What a difference a week makes.
The News Bulletin's Sept. 19-22 edition reported on Crestview residents' participation in the #bluelivesmatter movement. In one photo, 5-year-old Jaedyn Williams smiled while displaying a blue "We support our police" sign. Many other North Okaloosa residents expressed solidarity for those who protect and serve; such expressions were sweet reminders to law enforcement officials. They said, "You have our backs and we have yours."
Less than a week later, the smiles disappeared, and the full weight of the meaning behind that symbol — the thin blue line protecting civilians from criminals — hit close to home.
Okaloosa County Sheriff's Deputy Bill Myers died Tuesday after Joel Dixon Smith shot him multiple times in the head and back in Shalimar. The 33-year-old shot the 64-year-old just after Myers served a domestic violence injunction to him at a Plew Avenue law firm.
The News Bulletin's Facebook fans expressed grief and disbelief. "When will the violence stop!" one woman said. "I can't understand shooting someone in the back; bless this man and his family," another said.
Smith told his wife Sunday night that “someone was leaving in a coffin” if she reported him to the police for pushing her against the wall while holding their 8-month-old, according to the Northwest Florida Daily News. He meant “him or a police,” the wife said in a petition for injunction she filed Monday at the Okaloosa County Clerk of Court’s Office.
It is tragic that such a beloved family man — he came out of retirement to earn money to take his granddaughter to Disney World — should die because he has a badge.
It is tragic, as one Facebook fan noted, that he faithfully served 25 years in a dangerous profession before retirement, with no end of watch date. But love of family led him back to the force, and it ultimately led to his untimely demise.
I keep saying "tragic," and that's unusual for an editor who's a stickler for redundancy. But no other word comes to mind.
It's difficult to grasp such hatred: killing a perfect stranger — a good man, by all accounts — consequences be damned.
Conversely, I can't count how many times I've choked up at the editor's desk for this perfect stranger and his loved ones.
Myers' death shouldn't be routine news; it shouldn't be another day at the office for a journalist; another Facebook post or tweet. This wasn't a drug deal gone wrong, nor was it gang or vendetta related.
A good man died for no good reason. That should bother everyone.
For my part, I posted the announcement of Myers' death on Facebook with the hashtag #StoptheViolence.
Later, the News Bulletin's staff tied a blue ribbon around one of our office building's pillars so North Ferdon Boulevard motorists would know we support peace.
In our Weekend Edition's cover story, Crestview resident and retired police officer Joe Phipps says he mourns for Myers even though he didn't know him; their badges made them brothers.
The thin blue line undoubtedly binds all officers worldwide, but compassionate people who respect each other's human dignity also grieve for this man and his family.
Because a good man died for no good reason.
What's your view? Write a letter to the editor or tweet News Bulletin Editor Thomas Boni.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: BONI: Mourning a good man's death