The fatal shooting of a Gary police officer early Sunday closely followed the death of an Indianapolis police officer. It is a time to mourn the loss of these two officers, but also to look for responses to these two incidents and other attacks on police officers.
Gary Patrolman Jeffrey Westerfield was shot to death in his patrol car. A resident called police and reported an officer bleeding in his car. Westerfield, a 19-year veteran of the police force, was working the midnight shift.
Indianapolis police Officer Perry Renn, an officer for more than 20 years, was killed in a gun battle Saturday night. Renn was wearing a protective vest, but the bullet pierced the vest.
Renn is the second Indianapolis officer killed in the line of duty in the past 10 months and the eighth Indianapolis police officer shot during the last 18 months.
What can be done to make officers safer? That's a crucial question that needs to be asked. Because when police officers are gunned down, no one in the neighborhood, or even the entire community, feels safe.
This is where Indiana Gov. Mike Pence can show some quick leadership.
When Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson asked for additional manpower on the city's streets, Pence — unlike Gov. Evan Bayh years earlier — didn't agree to send in state troopers. He sent in a team to evaluate Gary Police Department operations and procedures instead.
Now it's time for Pence to order a statewide examination of public safety in Indiana's urban areas — not just Gary and Indianapolis, but throughout the state.
What can be done to make officers in these cities safer? What can be done to make the public safer? We don't have the answers. Like others, we just have the questions now. But until someone starts looking for the answers, they won't be found.
Gov. Pence, here's your opportunity to lead on this issue.