THE VOICE OF THE EAST VALLEY SINCE 1891 AND WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR LOCAL REPORTING
Black Rodeo celebrates hidden history PAGE 11
West Mesa Edition
THE SUNDAY
Tribune EAST VALLEY
FREE ($1 OUTSIDE THE EAST VALLEY) | EastValleyTribune.com
Ostrich Festival melds music, food, birds Page
18
Sunday, March 4, 2018
8 years and still no trial in Gilbert officer’s slaying BY JIM WALSH Tribune Staff Writer
O
ne by one, Gilbert police officers tied blue ribbons around a sign that memorializes their slain colleague, Lt. Eric Shuhandler only a few yards from where he was shot to death eight years ago. They saluted in a demonstration of respect and honor as part of an annual ceremony near a shopping center at Baseline Road and Val Vista Drive, honoring an officer whose service sets a high standard for all Gilbert officers to emulate and sending a poignant message to his family that the man with a magnetic personality who loved his family and baseball will never be forgotten. “He was larger than life in a lot of ways,” said Ken Fixel, a retired Gilbert police lieutenant and a friend of Shuhandler. “He made you feel important. He was a guy who everybody wanted to be around.” Police, friends and family members also are keenly aware that the convicted murderer who is accused of killing Shuhandler in cold blood during a traffic stop in January 2010 is still awaiting trial. Since he and an accomplice were arrested
(Kimberly Carrillo/Tribune photographer)
Gilbert Police officers salute a memorial to Lt. Eric Shuhandler at the spot on Baseline Road and Val Vista Drive where he was slain in 2010. The department holds an annual ceremony on the day he died.
after a dramatic shootout with police just hours after Shuhandler’s slaying, the case against the alleged assassin, Christopher Angel Redondo, 43, has been tangled in a legal battle over his competency to stand trial That delay exacerbates the grief still felt today by the slain officer’s children and Gilbert police.
“It’s painful waiting this long,” said Gilbert Police Chief Mike Soelberg, who attended the annual memorial because “events like this celebrate Lt. Shuhandler’s sacrifices for the community.” “It prolongs the agony of what happened,” See
SHUHANDLER on page 6
EV school heads, police chief oppose arming teachers BY JIM WALSH AND PAUL MARYNIAK Tribune Staff
P
resident Donald Trump’s proposal that a select number of trained teachers be armed with concealed guns is drawing largely negative reaction from East Valley school superintendents and a police chief who fears it would create more problems than it would solve. The East Valley Tribune polled superintendents and police chiefs last week on whether they favored arming teachers in light of the Feb. 14 massacre at the South Florida high school that claimed the lives of 14 students and three staffers and wounded 12 others. Trump proposed that arming a few highly
trained teachers could reduce or even eliminate such carnage. Superintendents in Chandler, Tempe and Gilbert flatly oppose the idea, while others had district spokespeople issue a statement. Others gave more nuanced responses. Higley School District spokeswoman Michelle Reese only would say Superintendent Mike Thomason was out of town. While most police chiefs declined to comment on the politically charged proposal, Gilbert Police Chief Mike Soelberg said, “It’s not the best choice. They should focus on education.” He said even teachers who are expert marksmen lack the vital training that officers receive on when it’s necessary and legal to fire their weapons.
“I don’t think teachers are the best option,” said Soelberg, a former Mesa assistant police chief who once supervised Mesa’s team of school resource officers – the first line of defense in keeping schools safe. “They want to protect their kids at all times. You see them sacrificing themselves in these shootings to protect a child,” he added. The National Rifle Association espoused arming teachers after the Florida massacre and previous campus shootings. Police and school officials boast how the largely unnoticed SROs build rapport with students on campus. They also take all threats seriously and investigate to deterSee
GUNS on page 7