Broward County sheriff's deputy Chris Reyka was killed while on duty in Pompano Beach early this morning.
Reyka, father of four, was shot behind a Walgreens store when he went back there to check out a suspicious vehicle. It makes two deputies shot in the head in Broward County in five days (the first, Maury Hernandez, is still fighting for his life in the hospital). The Pulp has seen a lot of South Florida crime and isn't one to get gooey about it, but this is
flat-out horrible. Sad. Disturbing.
Two thoughts. One is is that we might see more police shootings of suspects as a result of this. Hell, if I was a cop, I'd be a little more likely to shoot right now. Here's what someone calling himself "Miamian" wrote under the Herald article:
"In dire circumstances such at this one and Maury's, police officers are not responding instinctively to a life threatening situation, they are engaging in all sorts of mental gymnastics whether or not using deadly force will be consistent with department policy. Ergo, delay equals death!"
The problem, of course, is that mindset almost always leads to the shootings of unarmed people (ask Fort Lauderdale police about that). Be that as it may, right now may be the worst time in Broward County history to try a cop.
Second, Ken Jenne's role as department father throughout this terrible week has been almost surreal. What the hell is he doing there? The guy is like a ghost. He's also an embarrassment that the feds and Charlie Crist need to remove from office. Ironically, he might last longer just because they won't want to indict the sheriff at the same time the entire department is grieving.
Only in Broward County.
