Hawke Parents Question Police Efforts In Petit Slayings

The Rev. Richard Hawke and his wife, Marybelle, pose with a picture of his daughter and granddaughters at their Venice, Fla., home in November.

[Highway Worker]

Normally, I do not post before work, but I had to make an exception to this. How can these people criticize the police? I just love how everyone is an expert on crime, arrests, home invasions?! The Cheshire police did an excellent job, I mean they caught these dirt bags, right? They will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law!

I bet you these parents were liberals through and through and now they are conservatives after this henous crime.

Personally, I don't think we should forget this family, but I am tired of hearing about them on the news everyday. The news media does not give a second thought to other home invasions and murders that have taken place in this state. I am wondering what makes this family so special.

[Not Surprised]

IT is incredibly easy to Monday morning quaterback, especially when one has NO knowlege of police precudures. Next thing you know, they'll be carping about the fire department response........

[shoreliner]

Mr. and Mrs. Hawke,
I, too, grieve for your lost. I shudder to think how I would be able to handle this.

Nearly all of the problems in Connecticut can be blamed on liberalism.

In this case, if Connecticut was tougher on violent felons, had a functioning parole system, and actively used capital punishment, perhaps your daughter and granddaughters would still be with us.

Look no further than Representative Michael Lawlor and Senator Andrew McDonald in terms of this problem. During their careers in the GA, they have consistently supported felon rights over those of the victims.

[Cromwell Observer]

What occurred last year at the Pettit home, was a tragedy that should never have taken place. But it was not the fault of the police. The fault lies with Connecticut's soft on crime Liberal Legislature, and a soft on criminals court system where plea bargains and suspended sentences are the order of the day.
As for Mr. and Mrs. Hawke, they must watch too much TV. Do they think in a small town like Cheshire there is a Swat Team sitting around waiting for a call?
If the day shift at Chesire Police Dept was fully staffed (no one on vacation or at training etc) there were likely 4 patrol officers and 2 patrol supervisors availabe to respond to the bank, to the Pettit residence and to any other calls occurring at the same time. There might have been another two or 3 Detectives and perhaps a couple of Traffic Division officers available. Like other towns across the state, the SWAT team is usually a group of officers with extra training, but whose primary duties are patrol, investigation, traffic, etc. To activate SWAT, officers would have to be called in from home and equipment would have to be gathered and brought to the scene. That takes time, probably a lot longer than the 26 minute window the Hawkes talk about. With limited manpower, probably 3 or 4 officers initially (remember somebody had to go to the bank to take statements, setting up a perimiter until officers had some clue as to what was going on, was the correct thing to do. Remember, until Dr. Pettit emerged, the cops very likely had no idea of what they were dealing with.
Would you like to have 4 cops barge into your house,with guns drawn, just because somebody at your bank reported something suspicious and with no additional information to substantiate what might be taking place?

[A Man for All Seasons]

If the police went in like gangbusters and the situation went south, they would be accused of being too aggressive and gung ho. If they didn't assault the house (the case here), and the situation goes south they're accused of being too passive. Let's remember that the police, FBI, CIA, military, etc. can't be blamed for everything bad that happens to people...whether it's something like what happened in Cheshire or a terrorist attack.

I'm not in law enforcement, the government, or the military...I just think we need to remember that we can't be protected from everything. It's not the "failure" of the police, it's the unfathomable sickness of these two individuals that caused this tragedy. Let's remember that for a change.

[Bev]

Honestly guys, lay off them here. I don't know all the details to say if the police could have done more. What I do know is I can't fathom trying to sleep at night knowing my daughter and 11 yr old grandaughter were raped and killed like that. Yes, these scum should never have been out of prison. Hopefully this awful tragedy changes something. As misguided as we may feel it is, their questioning the police is part of the grieving process and any one of us would be doing the same thing. Go easy on them, I'd be wondering if my child could have been saved as well. Let's hope none of us have to ever deal with this in our lifetime w/our own family members.

And for Highway Worker..you;re sick of hearing about them? How pathetic and self-absorbed are you? I'm sure the family is sick of having to go to a graveyard to visit their grandchildren, too. People like you are SO part of the problem. When we forget, we become indifferent and nothing changes. Why don't you get off your butt and do something to foster change rather than ignorance and indifference?

[local]

Evidently the Hawks are not familiar with police rule #1 which is inviolate. A lone cop walking into a heavily armed hostage situation with multiple suspects afoot would have violated this standard.This is a tragic situation that the media shills are taking advantage of ad nauseum.

[Katie]

I am sorry for the Hawke family, having lost their daughter and grandchildren in that heinous crime.

However, it is extremely easy - especially for an untrained person - to say what the police "should" have done. The bottom line is that no officer will go into a hostage situation alone. The police won't just rush a building blindly and without a plan when there are hostages, or they will get killed along with the people they're trying to save. A lot of things happened in a short period of time and they had to respond according to training and protocol.

What's next, blaming the Cheshire fire department for not waving a magic wand and putting out the fire instantly?

[Mikes]

The police should have answered their letter. They probably would have but their 'lawyers' and counsel( I'm sure) advised not to. These are parents and grandparents and their concerns and questions need to be respected. So now comes the flak. If you can't respond because of the lawyers; this may be a result!! Talking about following 'procedures' seems a very cold response. Think about how you would receive that as an answer to your legitimate questions....Parents and grandparents deserve better than that.

[Will]

This really makes the Cheshire Police Department look like the Keystone Cops. Talk about screwing up, an investigation by a higher authority is needed, and soon.

[Sheepdog]

No doubt those officers who responded have had nightmares and double-guessed themselves about what happened and played "what if" in their minds even more.

CPD did the best they could with the information they had and yes, the parents are grieving and asking why, how.

My prayers are for all, that there will be healing and justice will be served on the two predators.

[lidy]

unfortunately any reconstructive procedures needed now that all this is in question is out the window because any and all forensic evidence has been demolished with the house. There were bound to be questions, i understand the doc's reasoning for demolition but i still thought it was a "quick" move on his part. see, i was right, now any unanswered questions will remain that, unanswered.

[Not TV]

Bev, there's a difference between questioning the PD for grieving and going to the media. Some of us can't help but feel there is almost an agenda for public humiliation to draw a unnecessary apology. Maybe it's their form of closure? Fine...but, here's my problem with that. Police, Fire and EMS are not robots. They feel things too. They were there. Do we/they not think they are not also, in a smaller way, grieving? If not grieving, I promise you, it occupies their minds. Sure there's a separation from the victim personally, but you cannot ignore the severity of the incident and that it unfolded in front of you. Now to publicly blame them for something they are not responsible for is asinine. It is clear from the dispatch tapes the PD did NOT know the state of matters in the home. They were also limited to one of two personnel on scene for some time. Police cannot just burst into homes and save the day, especially with no plan. This is not TV as one other patron mentioned.
Rule number 1: Maintain personal life safety of the officer/firefighter/emt. Rule number 2: Gain information / Stabilize the situation
Rule number 3: Make an arrest/put the fire out/transport to ER, etc
We want every boy in blue to be a hero. He/she is not extraordinary. They are civilians with special training and tools. Remember that. If a cop saves 3 girls and shoots/arrests two bad guys he's a hero right? What if in the same situation he breaches the front door and gets blasted by a shotgun and everyone still gets killed. Is he a hero or a victim? Does that make the situation better? No, it just makes 5 (4) victims instead of 4 (3).

[Sheepdog]

Mikes wrote:

The police should have answered their letter. They probably would have but their 'lawyers' and counsel( I'm sure) advised not to. These are parents and grandparents and their concerns and questions need to be respected. So now comes the flak. If you can't respond because of the lawyers; this may be a result!! Talking about following 'procedures' seems a very cold response. Think about how you would receive that as an answer to your legitimate questions....Parents and grandparents deserve better than that.

They cannot reply or give specifics because the judge has issued a gag order. Second, it could compormise the capital felony case against the two responsible.

[Gotta Love It]

Now it is time for the show-boating of the famiily... just wait for the lawsuit for millions.

[Merlot]

lidy wrote:

unfortunately any reconstructive procedures needed now that all this is in question is out the window because any and all forensic evidence has been demolished with the house. There were bound to be questions, i understand the doc's reasoning for demolition but i still thought it was a "quick" move on his part. see, i was right, now any unanswered questions will remain that, unanswered.

Do you honestly think that all forensic evidence was not gathered prior to the house being demolished? "see, i was right"?? You are an idiot.

[Merlot]

Bev wrote:

Honestly guys, lay off them here. I don't know all the details to say if the police could have done more. What I do know is I can't fathom trying to sleep at night knowing my daughter and 11 yr old grandaughter were raped and killed like that. Yes, these scum should never have been out of prison. Hopefully this awful tragedy changes something. As misguided as we may feel it is, their questioning the police is part of the grieving process and any one of us would be doing the same thing. Go easy on them, I'd be wondering if my child could have been saved as well. Let's hope none of us have to ever deal with this in our lifetime w/our own family members.
And for Highway Worker..you;re sick of hearing about them? How pathetic and self-absorbed are you? I'm sure the family is sick of having to go to a graveyard to visit their grandchildren, too. People like you are SO part of the problem. When we forget, we become indifferent and nothing changes. Why don't you get off your butt and do something to foster change rather than ignorance and indifference?

Actually I think that many of us feel the same way as Highway Worker. No one is saying that we should forget this tragedy, but the media brings it up over and over, every time there is a crime remotely similar. One would think that this was the only home invasion/murder in the history of CT. What about the more recent incident in New Britain? Not much on that, even though that was equally heinous. For you to call him self absorbed and pathetic is ignorant.

[William Costigan]

While I am sympathetic to the parents I am also outraged that they , noing nothing about police procedure, would go public and openly make such statements ...... the police and fire department are not at fault here ... they have a protocol to follow to ensure safety before they can move in on a target ....I rep[eat what someone else has stated .... they are showboating for what reason ..... the lawsuits against the police ???? the volunteer fire department ??? their outrage should be at the fecal bags that COMMITTED the crimes NOT at the ones who tried to STOP them ...

[Miss Anthropic]

Wow, what article did you people read? From what I read, the parents are questioning. This is a shade different from criticizing, at least initially. I can't help thinking if the police had responded to their initial letter compassionately and informatively then we might not even be reading this story.

As it is, the PD did not respond and that leaves the family's questions unanswered. I think it's healthy for a society to question every aspect of such a horrible situation. If we don't question it, we won't learn from it. E.g., maybe the protocol/procedure the police followed at the Petit's home is based on outdated models of criminal motivation and behavior.

As for "Monday morning quarterbacking" or similar term used in a prior post to describe the Hawkes' behavior, consider that it's no worse than assuming you know what such massive grief is like when most of us blessedly have no idea at all.

[South of Heaven]

Will wrote:

This really makes the Cheshire Police Department look like the Keystone Cops. Talk about screwing up, an investigation by a higher authority is needed, and soon.

Keystone Cops???? They caught the douche bags!