Bob Collins
Given the opportunity, there are so many things Minnesota would like to say to Brian Fitch Sr., words that would probably mirror the ones he hurled at a judge last evening as the verdict was read in his trial, where he was accused of killing Mendota Heights police officer Scott Patrick.
He wanted to kill a cop last summer and that, of course, is what he did. A good one. A husband of 26 years. A father of two young women, brother of eight, and son of a grieving father.
But it was his widow’s words that slashed through Fitch’s profanities of hatred, and give us pause to reflect on the nature of grace and faith.
“I just want to say God bless Fitch,” she said. “I hope he can come to the realization of what he has done. He has taken so much from us. He didn’t need to. I just want to bless him and hope that he realizes what he’s done. Amen to him.”
For the rest of his life, now, he’ll be a guest of the state.
