Friday, May 21, 2010
Trigger-Happy Cops in Fort Worth
In my opinion, part of the problem is that cops know they will usually get the benefit of the doubt in such cases. They don't have to be as careful as they could be, they don't have to take chances. That leads to too many unnecessary police shootings.
Contrary to what an agitated Jose Vieira told a 911 dispatcher -- "I do have a gun" -- investigators did not find a weapon after the 21-year-old man was fatally shot by a Fort Worth police officer Monday morning, officials said Wednesday.Police released more information about the confrontation on a residential Richland Hills street, saying that Vieira shouted, "I do want to hurt somebody!" just seconds before grabbing something that appeared to officers to be a gun from inside the SUV he was driving.
They learned later that Vieira was holding a cellphone and music CDs, said Lt. Paul Henderson, a police spokesman.
"In their minds, he had a black and silver gun," Henderson said. "We may never know if Mr. Vieira intentionally wanted the officers to think that he had a gun, but his actions and his behavior are certainly consistent with cases of suicide by cop."
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Conflict Resolution the Pennsylvania Way
Now, anyone who knows me knows that I'm all for weeding out these kinds of gun owners, the ones who can't deal with conflict and resort to the gun. But, what is it with these new "terrorist" laws? Isn't it ridiculous to charge a guy like this with anything with the word "terror" in it?A 54-year-old Bedford County man allegedly pointed a loaded gun at a 36-year-old woman, then fired a round into a nearby field Sunday afternoon.
Pennsylvania State Police, McConnellsburg, said Barry Duke Bunker, 54, of Six Mile Run, showed up at the woman's home on Waterfall Road in Taylor Township and demanded that his 18-year-old daughter leave with him. He reportedly became upset when the woman refused to notify his daughter.
The woman and other witnesses told police that Bunker then got a gun from his vehicle and loaded it before confronting her.
No one was injured. Bunker is charged with aggravated assault, terroristic threats, simple assault, and reckless endangerment.
Of course the story brings up one of my favorite themes. How many gun owners are like this, percentage-wise? What's your opinion about that? Is it so low that we don't need to worry about it? Or is it something to be concerned with?
Please leave a comment.
States' Rights vs. The Fed
The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence is joining the federal government's fight to stop states that want to exempt themselves from national gun control laws, arguing the effort threatens public safety.
The gun control advocates and the U.S. Department of Justice both filed new arguments Tuesday in the ongoing legal battle over federal gun control and states rights.
The issue was sparked with the "firearm freedoms act" first enacted in Montana last year and subsequently in several other states, and is leading to a constitutional showdown over the reach of Congress into state borders.
"That concern is no less important here, where an illegal market for firearms exists across state lines," the federal government's court brief said in asking for a quick dismissal. "In essence, Montana will create weapons that are readily accessible to those who seek to avoid a background check, with no record of transaction and no traceable markings."
It said the firearms freedom acts would stimulate the illicit interstate market in firearms.
Doesn't that make sense, the idea that gun control laws are made less effective if individual states exempt themselves? It seems pretty obvious to me.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Iowa Hero Survives Shooting
All right, I guess his military training didn't include enough situational awareness. And the common sense was a bit lacking. Obviously this is not the kind of place you should leave your doors unlocked.A southwest Iowa man who was shot three times Monday afternoon by an intruder says he noticed something strange when he got home from work.
Matt Herring left his construction job in Atlantic early and got home at about six o’clock, but the doors of his home near Corning were locked. They’re usually unlocked. Then he saw something in a window.
“I didn’t see a face. I just saw like a silhouette of a person in there and I thought, ‘Well, somebody is in the house and that’s kind of crazy and then there was like a split second and he fired three rounds and I caught all three of them, I guess,” Herring says, “two in my arm and one in my flank.”
After the shooting, Herring took cover in some nearby trees, called his wife on the cell to warn her not to come home with the kid, and successfully evaded his attacker. That was pretty heads-up reacting. But here's the best part, where he credits the military.
“They teach you how to fix up yourself and other people, but I couldn’t rip my shirt because I only had one arm, so I couldn’t bandage it up,” Herring said. “So I just stuck my fingers in the two bullet holes and proceeded to the neighbor’s house.”
If he'd been armed himself, would it have made much difference? Maybe he wouldn't have had to cower in the bushes for fear of his life. What do you think? With a gun he could have faced his attacker like a man and shot it out with him. Last man standing is the winner, right?
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
The Pleasures of Hunting
