Sunday, January 18, 2009

BART ( not Simpson )

Bay Area Rapid Transit or BART has been the source of riots and controversy after the killing of a detainee during his arrest by a BART officer.

This saddened me immensely. There are so many losses. For the family of the deceased, for the officer who resigned after the incident, for the community and department involved.

I've worked with BART police in many capacities. As an officer responding to the Station to assist a lone BART officer fighting with suspects, with the Administration and commanders as a Press Information Officer and Internal Affairs Investigator and at the receiving end for requests for assistance.

Click to enlarge if you wish

They are a fine group of men and women working in a very challenging environment.

There is nothing that will replace the loss of the young man who was killed but I have a difficult time understanding why people have gone to the extent of of threatening the officer's wife and infant girl at their home. That is why the family was out of state when he was arrested.

This is a composite I did for BART when a murder occurred on one of the trains. The witness was a passenger [ a business man in his 40's] and he was able to calmly describe the horrific scene of the suspect stabbing and killing another young man while they were in transit. The composite aided in the arrest of a then 17 year old suspect for the crime.

5 comments:

artbyakiko said...

This BART incident is such a tragedy, but the riot that followed made the whole thing even more tragic.
Your drawing of the BART murder suspect is amazing!

Kim VanDerHoek said...

What a sad incident! Thankfully, your sketch helped find the suspect. It is amazing what you do.

And yes, I did a little dance for joy when the gallery accepted my work into their upcoming show. hee hee.

Art with Liz said...

There is so much mayhem in the world today and thank goodness for people like you who helped control the crime. Our police have a hard time from press and people as well - it's tough when the majority of them really are doing a fantastic job.

Diane Hoeptner said...

Fascinating!

Paula Villanova said...

You've seen so much during your career. I can't say I'm envious about that piece of it but I admire your ability to handle whatever came your way. It must feel good to be able to choose what you wish to paint and draw now. I really enjoy your blog.