Posted on 01/27/2009 3:37:27 PM PST by mountainbunny
Prosecutors have cleared a Colorado Springs man in the Dec. 28 fatal shooting of a local golf pro who was drunkenly trying to break into the man's home, apparently believing he was entering his own apartment.
(Excerpt) Read more at gazette.com ...
In short, the man shot (Sean Kennedy) was a local golf pro, apparently too drunk after a party (several times over the legal limit at .261) to know that he wasn't at his own house. The home's occupant shot him as he broke through the back door window glass but was not yet over the threshold.
Therein lies most of the controversy - should he have shot a man who wasn't yet over the threshold?
Many local people have focused on what a "nice guy" Kennedy was, something the residents did not see that night.
Kennedy had tried to get in the front door, then tried to get in the back door, and according to this article, was screaming obscenities and pounding on the glass and doors. The incident happened at night, just before 10:00 PM.
The residents called 911 and had been on the phone with the 911 dispatcher for about 4 ½ minutes when Kennedy broke the back window glass and the resident, feeling threatened, shot and killed Kennedy.
The local prosecutor announced today that no charges would be filed in this case, and that the resident is protected under the Castle Doctrine.
Some people locally have said that Sean Kennedy was a great guy, and that he wouldn't have hurt the residents of the home he was trying to enter. Deciding to drink far too much led to him (probably inadvertently) filling these innocent people with terror, putting them in fear for their lives, and giving them no choice but to defend themselves.
A sad, tragic story all around. Thank goodness the prosecutor's office did the right thing and didn't compound the tragedy the residents will live with the rest of their lives.
The correct result in this case. .261 is very,very, drunk!
And thank goodness Mr. Kennedy wasn't a black man, because all hell surely would have broken loose by now.
Gotta say, if a man tried to get in my front door, back door and screaming obscenities busted out my window, I would fear for my life too. Very understandable.
Just because the perp was popular in town does not give him license to bust in on people. The prosecutor made the right decision here.
Just because the perp was popular in town does not give him license to bust in on people. The prosecutor made the right decision here.”
Right- Just ask Marcia Clark how popular O J Simpson was......
It is indeed.
Many people have focused on how nice the man shot was, and I don't doubt at all that he was nice. But nice people who drink and drink and drink until they have a blood alcohol level that high can easily become belligerent and nasty. Yelling, screaming obscenities, trying to get into a house that isn't yours, and breaking glass are all be part of that.
What bothers me is not that people miss their good friend, because I'm sure they do. What bothers me is that many people wanted the residents prosecuted because they'd shot and killed this "nice guy".
Alcohol, not guns should be the focus of this story. If you notice, the story very carefully avoids telling the reader if Kennedy drove himself home drunk or not. I don't know if that is because the prosecutors know and are considering charging the driver, or because the story simply wasn't clear. I have heard it both ways - that a friend dropped him off & that he drove himself. If he drove, he didn't only endanger himself that night - he endangered everyone he passed on the streets. If his friend(s) drove him, were they too drunk to not know how to read street signs? Or did they just not care where they dropped him?
I am not suggesting that alcohol be banned or in any way be restricted. What I am suggesting is that people who drink until they are incapable of making good decisions, even when they are nice people otherwise, should not be allowed to pull other people down into the mess they made for themselves.
To me, the true tragedy is that the people in the home will have to live and suffer with this forever and they didn't do a single thing wrong.
Thank goodness for this reasonable law in Colorado and elsewhere. Thank goodness for a prosecutor who knew the law and didn't bow to pressure.
That can seem like an awfully long time at night, while your safety is being threatened...
Years ago, wifey was a juror on a follow-home robbery where the perp jumped a rich old lady as she got out of her car....that he beat the sh*t out of her was not the main point of contention; it was whether she landed inside or outside of the garage.
I was and am very concerned, though, at the thought process that seems to say that because he was a nice man, he should have somehow gotten a pass when he traumatized this couple in their home.
I am also concerned that guns, not alcohol, is the focus of so many conversations surrounding this case. .261 is beyond drunk and beyond the level at which most people are capable of making rational decisions.
Wanting to scapegoat innocent people who defended themselves from a threat in the middle of the night is such a simplistic, cowardly way to look at this.
When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.
We've had a number of budget cuts in the last few years. I don't know if that is directly related to this. In my personal experience, the police and sheriff in our county work very hard. I'm not a police apologist, but in all the years I have lived here, I have had no reason to complain.
That can seem like an awfully long time at night, while your safety is being threatened..
I sat down and timed 4.5 minutes earlier. It's a very long time. No one was trying to beat down my door and no one was screaming obscenities at me, and it was in the middle of a sunny day. I can't imagine it at night, with a stranger, being threatened.
For all of you naysayer types here @ FR (the gun’em down let God sort’em out crowd) ... this kid was watching the Bronco/Chargers game with his buddies. The Broncos get their
asses handed to them (Shanahan, the coach, was fired because the Broncos didn’t make the play-offs ... they needed the game) and this young man on his way home, having absolutely no prior arrest record of any type, gets his butt shot because he confused the house he lived in ... which was identical to his (living there only a short period of time with roomates) that was just a block away ... on the same street. My response to you jerks that are making excuses for this piece of crap, trigger happy homeowner, stick it where the sun don’t shine ... FU.
What does the ballgame have to do with anything at all? A 180 pound man would have had to have drank more than 10 drinks to get to the point that they had a .261 BAC. Blood Alcohol Chart(^).
they needed the game) and this young man on his way home, having absolutely no prior arrest record of any type, gets his butt shot because he confused the house he lived in ...
How was the resident supposed to know Kennedy's arrest record, which you cite? How were they supposed to know what a great guy he was? How were they supposed to know that he was a golf pro?
which was identical to his (living there only a short period of time with roomates) that was just a block away ... on the same street.
I suggest you read the article. Kennedy had a BAC of .261. He was pounding on the door, cursing. These aren't just guesses or what the resident said. The people inside were on the phone with the 911 dispatcher for more than four minutes, begging for help. Help didn't come fast enough. What are homeowners supposed to do when someone is breaking in? Ask for the arrest record and job history of the person breaking in?
You are wrong about it being on the same street, too. The shooting was on Virginia Street. Kennedy lived on Institute Street. It was a different house on a different street and the houses don't look much alike anymore, though they were built at around the same time.
My response to you jerks that are making excuses for this piece of crap, trigger happy homeowner, stick it where the sun don’t shine ... FU.
I am unaware of anyone who is happy because this happened. I am aware of people who are blaming the residents, though, and that is wrong.
All they knew was that late at night, a man was pounding on their door, cursing and screaming. They called 911. Then he went to the back door and started breaking glass.
Ask yourself honestly: what did it look like to those poor, terrified people in the middle of the night?
Did it look like the local golf pro had come calling, or did it look like a home invasion and all that goes with it in the dark of night?
He didn’t get his butt shot because he was confused about where his own home was. He got his butt shot because he was breaking into someone else’s home and shouting obscenities while doing it.
Just Sad. But the probable outcome, unfortunately.
Absolutely.
It's too bad he had to terrorize two people and give them a bad memory for the rest of their lives, and I'm sure they are going to be harassed by people like you too.
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