An enlightening incident from the past came up during my interview with new sheriff Darryl Peterson last week.

Peterson mentioned how he tries to work with news media people. He said that former Argus publisher Tom Murphy had done a great job writing about a shooting that Peterson was part of in 1987.

I didnít recalled that incident, so I found the article that Peterson referred to. It was a good article, because it used Petersonís own words to describe much of what happened. Those words and his actions reveal a lot about who Darryl Peterson is.

The shooting occurred in the early morning hours of Saturday, May 23, 1987. Peterson, then a state patrolman, was writing up an accident report south of La Crescent when a white van sped past him. He figured it was going about 80 miles an hour. He pursued the vehicle, and spotted it in a driveway.

Peterson parked his car, approached the van, and came face to face with Albert Rosson of La Crosse and a .30 caliber M-1 rifle. Rosson fumbled with the safety of the gun. Twice it would not fire. That bought Peterson enough time to get behind his vehicle. Then the two men exchanged gunfire from a range of about nine feet.

ìI asked him to ëPlease throw your gun down before one of us gets hurt,íî Peterson told Murphy. ìAnd I could see he almost looked apologetic. I could see his face. He appeared to be scared and frustrated. He would look at me and I would say, ëGive it up before we get hurt,í and he would say, ëI canít.í Then he returned his final shots . . . they were four rapid shots. And, then again, we established a dialogue and I saw him throw the weapon out and he came out with his hands up.î

Peterson then handcuffed Rosson and his passenger, a 16-year-old girl. It turned out that Rosson was being sought for stealing the van, stealing guns and gas, and for crossing the state line with a minor.

A total of nine shots were exchanged. No one got hurt.

ìHe [Rosson] looked like a confused teenager,î Peterson said at the time. ìI wanted to stop him but I didnít want to hurt him. Even during the exchange of gunfire, the entire encounter, I was very much aware of our State Patrol image . . . and the fact that the public holds us to a higher degree of responsibility. I didnít want it to look like it was aggressive police work.

ìI felt no animosity towards Albert. I hope he turns his life around. I really do. Because of the way it worked out, I feel good about it and I can go back to work,î Peterson said.

ìJust because I was in the right doesnít mean I would feel good about hurting this young boy. I have three teenagers in my home. I was caught between being a policeman and a parent.î

It seems to me a miracle that no one was hurt in this awful encounter. Peterson, Rosson, and the girl could easily have been shot and killed. There was some luck, or perhaps a higher power. As Peterson says in the article: ìSomebody was looking out for us.î

But the person who deserves the most credit is Darryl Peterson. He used his head, his words, and his wisdom as a parent and a policeman to avert a tragedy. That says a lot about who he is.

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