Transcending Tragedy

Black or white, policeman or civilian, liberal or conservative, there were few who found much to cheer in the jury’s verdict in the Sagon Penn trial. And that is as it should be.

The ordeal--the terrible incident itself, then the long, tumultuous trial, and finally, the rather surprising verdict--has been tragic.

Police Agent Thomas Riggs was killed, Agent Donovan Jacobs and ride-along observer Sarah Pina-Ruiz were wounded and a seemingly otherwise fine young man was kept in jail for a year. Furthermore, a city was divided and a progressive police department put on the defensive.

There have been no winners in this case, least of all the community.

The verdict was stunning in that, although suggestions of police misconduct were strong, the jurors did not find Penn guilty of anything. Three people were shot, one fatally, and the man who, however provoked, pulled the trigger is innocent of first- and second-degree murder. He also was acquitted of two attempted murder charges. But the jury was unable to reach a verdict in the shooting of Pina-Ruiz and on lesser charges in the death of Riggs and the wounding of Jacobs--although it strongly favored acquittal on those charges as well.

Still, there is every indication that the jury was attentive, took its instructions seriously, deliberated long and hard, and rendered the best verdict it could. As Americans, we must support that.

Should the district attorney retry Penn on the unresolved counts?

Yes, if he can salvage a strong, prosecutable case.

No, if to do so is just to show support for the Police Department or to salve wounded prosecutorial egos.

It is important that neither the district attorney, the police, the blacks, nor the community see Thursday’s verdict as a victory or a defeat. The human destruction here transcends those terms.

The only victory, the only solace, if any, will come in how this matter is treated from this point forward.

So far, there is reason for optimism. Reactions to the verdict were suitably restrained. The defense and the black community were hardly jubilant, and the police, publicly at least, were, although disappointed, not bitter or vengeful.

That speaks well for San Diego, which should, advised one black leader, “sit back, keep quiet and see that sanity prevails.” That is what seems to be happening.

But that alone is not enough. San Diego needs to grow from this tragedy. The Police Department must rededicate itself to improving relations with minority communities, and the citizenry, black and white, must work to prevent this from happening again.