[Vision2020] Carrying a Heavy Burden, a Community Moves On

[Tom Hansen]

>From the cover story of today's (December 24, 2007) Spokesman Review -

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Carrying a heavy burden, a community moves on 
'I think that there was some loss of innocence. We are not immune.'

By Nick Eaton, Staff Writer

http://tinyurl.com/2qnx46
Sgt. Brannon Jordan, right, jokes with Moscow Police officer Jay Waters, far
left, after an awards ceremony at Moscow City Hall on Dec. 17. The
Spokesman-Review (Photo Courtesy: Jesse Tinsley of the Spokesman-Review)

MOSCOW, Idaho - As the crowd cheered, Sgt. Brannon Jordan stood and smiled
in his Moscow Police Department uniform.

The evening was a time of remembrance and recognition, and at least 150
people spilled from the City Council chambers into the hallway a week ago.
The council and Mayor Nancy Chaney called the special meeting to honor
police and fire officials for their service on May 19, when a gunman killed
three in a suicidal rampage near the Latah County courthouse.

Jordan - back to working full time - was the last of dozens to be honored;
he received a city of Moscow version of the military's Purple Heart. 

A Latah County sheriff's deputy at the time, Jordan was shot in the back
that night as he crouched in cover. He had just helped to rescue Officer Lee
Newbill, who was shot three times. A father of three, 48-year-old Newbill
later died - the first Moscow officer to be killed in the line of duty.

Jordan, along with four other law enforcement officials, received a Medal of
Valor last week. After the City Council meeting, friends and community
members came up to Jordan to thank him for his service.

"It's just been a long road, getting healed up," Jordan said between
handshakes. The road also has been long for the 22,000 residents of Moscow.
The May carnage was a shock, and the city is still healing. 

 
"This still is small-town America in many ways," Chaney said, "but it
definitely was a horrific wake-up call to us."

On May 19 about 10 p.m., 36-year-old Jason Hamilton went home from a Moscow
bar and shot his wife, Crystal, 30, in the head. Then he took two
high-powered rifles to town and opened fire on the Latah County courthouse,
firing about 125 rounds from the First Presbyterian Church parking lot.

That's the location from which Hamilton shot at Newbill and Officer Bill
Shields, who was injured by shrapnel and received an exceptional service
certificate during last week's ceremony. Officials believe Hamilton shot
Jordan from inside the church.

Hamilton also shot University of Idaho student Peter Husmann, 20, who had
grabbed a pistol when he heard gunfire and rode his bicycle to help. Hit
three times, Husmann recovered at a hospital and was released within two
weeks.

Between 60 and 80 bullet casings were found inside the church, where
Hamilton shot sexton Paul Bauer eight times, then killed himself. Bauer, 62,
lived at the church. "I think that probably was as great an effect as the
suicide in the sanctuary," said Pastor Norman Fowler. "Because in a certain
way, the sanctuary was violated, but the whole sense of our church family
was attacked by losing a member and losing someone that a lot of us knew
pretty well and cared for."

For a few weeks, church services were held off-site, Fowler said. To help
the community deal with the trauma, the church hosted prayer times on its
lawn, also inviting courthouse employees to join.

"We did a special Sunday where we started in Fellowship Hall and all came up
together to enter the sanctuary together and reclaim the sanctuary space
that way, as a community," Fowler said.

First Presbyterian Church also formed a retreat so people could talk, and it
plans to plant a tree in Bauer's memory in May. More than 250 people
attended Bauer's funeral June 5.

"It was an incredibly strange and difficult time," Fowler said. "But I
think, as a church, we've pulled together pretty well and are moving along
in a pretty reasonable way. Like with anything of that magnitude, it's
something that continues to be with you. Although, I think, for the church
anyway, we've not let it be something that defines us but just something
that was a part of our life."

Fowler attended a ceremony in November in which the city dedicated a stone
bench to Newbill. The officer's widow, Rebecca, spoke to those in attendance
at downtown's Friendship Square, said Chaney.

The mayor said the dedication put some hope back into the community.

"That's encouraging that we're starting to heal, individually and
collectively," Chaney said. "But we'll never get over it. None of us will."

Nevertheless, she said, the community "wrapped our collective arms around
each other" and grew stronger after the shooting, which capped a streak of
violent crime in Moscow.

On March 31, John Delling allegedly shot to death UI student David Boss, 21,
in Boss' Moscow apartment, then allegedly killed another student in Boise.
In 2004, two brothers from Seattle, James and Matthew Wells, shot and killed
19-year-old Eric McMillian, a UI football player. Two years earlier,
19-year-old David J. Meister shot and killed Tonya Hart, 21, at her Moscow
home.

"I think that there was some loss of innocence," Chaney said. "We are not
immune to those (events). I think people see them as evil from the outside
world, but we aren't immune from that."

In response to the May shooting, the Moscow Human Rights Commission hosted a
panel discussion Oct. 18 with judges, lawyers, professors and mental health
professionals. They talked with about 60 attendees about the shooting and
what might have prevented it, said Tim Gresback, a Moscow attorney and panel
moderator.

He cited the need for a misdemeanor probation office in Moscow. Because of a
2005 charge of choking a girlfriend, Hamilton had been prohibited from
possessing firearms. He had a history of violent crime and mental
instability.

A regional mental health court also was started "in direct response" to
Moscow's recent incidents of violence, Gresback said.

As for the events of May 19, "we had a really thorough investigation and
determined that everybody did what they were supposed to do," said Police
Chief Dan Weaver.

Moscow, Latah County and state emergency responders, along with those from
Washington who assisted, worked together through the chaos - including radio
dispatchers who had to retreat to the jail as Hamilton fired at the
courthouse.

Newbill's death hit the Moscow Police Department hard, and more than 2,000
officers from across the region attended his memorial service May 15 at UI's
Kibbie Dome.

This season of celebration is the perfect time to honor the emergency
officials who responded to the shooting, City Councilwoman Linda Pall said
last week. 

Jordan was among more than 40 police and fire personnel honored by the City
Council. Shaking hands, hugging and smiling for photos brought out the
holiday cheer from a community touched deeply by disaster.

"The community support has just been outstanding," Jordan said. "I've
received so many wishes to get well. You know, cards and letters. ... It's
been incredible."

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Honorees 
Law enforcement, fire and rescue personnel honored at the Moscow City
Council meeting on Dec. 17: 

Moscow Fire Department

. Certificate of Appreciation

Bob Jahns, Dana Rand, Michael Benier, Sarah Harris, Anna Shambaugh, James
Shearer, Joe Law, Ryan Law, Ed Button (fire chief), Gretchen Rice, Debby
Carscallen, Brian Schlect, Greg Clifford, Bill Brocklesby, Jim Hitch, Brian
Huie, Bonnie Shambaugh, Jeff Spellman, Greg Thomas, Zach Ukich, Rick Benson
(battalion chief)

Latah County Sheriff's Office

. Purple Heart

Deputy Brannon Jordan (now MPD sergeant)

. Medal of Valor

Deputy Jay Waters (now MPD officer), Deputy Phil Gray (now MPD sergeant),
Deputy Ryan Sillers, Deputy Brannon Jordan (now MPD sergeant)

. Exceptional Service Certificate

Sgt. Doug Anderson, Cpl. Jesse Aston, dispatcher Marci Williams, dispatcher
Mike Gregory, dispatcher Chantelle Nieuwsma, dispatcher Kathy Gaia, support
services administrator Rhonda Bunney

Moscow Police Department

.Medal of Valor

Officer Jesse Applehans

. Exceptional Service Certificate

Sgt. Dan Bruce, Cpl. Will Krasselt, Officer Jesse Applehans, Officer Bill
Shields, Officer Nick Swanson, Officer Bruce Lovell

. Lifesaving Awards (for a Nov. 10 incident)

Sgt. Bruce Fager, Officer Phil Gray

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Videos of the award ceremony may be viewed at:

http://www.MoscowCares.com/MPD_LCSD_MFD.htm

Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"We're a town of about 23,000 with 10,000 college students. The college
students are not very active in local elections (thank goodness!)."

- Dale Courtney (March 28, 2007)