Bennett made a deep impression

I met Kevin Bennett only once, fleetingly, outside of the Bonner County Courthouse.

My track record with making face-to-face inroads with state troopers had been pretty spotty over the years.

Two troopers, whom I decline to name to protect their reputations, have been pretty accommodating with my questions at the scenes of highway mayhem. Two other troopers, whom I decline to name to protect myself, undoubtedly would have preferred to see me in the back of their patrol vehicle or in an extremely forceful headlock.

After reporting on a deadly collision between a motorist and a pedestrian in Sandpoint in 2009, I crossed paths with Bennett some time later at the courthouse and felt compelled to ask him what was going on with the investigation.

I braced for a “beat it” response when I approached Bennett to ask him about the case.

But Bennett was polite and gracious. He offered to answer my questions the best he could and his responses struck me as genuinely honest. He even painstakingly explained the sequencing of the traffic and pedestrian signals at the intersection where the collision occurred.

Precious few law officers in our community have ever been as patient with me as Bennett was.

I never had another occasion to speak with Bennett, but the brief encounter sticks with me to this day and reminds me to extend my hand even when I fear it will be slapped away.

Keith Kinnaird has been a reporter for The Daily Bee since 1998.