That gun-shooting neighbor is in custody...

[Meg Z]

The neighbor who was firing the wild shots on Sunday morning has apparently been taken away. And it was done last Sunday, too! We just didn't know it!

The woman across the street who had seen the deputy take his gun away had watched as all but the original deputy left. When she left for church, the one deputy was still there, talking to the man.

The wife called our mutual neighbor to ask her to tell me thanks for calling 911. Looks like after there was only one (small,female) deputy left, ole Buford got rowdy, and she ended up hauling him to the hospital, where he got worse. He's now in a state hospital, getting evaluated.

The wife will let us know if he gets released again...but at least this time it's been over 3 hours!

Meg

[FreightTrain]

i hope for your sake this crazy person doesnt find out who called the popo... does the wife know it was you? Her loyality will be to her husband first(she has to live with him), then to the neighbors second. eventually he will prolly learn to say what is needed to be released.... It could then turn into a much more dangerous situation....

the wife telling your neighbor to tell you thanks for calling 911 on her husband could possibly be a message.... a message to cross your T's and Dot your i's because they <wink wink , nod nod>know who it was..

be very carefull when dealing with a wacko.

[Meg Z]

Actually, the wife tried to get him comitted a week or so ago...that's when he was out in a couple hours. Then she moved out of the house, because she was afraid. So, she really is grateful.

However, he knows good and well who called the police, since they came to my house first, then drove across the street to his. Might as well have put out a sign, huh!

We'll see.
Meg

[Peacock]

VERY scary. You did the right thing, and I'll be praying for you. Stay safe.

[Jenn]

threaten wife/shoot at neighbors, who cares. threaten cops, lock 'im up.

[mightybooboo]

Originally Posted by Jenn

threaten wife/shoot at neighbors, who cares. threaten cops, lock 'im up.

Sad but true.

BooBoo

[HermitJohn]

Around here cops are gun-happy themselves. If your crazy neighbor were here he would be in morgue right now if he didnt immediately drop gun when first told. Need to teach cops patience in cop school and how to diffuse a situation. Sounds like cops there had such training.

[WanderingOak]

Originally Posted by HermitJohn

Around here cops are gun-happy themselves. If your crazy neighbor were here he would be in morgue right now if he didnt immediately drop gun when first told. Need to teach cops patience in cop school and how to diffuse a situation. Sounds like cops there had such training.

It is the same around here. The other day, some kid was shot because he was threatening to stab himself with scissors. When the police wouldn't keep their distance he charged them and was shot by four cops.

[foxtrapper]

Originally Posted by WanderingOak

It is the same around here. The other day, some kid was shot because he was threatening to stab himself with scissors. When the police wouldn't keep their distance he charged them and was shot by four cops.

Good spin!

Lets see, he was an 18 year old man, not a kid. He'd been holding his girl friend hostage. The police were called by his mother because he'd been threatening to kill her and himself. He refused to put the scissors down. he charged the police brandishing the scissors. The police force did not have stun guns or other non-lethal means of subduing this individual.

By no means do I love the Anne Arundel police. But this wasn't exactly a case of cops going nuts.

[MELOC]

could they not run to defend themselves? nature has given us a very basic instinct...the instinct to run. only training can mess that up. if the guy only had scissors, why could the cops not just back-peddle and wait him out?

[Hammer4]

And he turns around and stabs one the hostages or someone else once he runs the cops off? That wouldn't help. Tazers and stun guns are good for those situations. That sounds like suicide by cop to me anyhow.

[whodunit]

Originally Posted by Jenn

threaten wife/shoot at neighbors, who cares. threaten cops, lock 'im up.

You obviously know nothing about the law or police work.

In most states, the police can only take into custody someone who has committed a misdemeanor IN THEIR PRESENCE Otherwise, a misdemeanor has to be handled by citation or summons.

Most states have a citizen's arrest, but most citizens won't do that, usually for fear of retaliation.

While I don't know the details of this case, if the shooting stopped before the police arrived, they really can't do much about unless there are people who will sign complaints, act as witnesses, etc.

If it was a felony (in most states "reckless discharge of a firearm" is a misdemeanor), the police can make an arrest whether or not in was in their presence.

Obviously if a police officer is attacked or threatened, it was in their presence and they can take action without involving nervous citizens who are fearing retaliation.

Of course, I'm probably wasting my breath here, since this post appears to be another example of the cop bashing that goes on around here.

[whodunit]

Originally Posted by MELOC

could they not run to defend themselves? nature has given us a very basic instinct...the instinct to run. only training can mess that up. if the guy only had scissors, why could the cops not just back-peddle and wait him out?

Yes, let's all jsut run from the bad people of the world.

Let's just let them all do what they want without any consequences and then deal with them when they are finished doing whatever they are doing.

What right do we have to intefere anyway?

[Tracy Rimmer]

Originally Posted by MELOC

could they not run to defend themselves? nature has given us a very basic instinct...the instinct to run. only training can mess that up. if the guy only had scissors, why could the cops not just back-peddle and wait him out?

Oh, my -- I can see it now! Had the situation unfolded this way, it wouldn't be people screaming "police brutality", they'd be yelling about what kind of police officers they were, running from a situation when it's the taxpayers money paying them to deal with it!

I am not a big lover of the police in general. The majority of my exposure to them has been with the strutting, arrogant, self-important, I-have-a-bigger-gun-than-you type -- however, if you're going to HAVE police, give them the ability -- the authority and responsibility -- to enforce the laws. After all, they're the ones going into situations like this, not knowing if they'll be at dinner that night with their spouse and kids, or on a slab in the morgue. Call them what you will -- they put their lives on the line every time they walk into a situation that could escalate -- and that is pretty much EVERY situation they get called to.

One reason why there is so much violence anymore is because people don't believe that there are truly consequences to their actions. Get roughed up by the police, and more likely than not, it means a win-fall in the form of a lawsuit -- "he hurt me!". Well, son, if you hadn't been brandishing a blade at your girlfriend and mother -- and then charging at a police officer WHO YOU KNEW FULL WELL HAD A GUN, you wouldn't have been in that position, now would you?

It's about time that people started taking (and teaching their kids to take) responsibility for their own actions. Personally, in a case like this, I would be tempted to call it "culling the herd". Anyone stupid enough to charge an armed person -- cop or not -- with only a pair of scissors needs a lesson in physics -- or logic.

[woodspirit]

Yeah I was thinking that we need more cops that run away too. Squirt guns might help too. I think the french army perfected the drop your guns and run away strategy. There job is to protect the public. Survive and protect themselves and each other. Last on the list is to keep a potential murderer from hurting himself and others. I'm glad that they don't have to spend twenty minutes consulting each other and the law books before taking action. That's just me though. I guess I must be the criminal for supporting those who protect us and risk there lives every day. Just remember that cops are called because situations are out of control and dangerous, and most people aren't equipped to deal with the dangerous nuts that we are afraid of. My hats off to those men and women, who go to work and risk everything for us. Barney Fife was funny to watch but we don't need that kind of hero in the real world.

[gccrook]

Originally Posted by WanderingOak

It is the same around here. The other day, some kid was shot because he was threatening to stab himself with scissors. When the police wouldn't keep their distance he charged them and was shot by four cops.

Bringing scissors to a gun fight.

[MichelleB]

Anybody with any firearm training knows about the 20-foot rule--or, how quickly somebody armed with a knife (or scissors) can close the gap and do serious damage.

There was an incident like this about 4 years ago, in my town--a guy went nuts and threatened to stab some cops. They used lethal force. There was an uproar among people who didn't consider the true danger the cops faced, and the decision--however deluded--that the "shooting victim" made by brandishing the knife.

[HermitJohn]

Some unarmed mentally retarded boy taking a walk here along hiway. There was some convict on run from Michigan they were looking for around this time. Cops saw the retarded boy and though he was the escaped convict. When he didnt immediately drop for them, they shot him dead. No prior arrests or trouble from him of any kind and his mother said he probably didnt understand what the cops wanted him to do. There was NO weapon visable at time of shooting nor any found afterwards. No threats were made by the boy and he didnt move towards them nor run away. He just acted confused. All this on film no less. Local prosecutor didnt want to take blame of charging cop who rushed things herself so called a grand jury (not done in that county in 30 years). They charged him with misdemenor negligent homocide. Not even possibility of jail time, just slap on wrist and at most a $1000 fine.

[rggambrell]

Well here I go. I am a police officer in South Carolina.We can not run from these situations.We may feel like running but if we do, we might as well turn in our badge and go home. It is hard to judge a situation unless you are there and are the one being attacked.It's easy to make these decisions if you have a couple of hours to think about them but these decisions are made in split seconds.As someone else said if the Officers ran and then the subject injuried a by-stander-call an attorney.No officer that I know wants to kill anyone, if they feel this way they are not fit to uphold the law.
As for the arrogrant cocky officers, there are some out there just as there is in any profession.They are the ones who get noticed while the rest of us go to work every shift and pray that we can go home at the end of our watch.
Law enforcement like homesteading is something that you have to want to do and I have a passion for both.

[whodunit]

[QUOTE=rggambrell]As for the arrogrant cocky officers, there are some out there just as there is in any profession.They are the ones who get noticed while the rest of us go to work every shift and pray that we can go home at the end of our watch.[QUOTE]

What some would call arrogance and cockiness, others would call confidence. Either way it's needed in police work.

When you need help do you want a cop who swaggers and tells you that he is going to fix your problem or one who wrings his hands and acts like he doesn't know what to do?

I would agree that the public doesn't hear about the majority of cops.

Like the ones who don't arrest a local on a warrant right away because the person might lose their job.

Or the ones who don't write tickets for expired registration because they don't want a hard-working person to have to pay a fine and for a new registration just because they were forgetful.

Or the ones who pick up drunks from the bar so they won't try to drive home.

Or the ones who pick up people from the hospital and give them rides home because they have nobody else who will.

Or the ones who think it's hilarious when they stop to pick up a purse laying in the street just to find it's tied to fishing line and has a kid on the other end hiding in the bushes.

Or the ones who show up for court on their days off and give up time with their families just to have the defendant and his attorney not show up.

Those are the ones who a select few on this forum seem to forget.