Veteran police officers know from experience, among the most dangerous calls to respond to are those involving domestic violence.
The situation can present a swirl of passions and emotions, making it difficult to sort facts or evaluate dangers. If someone is trying to impose control over a loved one through force, he or she can turn their anger on a police officer who is coming to remove that control.
One study found that half of the attacks against police in such situations happen shortly after police arrive, with shots fired from the front door. That seems to be what happened Thursday.
But those facts aren’t any comfort for the loss of 24-year-old Ogden police officer Nate Lyday, only 15 months into his job, who was gunned down while responding to such a call on Thursday.
Also, an Adult Probation and Parole agent was shot and suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends,” a post on the Facebook page of the Utah State Fraternal Order of Police said. That biblical reference has a special resonance for every man and woman who puts on a uniform, and for the loved ones who pray they will return home safely each day.
In this case, the officer’s friends were the people of Ogden, including whoever may have been undergoing abuse at the home to which he responded. Someone made a call for help, and he responded.
This is a nation of laws designed to protect people from harm and to allow them to pursue their peaceful dreams and passions. But when it comes to enforcing those laws, police officers are the first line of defense. They are the ones who encounter the raw emotions, who must decide quickly which persons are perpetrators and which are victims, and who rush into situations to protect the innocent while leaving themselves vulnerable to an ambush.
The nation this week is reeling from a few officers who abused their authority in Minnesota, sparking justifiable outrage. But the policing profession is overwhelmingly dominated by people with a passion for the noble aspects of their jobs, and with uncommon bravery. Every community in the United States owes these people respect and honor.
A lot of details remain unclear about what happened on the 300 block of Jackson Avenue on Thursday, but this much is known: Shortly after noon, a woman called dispatchers to say her husband, who has been identified as John Benedict Coleman, was trying to kill her.
Coleman apparently confronted officers on the front porch when they arrived, then went back into the house, slamming the door behind him. Shots then were fired through the door. Coleman died in the exchange of gunfire.
Why did this happen? How could someone apparently angry at one person suddenly turn and kill another person, seemingly at random?
Satisfactory answers likely never will be found. As former Salt Lake City police chief Chris Burbank told KSL, “Anyone who is going to perpetrate violence against a loved one … if they are willing to do that, then absolutely violence against a police officer is not outside their realm or their thought process.”
It is noteworthy that the press conference announcing the death of Officer Lyday was held in the Francom Public Safety Center, named for fallen Ogden police officer Jared Francom who was shot and killed Jan. 4, 2012. Both should never be forgotten for their courage and willingness to go into harm’s way to keep the peace.