yet another one - Page 2

So sad, what a cute little boy! His poor family. It was an accident I am sure but that officer should have had enough sense to realise where his bullets might go if he shot and missed his target! I hunt and it is the first thing you think of when taking aim as that bullet is going to just keep on trucking if you miss your target.  His grampa said, "I'm not saying the cop shot him on purpose," Tracy said. "It was an accident. But let me tell you - if I had a kid and put him in this car and didn't put him in a car seat and he got killed on the way to town, they'd charge me with murder ... and what this cop did is a lot worse than that."  So true, there are so many laws anymore and they sometimes seem to be for only us civilians to follow. I am wondering too about seat belt laws and why are 40 or so kids on school buses are not required to wear seat belts when every one else has to be buckled in?

BS....There is nothing un-American about expecting/demanding accountablity from the people who enforce the law in this country.  It is our duty as citizens to do that. IF they come into your house without a warrant and kill your dog because it is protecting you, why should they not be held accountable? If they kill your child or grandchild trying to kill a harmless snake hanging in a tree why should they not be held accountable.  If they shoot and kill your dog that is tethered on your own property, why should they not be held accountable. Law enforcement personnel should never be placed above the law just because of who they are, they must  be judged by their actions and held accountable just like the rest of the working people in this country. Do we really want to excuse any mistake made by law enforcment no matter how understandable it may be because they have a tough job, are under a lot of stress, and hell, everyone makes mistakes? In my mind a police officer shold be the cream of the crop, the person who has the best of judgement and who can make quick and proper decisions. If they can't do that, then they should be in another profession. This country should not be at the mercy of the Keystone Cops. I resent the intimation that we should all just sit back and resign ourselves to being held hostage by law enforcement. They are accountable to us, we pay their salaries, so we have  the right to expect more. I'd think that the officers on this list would welcome the opportunity to rid its ranks of trigger happy cowboys.

4pack, believe it or not, around here there is no animal control. A few days ago a Rottie was in my yard, so I called to the guardshack (this is a gaited community) asking for the number for animal control. Oh, they won't come in here, you have to call 911.  Huh? Call a cop to catch a stray dog? Can you believe it? Then they gave me the number of the local humane society who said they'd have someone come out. Guess who they sent? The local police officer. The officer asked me if the dog seemed like it would bite and I said "NO!!" thinking about the recent posts on this list and picturing him shooting the dog if he saw him. Probably not at all what he'd have done, but that was my first thought.

I almost would rather have a bad (criminal) cop show up than an incompetent one.  The bad cop knows what the heck he is doing.  The incompetent cop's mind doesn't work correctly and he can cause so much trouble and pain, without even realizing it.  With a bad cop, he is out for money, revenge, sex, or whatever, but he/she is usually competent enough to not hurt bystanders. He only hurts his targets.

Of course, in a perfect world, I would rather not have any of either, but haven't found that world yet.

Truth is, there are so many incompetent and bad people out there, that when cops are being hired (and in the big cities it could be hundreds at a time), it is bound to happen that incompetent ones and bad ones get in.  In the small cities cops are usually "connected" in some way, through relatives or neighbors of the mayer or whatever, and in the big cities, there are minority quota's that have to be filled to get Federal Grants and abide by law suit agreements, along with the "connected" situations I mentioned previously (many, many new cops in large cities are the sons/daughters of present cops, and they have a shoe in the door).   I have seen so many that got hired, that I would not have even trusted to watch my dog for the weekend, yet we are giving them a gun, a car full of gas and a badge, and telling them to drive around and "shake the trees" or whatever.

I have stated previously, the majority of police officers out there are doing above and beyond their job description and are heroes everyday (but as Don Corleone stated, you only hear about the mistakes), and where would we be without them?  But, there is that "ten percent" (even the police departments acknowledge a figure around that), that make the news and make the good cops embarrassed.

Then there are the police unions, but that is a whole different subject, that leads to the same conclusion.  Don't get me started on unions.

It is sad when any child dies, but when it is at the hands of an incompetent police officer, piled on to the sadness is the embarrassment of the good cops and the further growth of the mistrust and confidence of the general public, towards cops.  Sad, just sad.

Of course someone on this site will crawl out of the woodwork and make an idiotic statement like "hey, shit happens".  We have our own "ten percent" on this site.

Excellent post, DoRight.

IF he had to kill the snake for whatever reason, he should have known to use a shot gun.

Blitzen

I don't think anyone is excusing the officer.  I haven't read that yet.  He made a mistake and the boy lost this life. 

When I was younger, I greww up on a lake.  Our house was three lots from the public boat launch.  It must have been a holiday because everyone was having a party. We were all having a good time swimming when the neighbor next to the public launch ran through the yard with a shotgun.  He was yelling to get out of the water like a madman.  Every kid got out without any idea the situation.  Up out of the water came a 6' Water moccasin (Cottonmouth-very poisonous snake).  The neighbor apparently saw some guy letting it loose and ran for our safety.  He killed it with the butt of his shotgun and probably saved a childs life.

Unless I missed what kind of snake that was, it could have posed a threat.  So lets say they call the cops and the cops tell them to get screwed.  The snake stays in the area and bites one of the kids.  The kid dies and the media and public are bitching because the cops didn't take care of the situation.  YES, the officer was wrong in his actions.  NO, his punishment will not bring back that child.  Officers are human.  They make mistakes.

One more story!  I don't know if this 100% true, but there was a k9 unit that many of you know.  Very well known in the sport community.  I know you know him, Molly.  Apparently he was tracking down a suspect with his K9.  The suspect was wearing a grey jumpsuit.  He tracked the suspect for some time and cmae upon someone in grey that was just beyond some brush.  The dog was fired up and he sent the dog.  It turned out to be a young boy in the wrong place at the right time.  L.E.O. are human and they will make mistakes. 

I agree all the way around.  LEO's should be held to a higher standard because we look to them for our protection. I have the utmost respect for LEO's, I worked closely with them in one of the jobs I had. I do not think they always use the best judgement in some situations, this, tragically being one. Even good cops can make mistakes, we all do!  BUT, I don't think there are any poisonous arboreal snakes in the US. If this guy was in a tree chances are he was harmless. Some people have an unnatural fear of snakes and so will kill first and ask questions later. Most dangerous snakes will avoid human contact and bite only when cornered. Black snakes (actually, black rat snakes) which are common in PA will climb trees, houses, etc. but are completely harmless. I know someone who blasted one with a shotgun in his house!! Blew his own dresser to smithereens all because of a harmless snake! But this officer should have known better than to discharge a firearm above ground level before checking the area, sounds like there was no immediate threat. No, I don't know the whole story but common sense should have been used, he needs to be held accountable.

On the other hand we have how many communities in this country and how many millions of officers in all of those cities, municipalities and small towns?  If we hear about three or four stories in a six month period about one killing a dog, accidentally shooting a child, etc., as appalling as it is,  I'd say we're doing pretty good.  One dead child is one too many at the hands of a police officer but incedent-wise it is a very rare occurance. Kudos to the men and women who protect us every day but on the other hand don't coddle some fool just because he's wearing a badge.

I do not know every cop nor what every police car is equipped with.  Having said that, as someone else above stated, if you have to kill a snake in a tree, then use a shotgun, not a pistol, that way a stray bullet will not kill someone.  Every bullet has to land somewhere.  Law of nature (gravity).  When you use a shotgun with pellets (which is what police use, it almost guarantees you a hit on the snake, but after just a few dozen feet, the pellets from a shotgun shell will be spreading out so much, that by the time they could land from a shot UP into a tree, they will have spread out so far that only one could hit a person off in the distance, and one pellet will most likely not cause serious injury (unless it hits the eye or whatever.

Most departments do not allow the old "warning shot" at a fleeing suspect or an unruly crowd, because of the gravity reason.  You only shoot when you are justified in killing someone.  You are never justified shooting to scare or wound, because that would lead to court battles over which shooting should have been to wound, etc., and governments are trying to avoid that scenario by stating that you only shoot when justified to kill.

Of course, a cop coming up on a scene where someone has called in a "snake in a tree near people", probably does not know the difference between a dangerous snake and just a snake.  So, he will most likely want to handle the situation and satisfy all of the onlookers, and just shoot the snake.  I personally would have judged the snake the best I could, and even if I thought it was a danger, I would still have hesitated to kill it, understanding that it came from somewhere (it had parents, brothers, sisters, cousins, etc, in the area) and that it is just a part of nature.  Are we going to kill all of the crocs in the world just so we humans can go swimming where ever we like?

Yes, If I knew the snake was dangerous, I would have killed it, (with a shotgun), but then, I know my snakes.  Some don't.

Just like if I would have shot an attacking dog.  Yes, but only after firing into the ground next to it to scare it off (a violation of departmental policy but hey, I can live with a slap on the wrist if it means not killing a dog).  If a dog got ahold of me (I would have "fed" it my shoe to gnaw on for a few seconds if I could), then I would have shot it, depending on if I thought I could "take it" with my hands.  Most dogs can be "taken" by most men (I am sure someone will dispute that here).

In the case of a snake that could and would just disappear into nature, a cop would probably have to kill it to keep from being sued or fired.  But let's face it folks, the snakes relatives are in the same area.  That is how we get little snakes next year.  Killing one snake is like putting one criminal in jail.  It will still be dangerous to walk down Vine street at 2 am, so just don't do it.  Take Elm street or Sycamore, but not Vine.

Do right

Who says the snake has "relatives" in the area?  I posted a story of a snake let go into an area where water moccasins are not native.  Plenty of morons buy poisonous and illegal pets all the time.  When they are sick of taken care of them, they let em' go in the wild.  We have reports of alligators in our lakes all the time.  I doubt they hoped on the red-eye from Florida or even migrated all the way up here.  No, somebody put them there and I'm pretty sure they don't have any "relatives"