One Has To Ask: Why?
The more I read about the death of Charles Eimers, the more nauseated I feel. It leaves me wondering what has happened to Key West in the four years since I left the island. Specifically, what has happened to Chief Donie Lee’s police department. When I lived there, I would have trusted my life to any of his officers, without exception. Was I simply experiencing Key West through rose-colored glasses for all those years? Or has a hideous change swept over the island? Now it seems some of the officers are mimicking bully police officers in large cities or backwoods counties in the north who’d just as soon use their tasers or brute force in numbers on a person, regardless of his age, than try to talk in a calm manner with him to find out what they want to know. The video speaks for itself. We clearly see the man walking, not running away and then dropping to the ground as the officers instructed. And we clearly see several officers surrounding him and on him, as his face is ground into the sand. This man had no chance of survival without immediate help from paramedics, who could have at least cleared his airway before transporting him to the ER. One has to ask why that help was so delayed. One has to ask why it was not immediately apparent to doctors and nurses in the ER that this man’s nose and mouth were blocked with sand, preventing him from breathing. One has to ask again – what has happened to Key West in recent years for something this heinous to happen to an innocent man who’d come to visit the beautiful island to enjoy his recent retirement. One has to ask why sad condolences must go out to his family instead of congratulations on their loved one’s reaching that well-earned milestone of retirement. One has to ask the question: Why?
Peggy Butler
West Palm Beach
Alas, Peggy, you simply did not know what was going on with the KWPD, which every homeless person in Key West knew. Some police officers enjoyed making homeless people’s lives difficult, and sometimes even worse than difficult. And, there were unwritten directives coming down from the City Commission (mayor and city commissioners) to the City Manager, and from him to the Police Chief, to do any and every possible legal thing to encourage homeless people to leave the area altogether, which translates at times to cops becoming creative in finding legal reasons to harass homeless people, while not applying the same creativity against non-homeless people doing the same thing. Charles Eimers died Thanksgiving Day because he was suspected of being homeless. If he had not been suspected of being homeless, he would not have died. His death was the direct consequence of Key West’s homeless policy. That’s what the case really is about, although it’s not being reported in that way by the local newspapers, and it likely will not be reported in that way by any investigation reports made by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) or KWPD Internal Affairs. Charles Eimers’ death has been and will continue to be reported that way at http://www.goodmorningkeywest.com.