By Patricia Lynch Kimbro, The Gallatin News Examiner (Gallatin, Tenn.)
Portland, Tenn. -- The first police related shooting in the 100-year history of this peaceful community of 10,000, is described by officials as tragic, yet unavoidable and justified by the officers involved.
And while, Loretta Dilliard, the widow of the slain Paul Dilliard, said yesterday she wished that instead of asking for domestic-related help, that she had told police he was suicidal, officials are calling the two officers heroes.
“Loretta Dilliard would be dead today and her children would be without a mother or father, had it not been for those officers who in this case were certainly doing a service for her. Officers Dana Heckart and Brad Weaver are heroes,” said Jane Carney, victim/witness coordinator for the Sumner County District Attorney General’s Office, who works with hundreds of victims of domestic assault each year.
Her boss, District Attorney General Ray Whitley echoed those sentiments yesterday, adding, “it appears to be a totally justified shooting. I believe they (officers) may have very well prevented a murder/suicide that night (Saturday).”
“I understand Mr. Dilliard had threatened suicide in the past and had threatened her in the past. That’s why she asked the police to go with her. I’m very sorry there was a loss of life, but thankful Mrs. Dilliard is all right,” Whitley added.
The prosecutor also noted that investigators found out that the former truck driver, who was distraught over losing his job and his father in a four-week period of time, in addition to facing an upcoming divorce, had just recently purchased a new box of ammunition for his .22 rifle.
Dilliard’s rifle, which was never fired, held 15 shells, and was fully loaded at the time of the shooting, Whitley said.
“Mrs. Dilliard never told the officers that he might have a weapon. Had they known that, they never would have allowed her to enter the door first,” said Portland Safety Director and Police Chief Al West yesterday, as he talked about the events as they unfolded on late Saturday in the Birdwell Court Townhouse complex.
Loretta Dilliard had asked the police to accompany her to her residence to pick up some of her belongings, she said, “because I knew he was there, and I didn’t want another argument.”
As soon as the door to the townhouse opened, the officers saw Paul Dilliard with a rifle. The officers got Loretta Dilliard out of the apartment and “tried to persuade Mr. Dilliard to give up the gun,” West added.
Paul Dilliard did make some remarks to the officers, “but never lowered the weapon,” the chief said.
West said he could not relate what conversation transpired during that time, since the investigation is ongoing.
Loretta Dilliard defended her husband of 23 years yesterday, saying he “was not a violent man.”
Yet she could give no explanation for the rifle he was holding except to say, “Paul was distraught. He never aimed that gun. The butt was on the floor, and he had it leaning against his leg, and only one hand on the barrel.”
Because she was outside when the actual shooting occurred, Dilliard did not see or hear what took place immediately before the officers fired four shots.
According to Whitley, one shot entered a sofa, and three shots struck Dilliard in the chest, head and arm.
It will be weeks before the formal autopsy, including toxicology results are back.
But Whitley and West both classify the shooting as “justified.”
Carney is not surprised to hear Dilliard’s defense of her late husband.
“After things settle down, and the fear is gone, they (victims) start to rethink the situation. She should be thanking the officers that she’s alive. They didn’t go in there like gangbusters, they were there to serve and protect her and that’s what they did,” Carney added.
Carney said she’s personally acquainted with Heckart and knows that he’s “very caring with domestic violence victims. It really angers me to think that there’s anyone questioning that he was not acting in the best interest of the people he was trying to assist,” Carney added.
Statistics show, Carney said, that one-half to two-thirds of all murder/suicides in the United States represent spouses and or lovers.
“The most life endangering time is when a batterer believes the woman is leaving him,” she added.
“These two officers are heroes and Mrs. Dilliard is alive today because of them,” Carney added.
Sumner County court records show that Paul Dilliard, 46, was convicted of domestic assault in Aug. 2002. He was ordered to take an anger management class, one of which Loretta Dillard said she attended.
“It was a joke. They just made jokes throughout the whole thing,” she added.
Dilliard is not angry with the officers, she just wishes it all could have been handled differently, she said.
Dillard also admits that, in fact she did embrace one of the officers, telling him after the shooting “that I was sorry for everything that happened.”
But the mother of two says she would like to see police get more training in hostage negotiations.
Each of Portland’s 19 sworn officers must be certified with in-service training each year in classes which include hostage negotiations, West said.
Personnel files inspected by The News Examiner at City Hall indicate neither officer had ever been reprimanded.
Heckart’s file was thick with commendations and certificates from various police agencies where he’s worked.
Prior to being hired by Portland Police on March 26, 2003, Heckart had spent several years with the Robertson County Sheriff’s Office.
“Deputy Heckart has demonstrated his effectiveness in handling numerous felony situations, while being outnumbered by criminals even when back up was 20 minutes away,” wrote Lt. Larry Green, former supervisor.
“Deputy Heckart is cool in the face of danger and has the ability to immediately take control of a bad situation. He demonstrates leadership traits which make him a valuable asset to our department and community,” the letter of recommendation continued.
Green also described Heckart as a “man of impeccable honor and a dedicated law enforcement officer.’’
In addition to the Robertson County Sheriff’s Office, and the White House Police Department, Heckart has worked for the 18th Judicial Drug Task Force and is a veteran of the U.S Army where he received recognition for being a marksman with a M-16 rifle.
Weaver, 33, is described by both West and Whitley as a good officer, with no disciplinary complaints in his file.
He was hired by Portland on March 16, 2002.
Both officers remain on routine administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
Meanwhile, West has called in the state funded Critical Incident Team, “which is a valuable tool for any law enforcement or emergency agency to use whenever there’s been a shooting or fatality. We’ve used the team before when there were seven fatalities on Highway 52,” West said yesterday.
Three members of the team arrived at the police station on Monday to “hold a diffusion session and let the officers know what to expect in the next week or 10 days,” West said.
In the next few days, other members of the team will arrive to offer one-on-one counseling with each person involved in the shooting.
West said yesterday, that “the officers are shaken. Right now one of them thinks it will help if he can get right back to work, while the other wants to spend some time with his family.”
That decision will be made on a day-to-day basis, the chief added.