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Authors: George Norris
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death under the guise of being a police offer did not deserve to live. Underhill hadn’t been able to believe his eyes when he’d read the follow-up article in 2012, detailing how Officer Long had been acquitted of all charges during a bench trial.
The judge who presided over the case had state d that although the youth was unarmed at the time he’d been shot, Officer Long had every reason to believe that he’d been armed with a gun. He cited that a robbery victim had pointed out the youth as the male who’d just robbed him at gunpoint. When Officer Long had approached the youth, he’d turned on him with his hand in his pocket. Officer Long, believing the male to be armed, feared for his own life and fired his gun in self defense.
Self defense, what a joke ? The kid was unarmed. Long was never in danger. Self defense is when you are in danger.
The Judge had surmised that while it was tragic that a young man had lost his life, Officer Long had acted to preserve his own life. It had been justifiable homicide—and thus rendered a not guilty verdict.
Underhill had been in as much shock as reading the words in the newspaper the next day as he was while watching the verdict unfold live in the courtroom. He remembers watching as Long hugged his lawyer and then his wife; he watched as the murderer walked away, a free man, literally getting away with murder—until last night, that is.
Underhill put the articles concerning Long’s murder on the page of the scrapbook he had reserved for it—right next to the article about Long’s acquittal. He then opened his diary to yesterday’s date. Directly under the entry regarding Police Officer John Casey he transcribed:
March 22, 2013 ---2341 hours and 27 seconds
Rogue Cop Daniel Long Executed
It woul dn’t have bothered Underhill so much if Long had been convicted. He knew that Long wouldn’t have gotten the death penalty—although he felt he deserved to — but for the murder to go unpunished was not acceptable. He turned his attention to the back of the diary and crossed Daniel Long’s name off a list entitled “ Murderous Cops Awaiting Execution .” It was not a long list—comprised of four names, all belonging to cops who had been arrested and acquitted at trial (or who had failed to be indicted when they should have) within the last few years.
He turned his attention back to the scrapbook and sought out the article which concerned the next name on the list—Christopher Tatum. He read the article to refresh his memory, although he knew the details inside out—Tatum had also been acquitted of murder charges. The man he’d murdered had died of asphyxiation after Tatum had applied a chokehold on him. Once again, the judge had ruled in the cop’s favor, claiming that there had been a violent struggle and citing the evidence of injuries suffered by the officer. Underhill couldn’t understand how this officer could brutally murder a man being arrested for a simple assault. The law had decided not to punish him, but no matter; Underhill would ensure that Tatum did not go unpunished.
Underhill glanced over at the article written by McGregor yet again, lamenting that he could not put the officers that had been written about in his ‘ hero ’ column. He liked to keep track of all officers—good and bad. Underhill had been reading McGregor’s column for years, and found him tough but fair. Underhill estimated that, over the years, McGregor had published an equal amount of favorable and unfavorable articles regarding the police—proving that he was unbiased and leading Underhill to believe that McGregor would believe in his own theories.
Underhill put on a pair of thin latex gloves before opening the legal pad that he’d bought the day before. The snug fit on the latex irritated his skin, but he was well aware it was necessary to avoid leaving fingerprints or DNA on the note or envelope. He wrote the date on the upper right hand corner of the page and
The judge who presided over the case had state d that although the youth was unarmed at the time he’d been shot, Officer Long had every reason to believe that he’d been armed with a gun. He cited that a robbery victim had pointed out the youth as the male who’d just robbed him at gunpoint. When Officer Long had approached the youth, he’d turned on him with his hand in his pocket. Officer Long, believing the male to be armed, feared for his own life and fired his gun in self defense.
Self defense, what a joke ? The kid was unarmed. Long was never in danger. Self defense is when you are in danger.
The Judge had surmised that while it was tragic that a young man had lost his life, Officer Long had acted to preserve his own life. It had been justifiable homicide—and thus rendered a not guilty verdict.
Underhill had been in as much shock as reading the words in the newspaper the next day as he was while watching the verdict unfold live in the courtroom. He remembers watching as Long hugged his lawyer and then his wife; he watched as the murderer walked away, a free man, literally getting away with murder—until last night, that is.
Underhill put the articles concerning Long’s murder on the page of the scrapbook he had reserved for it—right next to the article about Long’s acquittal. He then opened his diary to yesterday’s date. Directly under the entry regarding Police Officer John Casey he transcribed:
March 22, 2013 ---2341 hours and 27 seconds
Rogue Cop Daniel Long Executed
It woul dn’t have bothered Underhill so much if Long had been convicted. He knew that Long wouldn’t have gotten the death penalty—although he felt he deserved to — but for the murder to go unpunished was not acceptable. He turned his attention to the back of the diary and crossed Daniel Long’s name off a list entitled “ Murderous Cops Awaiting Execution .” It was not a long list—comprised of four names, all belonging to cops who had been arrested and acquitted at trial (or who had failed to be indicted when they should have) within the last few years.
He turned his attention back to the scrapbook and sought out the article which concerned the next name on the list—Christopher Tatum. He read the article to refresh his memory, although he knew the details inside out—Tatum had also been acquitted of murder charges. The man he’d murdered had died of asphyxiation after Tatum had applied a chokehold on him. Once again, the judge had ruled in the cop’s favor, claiming that there had been a violent struggle and citing the evidence of injuries suffered by the officer. Underhill couldn’t understand how this officer could brutally murder a man being arrested for a simple assault. The law had decided not to punish him, but no matter; Underhill would ensure that Tatum did not go unpunished.
Underhill glanced over at the article written by McGregor yet again, lamenting that he could not put the officers that had been written about in his ‘ hero ’ column. He liked to keep track of all officers—good and bad. Underhill had been reading McGregor’s column for years, and found him tough but fair. Underhill estimated that, over the years, McGregor had published an equal amount of favorable and unfavorable articles regarding the police—proving that he was unbiased and leading Underhill to believe that McGregor would believe in his own theories.
Underhill put on a pair of thin latex gloves before opening the legal pad that he’d bought the day before. The snug fit on the latex irritated his skin, but he was well aware it was necessary to avoid leaving fingerprints or DNA on the note or envelope. He wrote the date on the upper right hand corner of the page and
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