I am writing to respond to your Oct. 8 article concerning NIU Police Chief Donald Grady. I can’t help but feel that the readers are not receiving the entire story. While I admit that I cannot defend Grady’s temperament in the workplace as I have never had any personal experiences with him there, I do have to say that every time I have encountered him otherwise he has always seemed to me a calm, rational and polite man. I have spoken to a few people who know him better than I do, and they agree with me that the description of him as a volatile, “crazed” man seems out of place.

Primarily, I want to defend his statements during the Feb. 14 shooting mentioned in the article. I believe his response to the “clothes” question was not unreasonable—during the many press conferences that took place after the shooting, several journalists repeatedly asked inane, trivial questions which no doubt became irritating. Even as a viewer, I tired of the ridiculous questions that took up so much time.

The article mentioned Grady’s response to what he believed was the most difficult part of that day—“The media.” This was not, as the article implies, a stab at the media or an assertion of his authority. I have lived in DeKalb for 13 years, worked on campus for three and been an NIU student for two. Even living off-campus at that time, I was annoyed by the multitudes of news vans and reporters that flooded the town. I understand the necessity of reporting current events (especially one so important and traumatic as the shooting), but the media during that time became an invasive and, at times, rude presence, especially at such a trying time. It seems rational to me that Grady would have more important things to do on Feb. 14 than satisfy the needs of the media—such as securing the campus to avoid more potential deaths, seeing to the wounded and the dead, handling the safety of the students remaining on campus, etc. The police force has come under quite a lot of undeserved criticism for that day, and I think it is disgusting that the press has condemned Grady for doing his job during that terrifying time rather than catering to the news.

I have been reading the Northern Star for many years and have always respected it, but frankly, I believe that the editorial was one-sided, cowardly and childish. I was and am seriously disappointed in the Northern Star.

Darrien Sommer
Sophomore

All comments are moderated before being published. We will not edit your comments, but we also will not approve those that are abusive, off-topic, attack another poster or contain information we know to be libelous or false.

During peak weekday viewing times, most comments will be reviewed within six hours. For more detailed information, click here.

After submitting your comment, check below for a confirmation message.

• Your name:
• Enter text from image:
  

• Your comment:

* 300-character count. HTML formatting will not display.