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Thanks to those who protect the Capitol

Friday, July 27 at 12:00 AM

Can you imagine the boredom of being a state trooper assigned to protect the Capitol?

I mean, seriously, someone comes in and tries to kill the governor — oh, I don’t know — about once every hundred years. And what are the chances that you will actually be the one on duty that has to confront the gunman? Really small, a tiny fraction (I am the product of public education, so I understand these things).

Well, in truth, it is probably one of the most difficult jobs in law enforcement.

You have to stay sharp 100 percent of the time, because all hell can break loose at any moment on any day. The job is complicated by the fact that it is a public building open to anyone. And your bosses want all visitors to feel welcome regardless of their viewpoint, regardless of the size of their purse or backpack and regardless of any elected officials who are currently in the building (read: targets).

As law enforcement officers, they are trained to be suspicious of everything but polite and helpful to every person — all the while making sure no one is hatching a plot to kill the governor, a staff member or even a random visitor to our Capitol.

Law enforcement officers are extensively trained in the use of deadly force. They know how to shoot, when to shoot, and, importantly, when not to shoot. Nearly all pray — some literally, some figuratively — that they never have to shoot anyone.

I spent many years as one of them. I drew my gun many times, pointed it at another human being several times but, thankfully, never had to pull the trigger.

Those who do have to pull the trigger have to deal with it for the rest of their lives. Most, not all, get over it, but none of them ever forgets it.

All of us as police officers rehearse mentally about all kinds of different situations and build a mental resolve that if it comes down to “him or me,” it will always be “him.” When confronted with a critical situation in which it really is “him or me,” decisions are made quickly and are really just reactions based on training. Dealing with the decision afterward is individualized. We all know intellectually we may one day have to pull the trigger, but actually doing it is life changing.

We ought to work with the mentally ill to keep them out of situations in which they have a gun and officers have to resort to deadly force for their own protection and the protection of others. Unfortunately, there are too many such situations.

Trooper Jay Hemphill faced such a situation, and had he not reacted in accordance with his training, we may well be planning funerals right now. Thank you, Trooper Hemphill. Thank you for your attention to duty. Thank you for shifting instantly from your role as a helpful state employee to that of expert bodyguard willing to sacrifice yourself for the cause. And, finally, thank you for what you are going through right now — whatever it may be. My thoughts are with you.

I don’t have to tell Trooper Hemphill that others were involved in this incident, too, even though they didn’t pull the trigger. Several troopers responded to the initial call for help and more for later calls. They, too, did good work.

Did the State Patrol make mistakes in this situation? I don’t know — probably. These things never go smoothly — they’re emergencies! I know both State Patrol Chief Mark Trostel, who runs the entire State Patrol, and Captain Mark Savage, who runs the unit responsible for Capitol security. They are both consummate professionals and sticklers for details. They know that details can get people killed.

I suspect they have identified issues as a result of this tragedy that would never occur to the rest of us and have already taken action to address them.

It is so easy to second-guess every action in a situation like this. I have seen many newspaper and television reports, and I know the Denver Police Department is conducting an investigation that includes the preparation and execution of several search warrants.

These people collectively have probably spent more than a thousand hours in just a few days examining this event, and many have expressed all kinds of opinions.

So, I offer mine. Trooper Hemphill had probably less than four seconds to conduct his investigation and take action. I think he did the right thing. Again, my thoughts are with him because I know that in spite of doing the right thing, this is not an easy time for him. He did what he had to do.

Thank you to the entire trooper security unit assigned to the Capitol. I felt safe in your hands before July 16, and I feel safer now having seen you in action.

John P. Morse, a Colorado Springs Democrat, represents Senate District 11 in the Colorado General Assembly.

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