Rising in defense of a fellow officer on the Youngstown Police Department

EDITOR:

These last few weeks have been so disturbing on so many levels it is difficult to know where to begin. I could have remained silent and just ignored the misrepresentations, the cruel comments and just general disregard for simple empathy. But Rob Deichman cannot speak for himself, and someone must.

I was D/S Rob Deichman’s partner in the Accident Investigation Unit, and I was his friend. I am disgusted at some of the things written on web pages and disappointed in the media coverage on this tragic event. It was said not to judge a man by the way he died but by the way he lived. It is appalling that this good man is not being judged by his 40 years but by the way he spent his last 6 hours. And who are we to judge anyway?

I have always gotten so irritated that comments are made that police are treated differently and that we somehow put ourselves in a different category, but yet when anything happens, the media labels us as “cop” or “Law Enforcement”. I have never seen the headlines read “GM worker under the influence” or “Accountant dies in alcohol related crash”. I won’t go into specifics out of respect, but I have investigated many fatal and serious injury crashes and my door is not being knocked down to know the details of these crashes.

Let me set the record straight, Rob would not have gone on any calls that evening. We were partners and I would have taken the call. In fact, I was called out that night to find out it was my friend. On occasion we do cover for each other due to unforeseen circumstances and personal plans. It is difficult to be on call at all times and still have a normal life. Rob had taken calls for me and I returned the favor; that is what partners do.

Yes, Rob was driving a city vehicle, that was his infraction. Due to a personal situation he did not have access to another vehicle. He did take the car to meet friends and left the car in the parking lot. He was not driving around from bar to bar as has been suggested.

This most recent commentary on this tragedy was just the last straw. Now Rob’s friends are being blamed as well as the chief. Five beers in five hours would not have had Rob stumbling across the floor. Let’s not forget that the limit has been lowered over the years. This is utterly ridiculous to suggest that BCI needs to investigate. What should they be investigating? Nothing is being hidden and this is precisely why the State Patrol conducted the investigation. I have investigated many fatal crashes; I am a certified Reconstructionist and more than capable of investigating this crash. But it is a fact that the chief and I thought it better to have an outside agency lead this investigation. Rob was my partner and friend and I didn’t want to miss anything nor did I want anyone to suggest that things were amiss or covered up.

I am a bit disappointed that the Patrol felt it necessary to release information in bits and pieces. I feel the report should have been released when it was totally complete; that is what I do and would have done. I am not pressured to release parts of reports when it involves “Joe Citizen” so why should this be different? Oh I forgot, it involved a “cop”. By releasing it in this manner, it has only led to repeated articles and news reports. I think this is unfair to his memory and cruel to his grieving family.

He is in no way the person that he is being portrayed as in the media. Those who knew him miss him and I just hope his daughters will know what a good guy he was on this earth, who touched a lot of lives. Rest in peace, my friend.

PATRICIA GARCAR, Detective/sergeant

Youngstown Police Department