I think the Feb. 2 Columbian story, “Friends remember a lost teen: Vigil honors life that ended in gunfire on a Vancouver street,” has the good guys and bad guys mixed up. The story reports of Doug Combs, a person suspected of multiple armed robberies, home invasion, and the shooting of a Vancouver resident, done all within an 18-hour period. In the story, there are quotes that this same person, shot by Vancouver police, was “a good guy” and someone that “kept his head high.”
There is little mention of the excellent police work involved to quickly bring two armed and violent people under control. Nor is the focus on the true victim, Bill Toohey, in this violent rampage who is still in the hospital in critical condition, having been shot in his own home.
The police face these people every day and put themselves at risk on our behalf. They only get “press” when they are left with no option but to use force. They are the good guys. Let’s stop confusing the two.
Scott Culbertson
Camas
