Nov. 9, Madison man Paul Heenan was shot dead by Officer Stephen Heimsness of the Madison Police Department. Heenan, following a night of drinking, mistakenly entered the wrong house and Heimsness arrived on the scene in response to a 911 call by the homeowners. The fatal shooting occurred after Heenan allegedly struggled with Heimsness and reached for his gun. The incident has caused much controversy and once again brought the issue of lethal police force into politicaldiscussion. It recently came to light that Heimsness had faced 15 complaints prior to the recent incident, including eight allegations of excessive force, one which he was found guilty. Ibelieve Heimsness’ report and I trust that he would not have used deadly force unless he feared for his safety. However, I also believe that Heenan did not have to die that night. Police departments should work harder to prevent instances of unnecessary deadly force.
Everyone screws up. It’s a fact of life. I’ve screwed up. You’ve screwed up. Now I don’t claim to understand what Heimsness was thinking when he shot Heenan. I don’t claim to know I wouldn’t do the same thing in his situation. However, when an unarmed man is shot dead, some- body screwed up. In this case, it was Heenan and Heimsness. The only reason one is martyred and the other condemned is because one of them unfortunately came out dead. Heenan, dealing with some really heavy personal struggles, got drunk. It’s something virtually the entire University of Wisconsin student body does three nights a week. As far as he knew, he was in his own home being harassed by a police officer. Heimsness on the other hand only saw a belligerent drunk man who had just broken into a home. No one was entirely in the wrong. Screw ups happen.
The problem is when guns are involved, screw ups leave people dead. Last semester, The Daily Cardinal published an opinion article suggesting the first round of each police officer’s gun be non-lethal. This would no doubt be a great help, but other measures can be taken as well. First off, even with a device such as a handgun, engineered to kill a human being, it is possible to incapacitate a person without killing them. No one wants a person with a gunshot wound in their leg accusing a police officer of excessive force, but it’s better than a grieving family. Secondly, though it is admittedly contrary to one of the founding principles of the American justice system, I believe it may be helpful for a fine, mandatory course or temporary suspension to be given on a guilty-until-proven-innocent basis to any officer using deadly force. The idea behind this is an officer must only use lethal force if he/she has no other option and are willing to accept these consequences.
Lastly and most obviously, police departments should more critically investigate officers about whom they have received complaints. Heimsness had a history of excessive force and reports of “tyrannical conduct.” He had to take a “deadly force decision making” course following an excessive force charge in 2001. Simple disciplinary action may not be enough to reverse the behavior of an officer prone to unnecessary roughness.
Preventing use of lethal force by police is important not only for the purpose of saving lives, but also in restoring citizens’ trust in law enforcement. Incidents like this give police a bad reputation and sow discontent among the people. Police are there to uphold the law and the law is there to protect the people. So when the police hurt the people in order to uphold the law, they are markedly failing at their job. As for Heimsness, I don’t think he should lose his job. Hopefully taking a life will be the last “deadly force decision making” course he’ll ever need.
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