Friday, Oct. 02, 2009

10 years later, ache from trooper’s death lingers

By Ken Robertson, Herald Executive Editor

When Trooper James E. Saunders was shot to death during a Pasco traffic stop on Oct. 7, 1999, the entire Tri-Cities was shocked.

In my now 40 years as a reporter and editor, I can’t recall a local event that stunned my community more.

That such a routine event could end so tragically left even newsroom veterans — who regularly report on shocking events — feeling sick. Reporters, photographers and editors talk to police officers every day.

The cops aren’t coworkers, but they’re always there. We see them as they walk or drive the streets, as they confront danger and death, and as they comfort the injured and the survivors.

Trooper Saunders, by all accounts, was an officer who was a natural in that world.

Washington State Patrol Chief John R. Batiste, who recruited Saunders and then worked with him in Wenatchee, recalls him as a man of great promise “who would indeed be a great state trooper.”

In Sunday’s Herald, Batiste recalls his good friend, and Saunders’ widow, Billie, talks of raising two children without their beloved father.

Ten years on, Billie Saunders told Herald reporter Paula Horton she still says a prayer whenever she sees a WSP trooper making a traffic stop.

And veteran officers and trainers talk about how police procedures and training have evolved in the past 10 years. Some of those changes likely will surprise you.

You’ll want to read Paula’s compelling story in Sunday’s Herald or online at tricityherald.com.

w Ken Robertson: 582-1520; krobertson@tricityherald.com

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