Hamilton Police shooting video

Billings Gazette ^ | April 14, 2010 | Will Moss

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

Dashboard video from a January traffic stop in Hamilton that ended in gunfire. A jury ruled on April 13, 2010 that Hamilton Police Officer Ross Jessop was justified in shooting Raymond Thane Davis.

one lucky cop

[Oldpuppymax]

Who in God’s name wrote the sickening OBIT for this psycho waste of skin?

[VeniVidiVici]

Press release from the PD a few days after the incident:

HAMILTON POLICE DEPARTMENT NEWS RELEASE
JANUARY 2 INCIDENT, HAMILTON, MT
Contact: Ryan Oster, Hamilton Police Chief
Date: January 4, 2010
Sheriff/Coroner Chris Hoffman has released the name of the deceased man involved in a January 2
shooting incident in Hamilton, MT. Hoffman said Raymond Thane Davis, age 36 of Hamilton, MT, died as a result of a single gunshot wound.

January 2 at 1:09 a.m., Hamilton Police Officers responded to a criminal mischief complaint concerning Davis. Two officers contacted Davis in regards to this complaint and determined there were no grounds for a citation at that time. The officers noted that Davis appeared to be intoxicated and advised him not to drive.

January 2, at 1:55 a.m., Hamilton Police Officer Ross Jessop stopped a vehicle known to be driven by Raymond “Thane” Davis because of a traffic violation at the intersection of Highway 93 and Adirondac.

Officer Jessop turned on his flashing lights signaling Davis to pull over. Davis pulled his car over. Officer Jessop got out of his car, approached Davis’ vehicle, and began talking with Davis. Davis pulled a gun and fired at the officer, Officer Jessop returned fire and hit Davis; Davis then sped east on Fairgrounds Road. Davis’ vehicle collided with a utility box and a building at the Ravalli County Road Shop. Davis was pronounced dead at the scene. Davis is a registered violent offender with a lengthy criminal history.

Missoula Police Department was contacted by the Hamilton Police Department to conduct the
investigation into the incident. According to Hamilton Police Chief Ryan Oster (pronounced Ohster),

“When there is an incident such as this, it is Department policy to call in an outside agency to
investigate. Missoula Police Department has trained detectives for officer involved shootings. It is
important that we have an independent investigation for the way we conduct our operations.”

“As part of standard operating procedure, Officer Jessop has been placed on administrative leave
pending the outcome of the investigation; said Chief Oster, Missoula Police Department will complete their investigation, evidence will be processed at the State Crime Lab in Missoula, and eventually there will be a Coroner’s Inquest conducted by John Pohle, Powell County Coroner, as required by Montana law.”

“Officer Jessop has been employed by the Hamilton Police Department for 13 months. During this time he has completed the Montana Law Enforcement Academy, and has performed exceptionally, said Chief Oster. It is always tragic when there is a loss of life. Our primary concern is for public safety and the safety of our officers. I know that Officer Jessop responded in a professional and appropriate manner in an extremely dangerous situation.”

[brent13a]

"He is now happy forever in the loving arms of his Savior Jesus Christ, who he knew without a doubt, would always forgive him."

Well, here's hoping he asked forgiveness between the time he pulled the trigger and the time the bullet found him.

I'm pretty sure that being intoxicated on whiskey voided any conversation he had with G-d before he decided to shoot a gun at a police officer. I'm also pretty sure that he wasn't having any conversation with G-d whatsoever as he was a previously convicted felon and obviously could've gave 2 craps less about G-d or else he would've learned his lesson the first 2 times he was put away.

Yah, what a beautiful golden boy that POS was....I'm sure the family was chomping at the bits with a civil lawyer in tow waiting for that inquest verdict.

[IrishCatholic]

Probably a grieving family member who wanted him to be something other than who he became. A tragedy for them.

But, good fortune that he won't be able to try and murder anyone else. You always hope that people can seize the opportunity to be saved. But almost always you are disappointed.

[the_devils_advocate_666]

[GSWarrior]

The Hamilton police are shooting a video? Shouldn’t they be out there solving crimes and stuff?

[IrishCatholic]

That’s the value of having a dash cam.
Ends the chance of that lawsuit right there. Now the only hope for an ambulance chaser is to find out how much the deductable is for the insurance carrier for the city, and to file a suit for less than that.
Then the insurance carrier settles to avoid costs and the city and the officer have no say.

Of course, premiums go up which mean taxes go up.

[Badray]

No, I don’t have such a list. I read these threads and haven’t seen what you suggest.

Do you have a list of those (and links to prove it) that you claim just hate cops?

[Ramius]

Woah... that’s some impressive video. Good example of how suddenly and “out of nowhere” a routine stop can become a deadly one. Mere fractions of a second made the difference between life and death for that officer. Scary stuff.

[Ramius]

I know what Brent’s talking about above. There’s plenty of cop-haters around here. They’ll be along any time now.

I don’t know why they feel the way they do. Most conservatives are all for law-and-order, and capturing and convicting criminals. Since we need cops as part of that process, I’m not sure what alternative they might propose.

[Badray]

I don’t believe that it is that subjective.

This officer did well and he did good. I am glad that he survived. He is not the type that draws criticism from the vast majority of the so called anti-cop posters.

Abuse of power is one of the major complaints on this board, whether it is President Zero or the cop on the street. Their duty is to protect and serve, not subjugate and harass.

The only things worse than the ‘bad’ cop is the ‘just following orders’ excuse and the ‘good’ cops who cover for them.

[Wilderness Conservative]

Good riddance

[Badray]

Over 30 posts and not one ‘cop hater’. I don’t think that it is the result of the post that I originally responded to. I do think that it is because there was no abuse or wrong doing by the officer involved.

Being a cop isn’t a crime. Being a bad cop is but one that doesn’t often get punished in a fair and honest way. That’s what gets us fired up.

[dirtymac]

All the headline said was that the cop was cleared of any charges in shooting the perp. Did he kill the guy when he shot as shown in the video?

[brent13a]

Do you have a list of those (and links to prove it) that you claim just hate cops?

No, so touche, as the french say. However, I DO have many a migraine obtained over the years from FR discussions turned into unwinnable arguments because there are so many out there that literally just hate the police for no real good reason.....or no clear reason. Plenty exist here on FR and I've encountered them plenty of times.

There are also those on FR that don't specifically hate the police rather they hate certain laws and therefore argue the validity of police actions, etc.

I have a feeling that a lot of these people are either trolls, or they are more libertarian than plain old conservative.

Nonetheless I can understand that someone may have a reason to hate a cop, or a police department, or a particular law but they also need to recognize just like any other uniformed job there is a person behind each badge and 98.9% do the job that's supposed to be done and how the law says to do it.

On a sidenote most people that hate cops do so because they believe they know the law and they know their rights in any given situation. These people believe they have read and memorized their states' criminal code and they are born lawyers......99.999999% of the time these people are wrong and when proven so=hate the po-po.

Then you have the "ME" crowd. I.E. "Don't you know who I am?" or "You have no idea who you are dealing with...I know the Sheriff!" etc, etc. These people are born peni$-heads and unfortunately they too will also dislike police because a cop will tell them they are doing something wrong when no one else will tell them as such.

[dirtymac]

I just reread the the headline of this article. This shooting went to a jury trial. Why the hell did the prosecutor enen bring charges. This is rediculous.

[PLMerite]

Good shoot. Like my bumper sticker says: “When in doubt, EMPTY the Magazine”

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

Truly. If that wasn’t a good shoot, I can’t imagine what would be. The shooter had a .41 Magnum, btw. Not that it matters if it misses, I guess.

[MosesKnows]

justified in shooting Raymond Thane Davis

Does this mean there was doubt?

[PLMerite]

“Not that it matters if it misses, I guess.”

Yeah, I bet “click!” is his new favorite sound.