Second Impressions

Second Impressions.

After the series of errors at the crime scene and the series of errors involving the collection of forensic evidence and the interactions with other agencies, the case more or less settled down to a contest between the stubborn and arrogant BPD and the rest of the world.

The Boulder police were willing to do battle with the Denver homicide experts, with the Boulder District Attorney (even though he thought the parents were guilty), with a variety of experienced public defenders in Colorado and with a variety of Colorado sheriffs and prosecutors. Much of the battle took place behind the scenes, some of it was rather public. The parents may or may not have been ill-advised to go on CNN, but the BPD were already so stubborn that it seems greater consideration of the BPD's miffed egos would have made little difference.

The investigation soon deteriorated to a contest involving an embarrassed police department who felt it was their turf and they would call the shots versus defense counsel who had to battle not only bruised egos of the police but also their overly naive clients whose desires to have the investigation move forward betrayed their clients inability to realize that there was not and would not be an investigation, only a witch hunt.

This is the stage wherein greater tact, diplomacy or experience might have avoided a disgraceful lack of progress. Had the police been more skillful in asking the Ramseys to come to police headquarters that afternoon it might have been a totally different investigation. It takes skill to deal with people in extreme emotional situations and its clear that the BPD was never skillful in anything they said or did at the crime scene. Had some of the other agencies expertise been utilized, progress might have been made. Cops are very territorial and no street gang is more defensive of its turf than a police department is. Denver's experienced homicide detectives would have been an asset, but the Boulder police chief was not going to permit anyone to come into his turf wearing some other gang's colors. The lack of a neighborhood canvass is something that is universally condemned by other departments albeit usually in a private manner. The comments by witnesses concerning obvious bias in police questioning is from a class of persons not normally prone to complain of police methodology.

The focus was on the parents for emotional and irrational reasons but that focus stayed fixed on the parents due to police stubbornness. No one would budge and the BPD made it clear that their focus would remain on the parents. The leaks to the media were designed to create a psychological pressure on the parents not as some investigative function but solely as a retribution for having had the audacity to retain counsel,appear on CNN and generally fail to kow tow to the local police.