A Point of Contention

The contention is within me, I guess. Ever since the news came out that Brian Nichols was able to disable Cynthia Hall, a female deputy, I've felt an irritation gnawing at me. I am not a feminist, not by any means. I will however, stand on the side of the woman if that is the side of right. If it's the side of right, I'd stand on that side whether we're talking man or woman.

I've read several posts and heard various talking heads on Fox questioning whether a woman should have been escorting this particular inmate. Geraldo Rivera on more than one occasion referred to her as a "grandma." I have no idea whether the 51-year old deputy was in fact a grandmother or not. Whether she is or not has no point in her ability and training as a deputy sheriff and I am offended that he consistently referred to her in this manner. When I first heard this description, I thought of a an elderly, frail, white-haired, cookie-baking grandma. That being said, I have also known grandmas who could have taken this guy down and not broken a sweat. Cynthia Hall was, or should have been, a highly trained deputy sheriff. Her age and gender should not come into the discussion at all unless she could not do the job she was given. I heard on Fox this morning that the altercation between Nichols and Hall lasted two and half to three minutes. That's a very long time when you are being beaten and fighting for your weapon and your very life. I don't know what mistakes, if any, Deputy Hall made that allowed Nichols the opportunity he took. I have a feeling that she made mistakes too. Did she deserve the beating she took? No. Nichols made his choices despite any mistakes or procedural breakdowns made by others.

Would Geraldo have referred to a male deputy as a grandpa? I sincerely doubt it. And, I never heard any question of Hall's abilities until it was revealed that the deputy was a woman. I'm not sure that given his size, and his desperation, two or three big, beefy, testosterone-filled male deputies could have controlled Nichols.

When you have manpower problems, you have to be all that more aware of the personnel you have to work with and go with your strengths and the strengths and abilities of your staff. I'm reminded that we had a male juvenile officer in our facility who was placed in the control room. He was specifically not placed in a cellblock with the youths because we knew that he could not physically control any of the youths. He was older, his build was slight, and he was not in the physical shape to get into an altercation with any of the youths. So, in order to keep liability off the Sheriff, he worked in a position that did not require him to have face-to-face contact with the youths we house. Was he good in this position? One of the best. Again, you go with the strengths and abilities of your staff.

Fulton County made their (first) mistake (of many) when they paired a 6'1" 240 pound ex-football player with a history of violent tendencies with a deputy who was a foot shorter and 100 pounds lighter. There are a lot of places that Fulton County needs to look at in their courthouse security. The age and gender of the deputies are not necessarily part of the problem.