Local authorities taking a second look at safety after shootings
Email | Print | 1559 views Adam Rudnick | Courier-Times
September 10, 2008 - 09:27 AM
Last Updated: September 11, 2008 - 08:08 AM

Sedro-Woolley Police officer Adam Musgrove’s last conversation with Anne Jackson was just like every other discussion the two had ever shared — playful yet professional.

She wanted to know how “Muskrat” was doing and asked the officer if he could follow up on some stolen license plate tabs she was working on. Musgrove told “Action Jackson” he would take care of it.

Minutes later, the Skagit County Sheriff’s deputy responded to a call in Alger, and within the hour she was dead.

“We always did favors for each other,” Musgrove said. “She knew that she could call me — we always helped each other with calls.”

Local authorities are taking an introspective look at safety after last week’s killing spree that left Jackson and five others dead and four others injured.

Sedro-Woolley Police Chief Doug Wood said that officers receive training for all types of situations they may face, but an incident such as last week’s shootings can make officers think twice about their surroundings.

“It does make you think about it and how you can be a little more aware,” Wood said. “That’s one of the big dangers in our professions — you get too comfortable. Things can go bad really quick.”

Burlington Police Chief Bill Van Wieringen said officers in his department are all coping with it in their own way, but said they still have to do the job at hand.

“It really brings the reality of the job and its dangers to mind,” Van Wieringen said. “It’s going to heighten your sense more, but officers are going to still be out there with their professional faces on.”

Musgrove said officers get in the mindset that each call they receive will be easy to handle.

He said Jackson likely thought — as most law enforcement officers do — that her last call would be just like all of the others she had responded to during her three-year career as a deputy.

“(Deputy) Jackson figured it would be a normal day,” Musgrove said. “She had no idea of what was taking place before she showed up.”

Wood said officers at the department often work together with the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office, so the loss is difficult to take.

“Everybody is really shaken up,” Wood said. “We work really closely with the sheriff’s office. It’s always tough but it really does hit close to home when it’s somebody you know.”






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