In this photo provided by Emily Dewey, Emily is seen with husband Chris Dewey at the Merit Care Hospital in Fargo, N.D., after he emerged from a medically induced coma.
Today there’s word that Manhnomen County (Minn.) Deputy Chris Dewey died this morning. He was 27 years old.
Dewey was shot in February 2009 as he confronted two men after a report of shots fired in Mahnomen. He underwent surgeries and physical therapy, and for a time had recovered enough to sit up in bed, kiss his wife and crack jokes. Then his health recently began to deteriorate. His doctors said it was just a matter of time.
Like many in this area, I have followed Dewey’s story and thought of him so often in the past year and a half. Today, my heart goes out to him and his family and colleagues.
The man accused of shooting him is in custody and has been awaiting trial on attempted murder and other charges. Now, no doubt, the charges will be upgraded.
I understand the Second Amendment and I support the Constitution. I have no problems with responsible hunting or the responsible use of firearms. However, I will never understand the gun culture that is so deeply ingrained in this country and the ideas, feelings and emotions that lead to guns being readily available to every violent, jacked-up, pissed-off, moronic sociopath in the country. I don’t believe in banning guns, even if there was a ghost of a prayer of getting any sort of gun ban passed in this country, and we all know there’s not.
So how do we prevent tragedies like what happened to Deputy Dewey and his family? I don’t know. That’s another reason why I feel so sad today. The life and dreams of a young man have been snuffed out in the most senseless way possible. Not only that, but what’s to prevent it from happening again tomorrow or next week?
Every day, law enforcement officers put their lives on the line in hundreds of different ways. We are grateful for their courage and their service. But today that doesn’t really feel like quite enough.
Tobin is arts & entertainment reporter at the Grand Forks Herald, Grand Forks, N.D.
