Word: sheriffs
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Back in the dark, scary days of autumn, top law-and-order men like John Ashcroft and Tom Ridge pinned little silver sheriff's stars to every American chest and told us to be vigilant, form neighborhood watch groups and report anything suspicious. The 911 lines promptly jammed, local cops chased flocks of wild geese, and no one felt much safer...
Reichert, who was elected sheriff in 1997, looks like a cop from a Hollywood movie, circa 1950, only he's not crusty. Tall and square-jawed, he wears his uniform without wrinkles, pops breath fresheners before going into meetings and ends his e-mails with electronic smiles. Despite his easygoing manner, he knows how rough it is on the streets. In 1974, when he was a 24-year-old rookie, a man holed himself up in a house and threatened to kill his wife. Reichert went in through a window alone and got the woman out, but was surprised...
...says. His grandfather was a Lutheran pastor, and Reichert attended Concordia University, a Lutheran college in Portland, Ore., intending to follow the same path. But he left school to get married, in 1970. After a spell in the Air Force as a mechanic, he joined the King County sheriff's department, which covers Seattle and extends south of the airport, over what was once open land. He found himself drawn to murders. "Homicide is the ultimate in police work," he says. "I did all the courses I could--blood spattering, evidence collection, identification, puncture wounds." He started working homicide...
Reichert's career continued to advance, and in 1997 he became sheriff of King County. In April of 2001 he called a meeting of 30 detectives who had worked on the Green River case to re-examine what they might be able to do. Many of the men were skeptical that anything new could be done, but Reichert persuaded the group to think positively. Says Reichert: "It kept coming back to, Let's go back and look at the evidence again, because the technology has changed...
...should he be kept alive to tell his tales? Seattle is divided on the issue. Many of the victims' relatives are in favor of the death penalty, and the prosecutor, Norm Maleng, has indicated that he is not interested in engaging in any plea bargaining. As sheriff, Reichert is torn between wanting to know the whole story and wanting to inflict the ultimate punishment. A cautious man, he makes the point that Ridgway is innocent until proved guilty. "I would love to have the opportunity to visit with him and learn the what, where, why, when...