Paul Lovells problem is that he is naive enough to believe that the police can actually protect people. Cops almost always take reports and fill out paper work after crime happens. It is very rare when the police arrest criminals in the act of committing a crime. Original Article Father blames police in deaths By Gary Grado, Tribune February 23, 2006 The father of two children found slain in Mesa with three other victims blasted Scottsdale police on Thursday for failing to protect them after the family raised concerns for their safety. Paul Lovell said his pain has turned to anger as he learns more about how fearful his estranged wife and her live-in boyfriend had become after they agreed to be police informants in a case of a Scottsdale man accused of burning down his house to collect insurance money. Mesa police declared the case a homicide on Thursday but declined to speculate on a suspect. Police have not named the accused arsonist, Scottsdale resident William Craig Miller, as a suspect in their homicide investigation. Miller declined comment Thursday. "I just do what my lawyer tells me to. That's why I pay him money. He's the professional. He tells me to say, No comment,' I say, 'No comment,' Miller said. Lovell's estranged wife, Tammy, 32, and their children, 15-year-old Cassandra and 10-year-old Jacob, were gunned down Tuesday in a Mesa home. Steven Duffy, 30, and his brother, 18-year-old Shane Duffy, also were fatally shot. "They wanted to use these people to testify, but where was the protection?" Lovell said over the telephone from his Ocala, Fla., home. Scottsdale police Sgt. Mark Clark said detectives who worked the arson case discussed with witnesses the possibility of violence, but no one asked for protection. Clark said police will provide protection if there is imminent danger to a witness, but there is no protocol for evaluating threats other than on a case-by-case basis. "It has to be a specific enough threat," Clark said. "And the person making it has to have the means to carry it out." He declined to say whether any of the Mesa victims reported being threatened, and Scottsdale has refused to turn over police reports in the November arson, citing "serious public safety concerns." An attorney for the Tribune has challenged that decision under authority of the Arizona Public Records Law. Mesa police detective Tim Gaffney said his agency learned about the family's fears only after the shootings. According to court documents and family members, Tammy Lovell called Scottsdale police to report that her boyfriend, Steven Duffy, helped Miller set fire to Miller's $450,000 home. Duffy, Shane Duffy and Tammy Lovell all worked for Miller, who owned the Scottsdale franchise Puroclean, a fire-damage and home restoration company. Steven Duffy turned over key evidence, admitted his part in the crime and was charged with arson, documents state. The couple, under the supervision of police, called Miller and got him to make incriminating statements. Miller was arrested and charged with arson and posted $10,000 bail to get out of jail. Police asked that Miller be jailed without bail because Lovell and Duffy feared for their safety and Miller was a flight risk, court documents state. Paul Lovell said it was only after the slayings that he learned from his surviving children who live with him that his wife was fearful. "Law enforcement knew they feared for their safety," Paul Lovell said. "Now we're short five people two children, three adults." Lovell said he is going to get to the bottom of what happened and he will eventually file a lawsuit. "I'm determined to see justice done one way or another," he said. Tribune writer Paul Giblin contributed to this report. Contact Gary Grado by email, or phone (602) 258-1746