ISSUE: The death of Deputy William Howell

OUR VIEW: All can be thankful for such officers willing to risk their lives to protect serve

Orangeburg County has lost another law enforcement officer in the line of duty, with sheriff’s Deputy William Howell being the victim of a senseless shooting. This time the killing is not related to the county’s geography.

As much as Orangeburg County is reaping the benefits of its location as ideal for development, the most interstate miles of any county and the second largest land area have a down side.

The miles of major highways -- and rural roads -- bring welcome traffic, but they also bring trouble.

History proves it:

* In 1993, Orangeburg police Sgt. Tommy Harrison was gunned down at a local mall. The killer was a prison escapee from Alabama.

* In 1997, Highway Patrol First Sgt. Frankie Lee Lingard was shot and killed during an interstate traffic stop in Orangeburg County. The killer was a Pennsylvania man.

* In 2004, Orangeburg Department of Public Safety Capt. James Myers was killed while working on his farm in Calhoun County. The killer was a Virginia man on a crime spree. He exited Interstate 26 and found Myers’ property.

This time, however, the killer was home-grown. Howell was responding to a domestic dispute at a residence near Holly Hill. He was shot once and killed by 20-year-old Derrick Buras, who himself died a short time later after being hit by a car. Buras had an extended history of violent behavior.

There is danger in traffic stops and general responses of the type that have produced police deaths, but officers and their commanders attest universally to the difficulty of domestic violence cases. Sheriff Larry Williams has said domestic violence today accounts for a majority of homicides and violence in the county.

When an officer is called into a domestic dispute, the already-volatile situation can change rapidly. In many instances, the officer becomes the target of both the batterer and the victim.

Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter is longtime executive director of CASA Family Systems, an Orangeburg-based agency that assists the battered and attempts to end the cycle of violence. She has decades of experience in dealing with domestic violence.

“It’s one of the worst calls they can go on,” Cobb-Hunter says of responding to a domestic dispute. There is danger for the officer, the victim and the batterer.

“What complicates it is the whole dynamic of domestic violence,” she said. The victim can turn against the officer.

CASA trains officers in the dynamics of abuse cases. The victim changes as part of the cycle of violence. “She flips on the officer because she’s worried about what will happen when the officer leaves.”

If an arrest is not made, the batterer stays and the problem can get worse. “It’s a very lethal kind of situation.”

As with any case, the officer cannot take anything for granted, Cobb-Hunter said. “You try to reason with people ... It’s just dangerous.”

The proliferation of domestic violence is a product of a society in which people increasingly seem unable to deal with anger. It’s a problem that Cobb-Hunter recognizes and sees in CASA’s efforts to work with batterers.

“Batterers don’t understand how to deal with anger,” she said, citing the likelihood that many grew up in violent homes where it was “normal to deal with anger in a violent manner.”

Whether such a person is at home, in a social setting or even facing a law officer, violent behavior may result when anger enters the picture.

It clearly resulted this past weekend when Deputy Howell paid the ultimate price in doing his duty to serve and protect. His sacrifice is a loss for all of us. We owe him remembrance and thanks -- as his willingness to risk his life in situations that present constant risk is testimony to the character of the man.

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