Monthly Archives: April 2007

‘Troubled’

That’s the description a creative writing professor gave Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old Virginia Tech senior authorities believe killed more than 30 people on the campus before ending his own life.

In the Kitsap Sun’s newsroom, it’s hard to ignore such a horrible tragedy as we continue to write news for our readers locally. There have been many discussions, but we’re still trying to put together the pieces — just as you are — of how and why this detestable act took place.

I’d like to invite anyone to share their thoughts about this incident — the worst mass shooting in US history.

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Lawsuit: ‘Plaintiff … lost the love … of his wife’

In a lawsuit filed April 12 in Kitsap County Superior Court, a Kitsap County couple is suing Fred Meyer Stores, Inc., for an injury they suffered inside one of the stores’ locations, according to court documents.

In early November, the couple was shopping at the store when the wife in the couple “slipped on a Plexiglas type shelving material,” that store employees “were negligent” in moving or alerting customers to, the lawsuit alleges.

The plaintiff wife has suffered injuries, and the plaintiff husband, “has lost the love, affection, services and consortium of his wife due to the injuries she suffered,” the lawsuit says.

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UPDATE: Ask A Cop: Can I See the Radar, Officer?

Blogger’s Note: Columnist-slash-cop Steve Sutherland, a veteran officer with the Bainbridge Island Police Department, is back to field another question. Feel free to write more questions or responses below. For more past editions, click here.

The question, courtesy of blog commenter “A sailor”: Does an individual who pulled over for speeding, have a right to request to see the radar gun used and the speed it registered from the officer? I was informed years ago, that since this is the evidence they are using to issue me a citation, I have a right to see it. Appreciate you taking the time to answer.

The answer from Officer Sutherland: Yes, you can request to look at the radar, however, there is no written law that an officer must allow you to look at the speed showing on the radar.

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This Won’t Be Your Favorite E-Ticket Ride

A select number of cops around the state are now handing out traffic tickets that require only a computer and printer — no pen and paper necessary.

According to a press release from the Washington Courts, a program to replace written tickets with electronic ones is in its testing phase around the state.

Three troopers in Kitsap have the devices in their patrol cars already, according to Washington State Patrol spokesman Brian George.

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Child Luring: What you Should Know

A frightening incident was reported Tuesday night at Wolfle Elementary School in Kingston: a 7-year-old reported a strange man tried to get into her family’s car.

While reports of “stranger danger” are exceedingly rare according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, they do happen. But a perpetrator is far more likely to be someone the child knows, the center says.

Still, there are some overarching tips to help keep children safe.

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In a Deputy’s Words

Blogger’s Note: This essay is the second installment of the “In an officer’s words” series here at the forum. The first essay, by Poulsbo Officer Nick Hoke, can be found here.

“Farewell to #915”
By Deputy Jeff Schaefer, Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office

Saturday, February 10, 2007 started out as any other shift does. I signed into service and left my house at 2:00 p.m. to begin what is usually considered to be the busiest shift in law enforcement … swing shift. Swing shift can often keep a deputy busy from beginning to end with calls-for-service and the deluge of paperwork associated with them. I enjoy being active and on-the-go and was looking forward to whatever the 9-1-1 system would throw my way … well, almost whatever.

At 2:06 p.m., just 4.8 miles from the serenity of my driveway, my patrol car was struck head-on by an SUV. While the occupants of the other vehicle were not seriously injured, I went to the hospital with a broken collarbone and some other less severe injuries. My patrol car wasn’t as lucky. She was a 2005 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, known to me simply as #915.

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From ‘Baby Doe’ to ‘Dawn’

The case is still as mysterious as the day “Baby Doe,” a newborn infant, was found on the side of a South Kitsap road in a garbage bag.

Investigators with the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office have searched various leads, but nothing has helped find the mother of the child whose body was found April 5, 2006 along Bielmeier Road.

And, “although the investigation continues, it is time to put this precious baby to rest,” Kitsap County Coroner Greg Sandstrom said in a press release.

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Two Young Girls, Two Tragic Stories

Two back-to-back tragedies involving young girls unfolded in South Kitsap Monday.

In the first story, posted Tuesday morning on our web site, a 2 1/2 year-old girl drowned after her father had apparently lost track of her on a 5-acre property, according to the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office.

Efforts to revive the girl, who was found in a planting pot filled with water, were unsuccessful. She was pronounced dead at Mary Bridge Hospital.

In a separate incident, a 3-month old infant was apparently assaulted “by violent means” Monday, also in South Kitsap, the sheriff’s office said.

The baby girl remains in critical condition at Mary Bridge hospital, and her father, Jason Hanning (pictured, courtesy of KOMO TV), 22, has been jailed on suspicion of first-degree assault.

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Lawsuit: ‘Doctors Breached the Duty’

Blogger’s Note: This is an ongoing feature here at the forum that provides synopses to all (or nearly all) recently filed Kitsap County personal injury lawsuits.

A new Kitsap County lawsuit alleges that a man convicted of the vehicular homicide of his own son in 2004 was not properly treated at the hospital for a broken leg he sustained in the accident, according to county court documents filed March 27.

As a result, Emilio Viloria now has “permanent injuries, deformity and loss of function,” as well as “pain and loss of use,” claims his Port Hadlock lawyer in the complaint for damages.

Viloria is suing Harrison Medical Center for an amount proven at trial that would “fully compensate,” the plaintiff, as well as for attorney’s fees and other relief “the court deems just and equitable.”

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