The intersection in question, as seen from the building where I work./Brad Warthen
I hear from eyewitnesses that it was a couple of hours before the scene of the accident in which Mayor-elect Benjamin was involved was cleared — not because it was such a mess, but because the authorities seemed to be taking their time.
They’d better, I thought. Whoever is to blame — the newly elected mayor (who WAS driving, we find), the private citizen in the other car, some other party — the cops had better be sure they can back up whatever conclusion they arrive at. Very sensitive.
Then, it began to dawn on me that is seems the Columbia Police Department is handling this on its own. (If anyone has seen an indication that they’ve brought in the highway patrol or some other outside agency, please let me know and I’ll correct this.)
That, it seems to me, is dumb. Not sleazy or crooked the way some (such as our own Walter would have it), but dumb. No matter what you do, you’ll be accused of doing it for the wrong motives by someone. Why on Earth not hand it off to someone who has no conflict? Why let yourself in for all that grief?
Yes, I realize the mayor is not the direct supervisor of anyone in the PD, that he is only one vote on the council, etc. But why risk the investigation being tainted by any hint of interest, however ill-founded?
Folks, I’m a big one for letting the duly appointed officials do their jobs. I always hate to see special prosecutors step in to investigate things rather than letting the dedicated career professionals in the Justice Department or FBI or SLED or whatever just do their jobs. But it’s also important to let the proper level, the least interested agency, do the job when that makes sense.
Here’s hoping the CPD has already handed it off by the time you read this. But Adam Beam’s latest update ends with, “The department continues to investigate the wreck, said Mike King, the city’s assistant city manager for public safety.”
To which I can only ask, why?
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Thank you for agreeing with me… I think.