System to send alert of attack on police officers advocated
Toledo Blade – Several hours lapsed between the time a teenager fatally shot Larraine Dressel’s Toledo police-detective son and the killer’s surrender.
In that time, then 15-year-old Robert Jobe — convicted in 2007 of killing Detective Keith Dressel and serving a prison sentence of 18 years to life — could have hurt someone else in Ohio or across state lines, Mrs. Dressel said.
But a so-called national Blue Alert system to inform the public that someone who injured or killed a police officer remains on the run, with a description of the suspect and details about where to call, would help law enforcement, she said during a news conference Monday.
“If we have something like this Blue Alert, it will let people know there’s danger out there,” Mrs. Dressel said Monday, her eyes welling with tears.
Mrs. Dressel and various police officials voiced their support Monday for a national Blue Alert system aimed at capturing criminals who injure or kill law enforcement officials.
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio) was in Oregon Monday to promote legislation to establish such a system, which would be modeled after the Amber Alert system that notifies the public about missing children.
