By
The Wildcat Opinions Board
Jeff Knepper, the UA student whose eye was shot out by Tucson police during the Fourth Avenue riots, plans to file a claim against the city before the end of the month.
The city ought to respond by recognizing the unreasonable suffering Knepper faced due to police activity, and express its sympathy. This may include paying for Knepper's medical expenses and compensating him for pain and suffering. While this amount should not be a ridiculous million-dollar-plus sum, it is reasonable for the city to provide him with some form of compensation.
It is still undetermined whether the police acted inappropriately. According to Knepper, the police chased after him and aimed for students' heads even though he wasn't doing anything wrong.
Some claim that Knepper does not deserve any compensation. They believe that by virtue of the fact that Knepper chose to be present on Fourth Avenue, he should have been aware of the risks and willing to accept them.
But losing an eye is a bit extreme.
It is not like building windows being smashed or property being damaged.
It is a body part being mutilated.
True, the police were allowed to use the nonlethal weapons that maimed Knepper. Their actions were a result of their duty to maintain law and order in a riot situation.
Given all of this, it is reasonable for the city and the Tucson police department to admit that Knepper's injury is serious enough to warrant compensation for medical treatments. The police and the city may hesitate to do this because, according to them, the police did nothing wrong.
But such compensation does not really imply that the police's actions were illegal or inappropriate. Rather, it is recognizing that a student losing his eye is an egregious and unintended result of the police's actions.
An additional sum should be considered for Knepper's pain and suffering - nothing extreme, just a fair compensation for this unfortunate accident.
Given the gravity of Knepper's injury, the city and the police department should express their sympathy and provide medical compensation. It is not a matter of admitting wrongdoing - it is the appropriate sympathetic action to take.
