Five minutes to shoot, 77 minutes to allow medical
aid
Head over
here for my latest story on the Ostling shooting investigation.
An analysis of the lengthy 911 dispatch log and other documents
allowed us to piece together a timeline of events leading up to the
shooting and the drawn-out aftermath. Police opened fire on Ostling
five minutes after arriving at the scene, but it took 77 minutes to
check on Ostling’s condition.
I called Bainbridge several times on Friday and Monday for an explanation about why it took so long. On Monday afternoon I was told by e-mail that police would not respond to the question.
For other recent stories stemming from documents we obtained from Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office investigators, head over here and here.
Police body cams
The Kitsap Sun’s editorial board weighed in on the issue in
Sunday’s paper. The board notes that Bainbridge police and the
Ostling family have given very different accounts of the Oct. 26
shooting, especially on some key issues, such as where officers and
Ostling were positioned, and whether or not the ax-wielding Ostling
had an officer in a vulnerable position when the second officer
fired his gun.
The editorial board argues that video cameras mounted to police officers would have made the key details of the incident much more clear to investigators, and the judge and jury that are likely to weigh in in the not-too-distant future.
Here’s a bit from the editorial:
“A car-mounted digital video cam costs about $5,000 — versus about $900 for a body-mounted camera, which also can be removed and mounted on the dashboard. Worn on an officer’s chest or with an ear clip similar to a Blue Tooth, the body cams offer a close-up video and audio recording that provides an accurate and unbiased view of disputed incidents.”
To read the rest, head over here.
