Black tape is worn across police badges after death of officer By Jeff McDonald and Joe Hughes, San Diego Union-Tribune
Anger and resentment moved in where grief lingered yesterday as police officers across San Diego took full measure of the devastating loss they were dealt one day earlier with the death of Officer Terry W. Bennett.
Acting San Diego Police Chief John Welter arrived at the Kearny Mesa traffic enforcement division not long after sunrise so he could meet with members of the motor squad, shaken by the deaths of two of their own in as many months. Those in attendance declined to talk about what was said at the briefing.
At a news conference later in the morning, Welter said he was “angry that people would do something like this to anybody - intentionally running down somebody in the street. . . . I see, every day, reports of my officers getting injured, risking their lives, doing the job without getting attention.”
Bennett, a 13-year veteran of the San Diego Police Department who relished his assignment to the motor squad and never missed an opportunity to share his riding skills with fellow officers, was killed Thursday while chasing a stolen truck in Encanto.
Police arrested 37-year-old Kevin Gerard Williams on suspicion of murder and other charges. He is accused of steering the flatbed directly at Bennett and ramming the motorcycle.
The officer died from his injuries within minutes. Police said there is no question that Williams deliberately sought to run down his pursuer.
Williams, whose age was wrongly reported by police as 25 on Thursday, has a lengthy criminal history and has been hospitalized for mental illness. He is being held without bail and is expected to be arraigned early next week.
The lieutenant who oversees traffic enforcement said Bennett’s death was like losing a loved one.
“You have two families when you’re in law enforcement - your own family and the people you work with,” Lt. Greg Drilling said. “He is going to be deeply missed.”
Another San Diego motor squad officer, Gerald K. Griffin Jr., died April 25 - 11 days after he was run over by a driver in Pacific Beach. In addition, an Oceanside police officer, Tony Zeppetella, was shot to death by a suspected car thief two weeks ago.
Department officials said they would conduct a thorough investigation into the sequence of events that lead to Bennett’s death. Privately, some officers wondered whether they could have done something to prevent what happened.
Welter refused to release more details of the probe.
By all accounts, Bennett was a dedicated police officer and accomplished motorcycle rider who cherished his family and spent as much time as he could in the mountains and deserts east of San Diego when he was away from work.
A native of Lakeside, Bennett turned 38 just three weeks ago. He leaves a wife, Michelle, and two young sons, Brennan, 8, and Connor, 4.
His parents and several of his siblings live near the Bennett home in Lakeside.
One brother reached yesterday afternoon at the parents’ house declined to comment. But a family friend said the Bennetts always had family activities planned and were deeply involved in the Lakeside American Little League.
A family feeling
“It seemed like every weekend there was someone over here or they were at someone’s house,” neighbor Dale Durbin said. “It was a real family feeling.”
Bennett’s house has remained filled with family and friends since shortly after the death, Durbin said.
Officers have been calling the home nonstop to offer whatever help they might.
Welter met at some length yesterday with Michelle Bennett to discuss funeral arrangements and a memorial service, which will likely be held Wednesday or Thursday, Drilling said.
Even with nearly nine years of experience on the squad, Bennett never grew weary of the challenges of motor duty - conducting traffic-safety operations, citing speeding drivers and helping train other officers in the nuances of operating a heavy, Kawasaki 1000 motorcycle.
“He prided himself in the skills that he had,” Drilling said. “I would say he was our top guy - the best of the best. Had this not happened, I know he would have become a sergeant, a lieutenant.”
Earlier this month, Bennett and his partner, Officer David Root, won the team championship in a skills competition among motorcycle officers from across San Diego County.
It was the second straight year they earned the top honors. Bennett missed the individual title by 1/50th of a second.
Outside work, Bennett loved motor sports, camping and water activities. On recent weekends, he had been teaching his sons how to ride the four-wheelers he had just bought them, said Joe Cargel, a Chula Vista police officer who knew Bennett.
‘Awesome skills’
“He was someone I looked up to,” said Cargel, who transferred out of the Chula Vista motor squad a few months ago but was trained by Bennett, among others. “He had been on motors for several years prior to my going to the academy and he had awesome skills. He was just a natural.”
Flags continued to fly at half staff at each police facility around San Diego. Officials said they would remain that way until services for Bennett have been completed.
Patrol officers, detectives and almost everyone in San Diego law enforcement continued to wear black tape across their badges. The mood was decidedly stark and gloomy at lineups from shift to shift.
“This could be my last day,” one officer said softly under his breath to no one in particular, apparently referring to the always-present dangers that come with the job.
The around-the-clock cycle of upholding the law pushed forward, despite the heightened emotions that permeated the department yesterday.
Outside the traffic enforcement office in Kearny Mesa at midday, San Diego motor officers arrived and left with business-as-usual precision. None agreed to speak about their loss, choosing instead to leave the explanations to those higher in command.
One officer leaving the building looked blankly ahead as he strapped on his gloves and tightened his helmet in a silent ritual, then steered his ride into the wind.