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Editorial See other Editorial Articles Title: Preventing Fatal Errors During Raids Too often, civilians who don't have to face the dangers police officers deal with are quick to criticize the men and women who are our first defense against crime. That said, it is clear that something went terribly wrong Jan. 4 in Lima, Ohio, during a police raid on a home occupied by a drug trafficker. During the raid, police Sgt. Joseph Chavalia accidentally shot an unarmed 26-year-old woman, killing her and badly injuring the baby she was holding. On Monday, a jury in Lima acquitted Chavalia of misdemeanor charges of negligent homicide and negligent assault. Black leaders in the area were extremely upset by the verdicts. One said they indicated "that there's a very low value on black lives in this community." The shooting victim was a black woman. During the raid, Chavalia was in the upstairs of the house when he saw people inside. He heard shots and thought someone was firing at him. He discharged his weapon three times, hitting the woman and her baby. It turned out the shots he heard were from downstairs, where other officers had shot two pit bulls that had attacked them. None of those in the room Chavalia fired into was armed. We won't make any judgment concerning Chavalia - but a tragedy like the one involving him could happen anywhere. Even here. We urge area law enforcement agencies, then, to take note of what happened in Lima - and use the knowledge they gain to train local officers. Terrible accidents indeed do happen in situations such as that in Lima - but we hope area law enforcement officials will do all in their power to avoid a similar one here. Better training of law officers who may be involved in raids - and better planning for such events themselves - could save the lives of people who happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. MY COMMENT: This HAD to be written from someone on the Wheeling PD (I know most of them and they think ANY shooting of a black, mexican or *white ghetto trash* is ALWAYS justified - no matter what.
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