Details of Bear Spray/Handgun Defense case in Glacier Park

Gun Watch ^ | 16 October, 2014 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

On 26 July, 2014, 57-year-old Brian D. Murphy defended himself against a charging grizzly in Glacier National Park.  The case is interesting for a number of reasons.  Two months after the attack, Murphy was charged with discharging a firearm in Glacier Park, a misdemeanor that carries a $500 fine.   On 9 October, a motion to dismiss the charge was put forward by the U.S. Attorney's Office after Murphy's attorney said that they would raise the  defense of self-defense.    Judge Keith Strong granted the motion last Thursday.  From missoulian.com:

The U.S. Attorney’s Office has dismissed the charge against 57-year-old Brian D. Murphy.

The charge was dismissed with prejudice, meaning a final determination has been made based on the merits of the case. Murphy cannot be re-charged at a later date.

Murphy’s attorney, Jason T. Holden of Great Falls, called it a “perfect scenario to have a case dismissed with prejudice.”

DNA samples of blood and hair taken at the scene confirmed that the bear was a grizzly.  Murphy had time to ready both defenses because he had seen the bear running toward other hikers.  When he yelled to warn them, the bear turned and came straight at him. 

Murphy first sprayed bear spray at the bear when it was 15 to 25 feet away, firing one shot from his .357 revolver when the bear had approached to within 7-10 feet.  The bear was charging uphill at the time.     He only fired one round at the bear, which fell back and stopped moving   when shot.   Many have suggested that he should have continued firing, but it is hard to argue with success.

The hiker, who was alone at the time, was not injured. He turned over the revolver to rangers, who reported it contained five unspent rounds and one spent casing.

It appears that Murphy was defending others as well as himself.  He quickly retreated back down the trail. 

“The bear fell back and was motionless,” Holden said. Murphy “withdrew and double-timed it out of there, taking the two hikers who were behind him with him. He stopped everyone else on the trail, too, told the first ranger he came to what had happened, and fully and voluntarily cooperated with rangers.”

The bear was apparently stunned, because it had left the area by the time rangers examined the scene.  

A charging grizzly, bear spray, short range defense with a .357 revolver; then bogus charges brought two months later, only to be immediately dismissed by a U.S. attorney and federal magistrate.  This case is one that will be remembered and discussed for a long time.   

A warning was issued to a hiker that used a gunshot to summon aid a couple of weeks after the grizzly attack. 

 ©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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[driftless2]

If you gave many park officials lie detectors tests, I’d bet many of them would say they’d rather have a human killed than a bear killed.

[rlmorel]

The grizzly skull is shaped like the front of a tank...unless you hit him in the eye (and even if you do, it looks like damned thick bone behind it) it looks like a round would just glance off of that forehead.

Shudder.

[rlmorel]

It does look hilarious!

[Daffynition]

Water works.

Yukon man fined for pouring water down bear den

Be sure of your target: Fernie grizzly bear attack sends man to Calgary hospital; Victim was mauled by bear and shot by fellow hunter trying to stop the animal

[Daffynition]

[BeadCounter]

[Daffynition]

>;)

[eyeamok]

then bogus charges brought two months later,

And who exactly brought forth these charges??
Have they been FIRED?, Is the asshole being forced to PAY FOR ALL COURT COSTS as a result?? Is Mr Murphy filing a Deprivation of Rights suit against the Morally bankrupt ASSHOLE??

[hattend]

Bear spray on a charging Grizzly? my ass.

Shoot to kill.

What idiot ranger decided to press charges?

Better to be tried by 12 than carried by 6.

[1Old Pro]

sounds it, at least he had the gun to increase his odds.

[GladesGuru]

“If you gave many park officials lie detectors tests, I’d bet many of them would say they’d rather have a human killed than a bear killed.”

The sorry, socialist truth is many ParkPersons are even more intellectually perverted than the above would indicate.

Dr. Earl R. Rich and I were in a meeting with a Superintendent of Everglades National Park when his hidden “ParcMan Personality” escaped. He proudly told how he had banned Dr. Harold Wanless because he had taken out of the park “mud samples”.

This uniformed ‘Stupidvisor’ had banned from Everglades National Park a noted scientist because he took mud cores - round samples of the mud layers produced by driving a hollow instrument into the mud. It is both an accepted and unavoidable mechanism in many forms of scientific research.

The outgoing tides also remove mud, and I wondered if he had considered banning outgoing tides taking “precious park property” such as mud.

This uniformed Nature Nazi literally proclaimed that if they could, Park Service would ban fishing, indeed the “consumptive use” of anything!

[driftless2]

Interesting you mentioned the Everglades. The wife and I just visited the place the other week. Too bad we can’t tie the nutty superintendent to a Manchineel tree which is found in the Glades.

[BeadCounter]

Just stumbled on another “Bear” story and surely it was posted on Free Republic but just in case:

“Man attacked by bear, shot by friend and survives
The attack comes a month after a mother grizzly killed a hiker as she defended her cubs.”

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2014/10/15/Man-attacked-by-bear-shot-by-friend-and-survives/4451413398826/#ixzz3GQ9G4ugl

The man sounds like he is in stable condition.

[BeadCounter]

Army may be called out to combat bear population in Transylvania, Romania.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/oct/16/romanian-politician-calls-for-the-army-to-help-control-bear-population

Bear rescued from Dumpster in California.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/bear-cub-rescued-dumpster-26269522

Probably some sort of bear story every day, I have seen those where they remove a jar from a bear’s head. Interesting.