Tessi still wishes Morgan would come home…

tessdoor After 3 years Tessi still grieves for Morgan.  Not every day, but there are times you can see the sadness in her eyes when someone mentions Morgan’s name.  If you have ever wondered if dogs hurt when they loose someone they love I will tell you from first hand experience, they do, they have huge hearts and their hearts grieve just like human hearts.

And Morgan’s dog Wylah has nightmares still.  She cries out in her sleep.  She was just a puppy at the time of Morgan’s murder and she was definitely traumatized.  The good news is she is starting to become a lot more trusting of people – she wasn’t for the first year or so.  A good friend of mine said to put my hand over her heart when she looked sad.  I did that for quite a while and I must report that it did work…the sparkle in her eyes has come back and she is extremely affectionate and loving.  I am so happy because I know Morgan loves her little dog so much and wants her to be happy.

Morgan’s cat Mogwai grieves too.  Sometimes he gets despondent and doesn’t want anyone around him, and other times he just wants to be able to cuddle up like he used to do with Morgan.  The problem is he will cuddle up to us but then look really sad, like it’s just not the same. He then gets up and slowly walks away to be alone again.  I try to follow him, call his name, dangle string in front of him to play, but he just looks at me with eyes glassed over as though he is trying to just focus on his memories.  But recently when Mogwai looks upset Tessi has started to walk over to him to try to cheer him up…it’s so adorable, she licks him (with her huge tongue) in his ear, then he looks grossed out, but he still sits still and let’s her…I think he likes her attention, even though it is very slobbery. 🙂

It’s has been heartbreaking at times to see these wonderful, kind and furry members of our family grieve, but just like with all of us I know it is a process that can not be avoided.  I think it just makes all of us, humans and animals alike, treasure the moments we have together and appreciate even the smallest things in life like chasing a ball in the park.

“Over the years I’ve come to appreciate how animals enter our lives prepared to teach and far from being burdened by an inability to speak they have many different ways to communicate. It is up to us to listen more than hear, to look into more than past.”
― Nick TroutLove Is the Best Medicine: What Two Dogs Taught One Veterinarian about Hope, Humility, and Everyday Miracles

Reactive Policing vs Community Policing – what would you rather see?

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The National Center for Victims of Crime shares that, “In a significant number of cases, stalking is in fact, a precursor to lethal violence.  Traditional “reactive” policing is ill-suited to the challenges because it means waiting for something to happen and then responding.”  Where there is an ever-present risk that stalking will cross over into physical violence, then victim safety and prevention are the priorities, and an approach of reactive policing inevitably falls short.  Stalking by its nature calls for early intervention, preventive action, and proactive problem-solving. These are the hallmarks of community policing.”

Here is a explanation of Community Policing by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) they are a component of the U.S. Department of Justice responsible for advancing the practice of community policing by the nation’s state, local, territorial, and tribal law enforcement agencies through information and grant resources: http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/vets-to-cops/e030917193-CP-Defined.pdf

Community policing was not used in Morgan’s case, and other stalking victims I’ve heard from recently in Garfield County tell me nothing has changed.  They still rely on reactive policing, but does anyone really think that coming to look for your stalker hours or even a day after they were terrorizing you is really going to work?  I believe the community should have been made aware of other similar incidents in that area months and years before Morgan’s stalking started, those incidents as well as Morgan’s stalking should have then been shared with the community, and followed up on by the sheriffs.  Stalking is by definition is a pattern of behavior, it is not one incident.  Insisting on treating stalking as if it were an incident by incident crime only serves to give the stalker the upper hand, while doing little to halt his criminal behavior.

In an article in the Grand Junction Sentinel Garfield County Sheriff Lou Vallario was quoted as saying, “I believe a proactive law enforcement group reduces crime in the long run.”  “To me the buzzword ‘community policing’ is less important than what we’re providing.”  So while he claims to believe in proactive law enforcement, it is certainly not employed in stalking cases, it is still pure reactionary, an incident by incident response.

And Community Policing – just a buzzword?  I don’t think so…the protocol that the sheriff used in Morgan’s case had absolutely no way of working, it was not proactive it was reactive at best and did not work.  Every stalking expert, stalking task force, along with the National Center for Victims of Crimes and even the Colorado Legislature suggests specific protocols that are proven to have a better outcome for stalking victims and isn’t that what we all want?  For example when the Colorado Legislature states, “encouraging and authorizing effective intervention before stalking can escalate into behavior that has even more serious consequences.”  I applaud that statement and point out that right in the middle is “effective intervention” or action taken to improve a situation, which responses long after the stalker has come and gone will not do.

When a felony stalking case is opened (like in Morgan’s case) if law enforcement waits to get a call, and then show up sometime in the next 30 minutes to an hour later, and they later claim they didn’t see the stalker, because of course the stalker isn’t about to just sit on the sidewalk and await their arrival, in what galaxy does this seem like it would ever work? There is a Model Protocol that was created to promote more effective anti-stalking policies by police departments across the nation.  What will it take for Garfield County to adopt a good stalking protocol?  They need to realize lives are continuously endangered and depend on a better protocol.

I look forward to a day when law enforcement agencies across the country adopt this Model Protocol, and look to and learn from other agencies that have had a more positive outcome for the victims of stalking.  Just like in every field in our society constant continuing education is the sign of a belief that you want to do your job to the best of your ability.  If the tools to do your job are out there then why not research them, learn them,  and then employ them?

Every life is important.  The oath to serve and protect is a serious one, and I am sure that most of those who have taken that oath do want to serve and protect to the best of their ability, so as the head of his agency I beseech the Sheriff to give his officers the “tools” to uphold their oath to the best of their ability.  This is not a matter of who is right and who is wrong…this is a matter of having and using the best information for the best outcome for the community.  This is not something to be indignant of or arrogant about, certainly not to feel threatened by…it is just doing the best job you are capable of doing, because that is what you promised to do.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8reNGMUIHU

As a homeowner on the Caribbean island of Bonaire, Sheriff Lou Vallario was quoted in still another article in the Bonaire Reporter.  Vallario gave the Bonaire Reporter some ‘Crime Fighting Ideas’ as he put it, “We use GPS and radio frequency trackers to catch these guys.  We put them on bait cars and other items that look enticing to a thief.  You would love the look on their faces when we walk into their homes or reach under the seat of their cars and find exactly what we’re looking for!  They are clueless.  It’s not entrapment because nobody is forcing them to steal the items.”

How can the Sheriff of Garfield County admit to doing these types of things in order to catch a car thief but can not seem to commit the same type of time or effort into catching a suspected stalker when it is known that stalking poses an imminent  physical threat to one of his citizens?  Why did we always hear from the detective in Morgan’s felony stalking case that he would love to take more proactive steps but he could not get the authorization from his superior.  He was almost embarresed to tell us this superior would not approve the expense.  So for lack of allocated time and resources our daughter is now dead at age 20, and a stalker/murder is allowed to remain free…is this your idea of keeping your citizens safe Sheriff?  This type of leadership just goes to show me where your priorities are…obviously not in protecting the young women of Garfield County.

Okay – now I am about to vent.  I just remembered the very first time a Garfield County Patrol officer came to our home in August 2011, after he searched all around the outside and found footprints right under Morgan’s bathroom and bedroom windows (pushed right up against the wall of the house – obvious that the stalker was peering in her windows) he told us that the subdivision right across the road from us had had 5 incidents called in the previous summer – all with the same MO – tapping on the windows, peeping tom, stalking.  He told us at the end of that summer of 2010 they received a good description of the young man and brought in the tracking dog.  The dog then tracked him to the Mini Storage facility on County Road 100 where the dog lost the scent.

Another Patrol Officer that responded to our second call also brought up the same story about similar incidents the previous summer – this was all very disturbing.  But the deputies were hopeful that as those stalking incidents had ended at the change of seasons and as summer was almost over and winter was right around the corner perhaps Morgan’s situation would, “just end on its own.”  Well many weeks later when Morgan had a detective assigned to her case (Detective Rob Glassmire) to investigate her felony stalking I told him exactly what those officers had told us.  I hoped he could pull up those reports and see if they were connected to Morgan’s case.  He said he would, but never did.  Finally after Morgan died I pressed him again for that answer  he told me he couldn’t imagine how I could have gotten that information because when he looked into it there were only reports of incidents where someone had broken into cars in that neighborhood and stolen stereos…  Why would 2 different officers tell me about the stalking/trespassing/peeping tom incidents the summer before if they were not true?  They had both given me details about those incidents, but now they were not incidents at all?  How can that be?  This was a another big red flag.

It all became even more sinister for me after I started this blog the summer of 2012.  I received emails from women that lived in that neighborhood and had experienced similar incidents and reported them to the sheriffs…one such incident was only 2 weeks before Morgan’s stalking started!  Why was I never told about that?  How can anybody feel safe in a county whose policy is to never tell people about crime that is happening right next door, and how can they believe that their sheriff is trying to protect them?  The whole thing is so outrageous.  It is a systematic policy of arrogance, avoidance and mistruths!

We all know that there is good and bad in this world – there always has been and there always will be, but I truly believe if you expose the bad and then have effective solutions then positive change will be made, “before stalking can escalate into behavior that has even more serious consequences.” as the Colorado Legislature has decreed.  That is why I would like to see law enforcement everywhere adopt the Model Protocol for stalking so we can look forward to a better, safer, future for everyone…everyone, except for those who choose to stalk and terrorize us.

Today We Honor Martin Luther King, Jr.

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“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” – Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

In King’s 1963 “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” he promoted non-violent civil disobedience and urgency in the Civil Rights advancement.  His words are still true today when it comes to ANY injustice.  I like to print his quote at the end of my emails to remind people of the importance to really care about our fellow human beings.

There has been an injustice done to our daughter Morgan.  Morgan was a victim of a felony stalking for 4 months, she was found dead under “suspicious circumstances” (the sheriff’s words – not mine), and her body was taken away for an autopsy.  That same morning her lead felony stalking detective told us her stalker had nothing to do with her death.  He could not have known that at the time so why did he say it?  The coroner’s office took her body away for an autopsy.  While waiting for the results of her autopsy I truly believed the sheriffs were investigating her suspicious death.  I asked what will happen if the autopsy shows she was murdered.  I was told that if that happened another detective would be assigned to the case.  So in the meantime unbeknownst to me there was no investigation into her suspicious death – why?

Then 18 days later the forensic pathologist stated Morgan died a “natural death” – I asked how could that be?  Morgan was an extremely healthy 20 year old…a healthy 20 year old with a predatory stalker that was escalating his presence.  So then at that time the sheriffs said there would be NO investigation into her “suspicious” death BECAUSE the Coroner had decided she died a “natural death.”

For the next 6 – 7 months forensic experts, along with Morgan’s doctors, tried to explain to the forensic pathologist that Morgan did not die a “natural” death.  After reviewing her medical records, the postmortem report, all toxicology results, etc. they said Morgan died from foul play and suggested her case should be investigated.  At that point the forensic pathologist threatened me that he did not want the opinions of any other experts and if he wanted to he could change her “manner of death” to suicide.  Then 8 months after Morgan’s death the forensic pathologist for Garfield County along with the coroner did just that…they changed her manner of death to “suicide.”

Getting angry is fine who wouldn’t be outraged, but how do we really make changes to a system that is broken?

Cases, like Morgan’s, that are swept under the rug are caught in a kind of trap, a trap created because of the cracks in our legal system.  Solving murder cases, when a coroner says the victim died from a natural death, accidental death, or suicide isn’t easy.  In order to obtain justice you have to be your own investigator.  You need to be methodical and spend as much time as you would on a 40 hour per week job.  Unfortunately in some cases like ours the family is the only one left that can put all the evidence together in order to obtain justice…and if justice is not found all that means is that someone has gotten away with murder, and that will always be an injustice, not only to the victims, and the victim’s family, but it is an injustice to all.

Thank you for following Morgan’s story through this blog.  I believe through knowledge and awareness of things that others are experiencing in this world people gain their strength.  I promise you our family has not given up, and never will.  It has been 3 long unimaginable years since Morgan’s suspicious death, and we have continued to gather and document all evidence in order to have her case investigated.  Morgan deserves justice – all victims of violent crime deserve justice.  Some people may not want her case opened…they do not want to visit the skeletons they have hidden in their closets, but soon the truth will come out and justice will be served.

I believe perseverance, as well as sheer tenacity will prevail, they will bring about positive results not only in Morgan’s case, but on so many other levels as well.  Wish us luck – 2015 should be an amazing year to right some wrongs and bring justice to many people!

 

An Extremely Important Tool For Law Enforcement

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Communication with the victims family is one of the most important tools that law enforcement can utilize in order to solve a case.

Many families might not even realize how important they are to the investigation.  They might not even know how much vital information they actually have.

Law enforcement needs to open up and continue communication with the families.  They need to continually go back and ask more questions.  Lots of questions.  These questions can trigger memories of things the family didn’t even realize were important to solving the case.

Community policing is another tool that should be used.  “Community policing is a philosophy of full service personalized policing, where the same officer patrols and works in the same area on a permanent basis, from a decentralized place, working in a proactive partnership with citizens to identify and solve problems.”—Bertus Ferreira (Bertus, Ferreira. The Use and Effectiveness of Community Policing in a Democracy . Prod. National Institute of Justice. Washington, D.C,, 1996.)

Partnering up with the communities they serve – the police have access to an important tool, especially when it comes to stalking cases.  With the police no longer the sole guardians of law and order, all members of the community become active allies in the effort to enhance the safety and quality of neighborhoods.  Police can’t do it alone.  Partnering up with the community is a positive way to stop stalkers.  https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/commp.pdf

This is an excellent video to listen to about community policing and stalking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8reNGMUIHU

The message needs to get out.  People that violate an order of protection show a course of conduct, and at that point you know that particular stalker is very dangerous.  There are really amazing stalking task forces in some states – it would be wonderful if every county had stalking task forces.  Please keep informed.  Push for community policing in your town.  Stay involved…it may ultimately save someone that you deeply care about.

I want to do everything in my power to raise awareness and help people to become knowledgable in order to keep other victims of stalking, like Morgan, safe as well as other families from going through the same horrors our family has had to endure.  Keep well and keep informed…2015 is going to be a year of many changes.

 

 

 

 

 

Morality…

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I found this on Morgan’s computer…it is so very true.  This world needs people to remember how to be moral.  Do the right thing.  Help others.  Speak up.  Find your purpose in this world and be one of the good ones…it “feels” wonderful, it really does.