was in a house but he was also only 4 blocks from 4 schools.

I feel bad for the family, but I feel better we lost no innocent bystanders or police.

FWIW

I was sitting in my 9th period (last) class of the day and Mr.Posendak came over the PA and announced that theres a "police situation" going on and that we should avoid that area. That's how I found out about it..

Oh, and my friend has a sibling that goes to Horace Mann Middle School.. and even though the claim was that if parents were there to pick their children up they would allow them to leave school, they didnt. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing, but McKinley Elementary School right down the block let all their kids out if parents came to pick them up.

This kind of stuff happens once every blue moon here in Lakewood, but give it a week and people won't be talking about it anymore, I'm sure.

It’s at a time like this that we can recognize the value and professional achievement of the Lakewood Police Department and its work with the Westshore SWAT team. There’s no mistaking the courage and expertise demonstrated in an immensely dangerous situation.

I appreciate Stan Austin’s timely report. That the Ford Expedition had its window blown out suggests the degree of risk our brave officers faced in this highly charged situation.

Thanks to Jim also for the additional details in his post.

Here again the value of our professional police officers to the safety of our community is clear.

We are all very grateful for your courageous and skillful dedication to protect and serve our community.


Kenneth Warren