A reminder life is fragile
A few nights ago one of my officers conducted a routine traffic stop on a dark two-lane roadway. A car sped by, side swiping the officer's car and the car she had pulled over.
Most police academies train officers to approach a vehicle from the driver's side door. This officer at the last moment decided to approach the vehicle from the passenger side. I spoke with the officer the next day and asked her why she decided to use that approach.
“Chief, one of the officers I've been working with kept reminding me of other approaches to keep me safe,” she said, “I remembered that and made a last-second decision.”
Recently my police department has been fortunate enough to hire dedicated, experienced veteran officers who on a daily basis share their knowledge with younger less-experienced officers. The sharing of knowledge and experience by these veterans quite possibly saved this officer's life.
The driver of the offending vehicle was transporting a child under the age of 10 and was under the influence of alcohol. He was arrested and charged with two Class A misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence of alcohol and a single Class A misdemeanor count of child endangerment, and he was cited for a Scott's Law violation, failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash, improper lane usage and driving with an expired registration.
The past few years, a number of first responders have been killed by motorists not slowing down or widening their approach toward emergency vehicles.
Illinois passed a law addressing this issue. Scott's Law requires drivers to move over for any emergency vehicles on the road. The law was named in honor of Chicago Fire Department Lt. Scott Gillen who was killed in the line of duty while responding to a crash.
Initially, a fine for a Scott's Law violation was at least $100. New legislation increases the fine for a first violation to be at least $250 and at least $750 for any further violations. The maximum fine someone could face is as much as $10,000.
I'm thankful that my officer and no other individuals were injured. This incident was a reminder that life is fragile. There are no guarantees. No order or set amount of time for us.
Facing the fragility of life can be scary. It can also be empowering. It can help us hold onto a perspective that supports us living a life rich with positive experiences.
It can leave us with a conviction to make the most of every day and to pass on our experience to the next generation of police officers.
* George Filenko is police chief of Round Lake Park, former commander of the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force and chief executive officer for the blog www.georgefilenko.com.