A Death in St. Augustine - Critical Essay

Introduction

There are a few things that the law enforcement officers and agencies could have done differently in investigating this case. One of them is that the family members should have been extensively questioned on their side of the story instead of focusing the investigations on Michelle's boyfriend. It was important that their side of the story was to be taken into account before making conclusions that the matter was suicide. The family was even notified of the death four hours later after the officers had arrived at the scene and started questioning her boyfriend. Equally important was the witnesses who had heard Michelle scream out for help before the silence that was followed by the two gun shots. Their side of the story should have been taken into consideration. The other thing that should have been done is to invite the FDLE at the inception of the investigations because it is a matter that involved a police officer who was being investigated by his own department.

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There is the concept of probable course in which the law enforcement authorities try to establish the key motive behind an individual killing themselves. This is seen in Michelle's constant arguments with her boyfriend that lay the foundation for a concrete reason behind killing herself. The concept is seen in the film through her texts to her loved ones and the imminent breakup she wanted to have with her boyfriend to get out of the troubling relationship.

There is also the concept of independence or autonomy in the law enforcement agency where they should have distanced themselves from taking on the case due to conflict of interest. The conflict of interest is seen where the sheriff's officers are actively investigating one of their own. Subjectivity takes over objectivity in such an issue due to partisan interest that are likely to cloud the decision arrived at after the investigations.

One of the policies for police departments investigating domestic violence within their own ranks is to ensure that they contact the internal affairs department to take over such investigations or the FDLE at the beginning of the case. This eliminates cover-ups and vested interests thus helping to solve the case without taking any sides. This will give autonomy and credibility in the final decision touching on the matter.

The other possible policy suggestion would be to immediately interdict the officer involved or suspension until the matter has been resolved. This creates total independence in that the officer is not likely to interfere or tamper with the investigations through talking to potential witnesses and investigating officers who are likely to be their friends. Police officers with a history of alcoholism, anger issues, or domestic violence should be enrolled in anger management classes or alcoholic anonymous groups to help them do away with their violent personality.

Conclusion

My overall opinion on this case after watching the film is that this was most likely a murder and not a suicide as stated. This is because Michelle only had alcohol in her blood and no other drugs that would show the intent to commit suicide, just like she had big plans for her future as can be seen by the cordial relationship with her daughter Lexi. Her body seemed to have taken a physical beating before death which points towards his domestic violence record where he got physically abusive towards her all the time. Michelle had plans to end the relationship and this made her police boyfriend pissed. The gun did not have the victim's blood and it also lacked the owner's DNA, two extremely unusual pointers towards a stage-managed crime scene. The investigations were conducted by the partisan sheriff's department which frustrated the investigations by even failing to interview the family members and witnessing neighbors.

Reference

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/death-in-st-augustine/