Unveiling the Light

Kathryn Bogosian was a young, happy and devoted mother who was involved in her community. She was innocent of any wrong doing and yet, today she is dead because of the actions of Shayne Tinnel. Tinnel said he would not be taken alive. Unfortunately he took another life at the same time. The family has my deepest sympathy. This is a great tragedy and a very sad circumstance for the entire community

While I lament the loss of these young women and am sorry for the family and friends of Kathryn, I also believe that we do not need to make this tragedy worse. Here I am referring to the various calls for the resignation of officers, the Chief of Police or the County Sheriff. People are pointing to the police and sheriff departments as being at fault for undertaking a chase, for not adequately blocking the subject vehicle in, for not shooting out its tires or for not finding some other way to stop the vehicle.

While I don’t have the full picture, from what I have read it seems that the officers involved did what they could. It is said that only 25 seconds elapsed from the time that Jennifer Street stopped and got out of the car and Shayne Tinnel drove away. 25 seconds goes by very fast, especially when you fear a known felon who may be armed. Some say he should have been blocked in, but how often have you seen a police vehicle pull in front of a stopped car? That is a dangerous place to be if the felon does have a gun. Maybe the officers could have shot out the tires of the car of even shot the driver himself. That is a matter for policy review and proper training as current policy does not allow such action.

One of the reasons this happened is that we live in a small town and, unfortunately, in an area that, because of the drug trade, has more than its share of lawbreakers. The officers said that in five minutes they would have taken Tinnel at his home, thus avoiding the danger of a traffic stop. In Sacramento a quick call on the radio would have brought an onslaught of police cars and officers to the location. In a small town like ours and especially in an area like Magalia, there are far fewer officers available. We simply don’t have the resources of a big city. That is the price we pay for small town living and it is a burden on the local police and sheriff as well.

Maybe the officers involved could have done something better or more but they are not guilty of neglect. This incident is being reviewed by an outside agency and from this we can expect further policy development. We should learn from this event, not use it to eliminate people who are doing a very good job with the limited resources we have. Whatever happens, we need to remember that we are a small town and that we are not willing to pay what it would cost to have a police force manned to the extent one would find in a large city. I believe that the city of Paradise can be very proud of its police force and its interaction with the community and that we need to support them.

As I said before, the death of Kathryn Bogosian is a tragedy. I can understand the family’s tendency to give in to their anger and to place blame on others. We all like to think that tragedies won’t affect us or those we love if only everyone would do what they should. The fact is though, tragedies do happen. People do die young. They get sick, they have accidents, they are murdered, they over medicate and yes, sometimes they die because of the actions or inactions of others. We do not have the control over life that we like to think. We can be perfect in what we do and still face horrible tragedies. This is a fact of life.

For this reason we need to keep our hearts and minds firmly on the presence of God. Only in God will this family find solace and only in God can any of us find true comfort in this life. We are not in control of all things but all is subject to God. God can make good of the worst circumstances and in God we can always find hope. Because of our free will, God does not control who has tragedy in their lives but he can make all circumstances good with time and can heal all involved, if they remain faithful to the Lord. In God we can know that Kathryn is in good hands and that Shayne now faces the ultimate judgment.

I hope that Jennifer Street is investigated. If she was harboring this man then she needs to be brought to justice. I hope that the family of Kathryn is able to overcome their anger and give honor to her by uniting in their love for one another and finding forgiveness in their hearts. I also hope that our local police and sheriff officers and management can learn from this incident but also know that the community supports their efforts and does not blame them for this tragedy. This event has hurt enough people. Now we need to use it to address future such incidents and remain unified as a community. To do otherwise only allows Shayne Tinnel to further victimize this community. He has caused enough problems as it is and now we can entrust him to the judgment of God. Maybe he will find mercy there or possibly condemnation but he will no longer be able to hurt others.