Either it's his personal life, or it's not his personal life. Personally, I'm a bit sick of hearing that people had things going on in their "personal lives," that they can't talk about, and then seeing it splashed all over the fucking newspaper the next morning. From this week's story on Westerman's road rage incidents in the Mercury:

Westerman also denies being under the influence of any controlled substance or intoxicants during the incident—without being specific, Westerman says he was having a hard time in his personal life when the incident occurred.

"Regardless of what that person said or did to precipitate the situation had nothing to do with it," Westerman continues. "It was strictly things that I was dealing with in my personal life and I am taking steps to address those things."

In today's Oregonian, Westerman says he's gone through a divorce recently, and even confesses to having gone to counseling in 2004, and being put on anti-depressants. This is a laudable step and it takes guts, so, good on Westerman.

But I recently went back on anti-depressants, too—at least partly because the state of the police bureau depresses the shit out of me. In fact, every time a policeman kills somebody in this town, I get to write a check for therapy. And I can assure you that I'd be a lot happier if there were real consequences for those who act out.