It’s terrible day for the city of Whittier, its police department, and the men and women who wear the WPD badge. And especially for the family and friends of Officer Keith Boyer, who was shot to death Monday.
Officer Boyer, 53, was a 28-year veteran of the department. He was killed after he responded to what appeared to be a simple traffic accident. One driver — in a stolen car — opened fire on officers.
“Keith was very humble; he was always smiling, positive, energetic and intelligent,” Whittier Police Chief Jeff Piper said. “He was the best of the best.”
The grieving chief said Boyer was a close friend of many years, and a beloved officer within the department who had recently talked about retiring soon.
A vigil Monday evening outside the Whittier Police Department drew about 2,000 mourners to the civic center. It was a fitting outpouring of grief and support for the officer who died in the line of duty, for fellow Officer Patrick Hazell, who was wounded in Monday’s gunfight, and for the whole department.
“This has been a very, very difficult day,” Whittier Mayor Joe Vinatieri said to the crowd, but he asked them to look around at the people gathered with them, and to remember that the Whittier community is strong.
Besides grief, there was anger directed at recent state laws that have reduced California’s prison population, placed some more-hardened criminals in county jails and put more low-level criminals back on the streets.
Piper and Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell attributed Boyer’s death to Assembly Bill 109, known as Realignment, and to Proposition 47, which turned some felony offenses into misdemeanors.
Boyer’s suspected killer, who was wounded but is expected to live, was described by police as a known gang member who was recently paroled.
“We need to wake up. Enough is enough. You’re passing these propositions, you’re creating these laws. … It’s not good for our community, its not good for our officers,” Piper said.
AB109 was California’s response to federal court orders to reduce the state’s prison population. Prop. 47, passed by voters in 2014, was supposed to use the savings from having fewer state inmates to establish and enhance drug treatment and job training programs, but that aspect of the law has been slow to materialize.
Most law enforcement officers think AB109 and Prop. 47 have been disasters for public safety. But many criminal justice experts say there is not yet sufficient data or studies to show that they have made streets less safe.
Thus far, we don’t know whether Boyer’s killer was released from prison under one of those laws, or under Prop. 57, passed in November, which provides for early release in some circumstances.
But arguments about those laws are for another day. This is a time for grief.
One thing we do know is this: When police officers respond to any incident, no matter how routine, they don’t know whether it might turn into a life-and-death struggle. That’s a tough way to spend your professional life, perhaps even tougher for officers’ loved ones. For that, our protectors deserve our gratitude and support.
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