THANKS TO A LONE OFFICER on routine patrol, the world will be spared the spectacle of a trial for the man who murdered four officers in Lakewood, Washington.

But what is troubling is this:

[T]he wider public may have been surprised to learn of the assistance Clemmons received from friends and relatives even after he was identified as the suspect wanted in the murder of four police officers.

How heinous must a crime be before people – even friends and relatives – step forward?