he should be charged with what ever crimes anybody NOT a cop would be charged with...
Posted on 02/04/2011 7:10:58 PM PST by Immerito
Cop Surrenders After Son, 5, Shoots Self With His Gun
Death Of Gavin Thompson Under Investigation In Liberty
PITTSBURGH -- A suburban police officer in Allegheny County surrendered Wednesday afternoon to face charges connected to the death of his young son, who investigators believe accidentally killed himself with the officer's gun.
(Excerpt) Read more at wtae.com ...
Ugh. Unimaginable heartbreak.
Oh Man! I don’t think I could live with myself, truly tragic.
Charges? I’d say this guy has already suffering worse than any punishment they could dish out.
Government turkeys arrest everyone and put all through hell. It is up to the courts to undo.
Yah. It’s one of those cases where punishment seems... superfluous. What could a court do to this guy that is worse than what’s already happened? Sure, he made some kind of very, very bad mistake. But the punishment in already present, it seems.
Ugh.
A couple of years ago here in VA, a father of 8 (IIRC) was sent to jail because the youngest child was left in the family’s van after they returned home from church. Everyone thought someone else had brought the baby in, but she was, unfortunately, left in the car in the summer head and died.
All around tragedy but as noted elsewhere, what punishment is worse than losing your child because you made a stupid mistake? I’d make a terrible juror in a case like either of these, I just don’t think I could inflict further punishment on the parent or the family.
Try as I might, I just can’t seem to find an excuse or explanation for this.
“I’d make a terrible juror in a case like either of these, I just don’t think I could inflict further punishment on the parent or the family.”
Not me. In your example, it was a van. Here in Houston, it is often a regular car. The kid is in the back seat so he doesn’t get decapitated in an accident.
If I were on the jury, and the family looked otherwise responsible, I know EXACTLY who I’d blame - Joan Claybrook - the Carter lady that forced airbags in cars. The (otherwise responsible) parents would ALWAYS get off, if they are ever fortunate enough to have me on the jury. I know full-well that their kid would have been in front seat, safe, and not forgotten, had it not been for her.
An inexcusable error, and while I feel terrible about it, it was parental negligence that led to the death of this child.
According to some of the comments, this officer did not live in a safe part of town. He may have feared that when the Bad Guy came in, he wouldn’t have time to open the gun safe and get the gun out to protect his family.
Hindsight being 20/20, I am sure he asks himself questions like “What if I kept my work snacks in a different place? What if——” But questions in hindsight won’t bring the kid back.
A horrible tragedy, one I would wish on no parent.
As I said, I feel terrible about it, but he could have had a private firearm in a secure, yet accessible place, for immediate access. His service firearm should never have been left out where a 5 year-old could get it, and it being loaded is even worse.
As has been said, he’ll have to live with it, but his son won’t get that chance, and negligence is neglicence. I imagine he won’t do much, if any, jail time anyhow. The prison in his mind will last forever, though.
As someone that served as a police officer (ret.) for over 30 years, I have seen this happen on two occasions. One officer ate his gun and the second officer drank his self to death.
Please all ... just pray for this officer.
he should be charged with what ever crimes anybody NOT a cop would be charged with...
Excellent point. My oldest in her infant car seat was always in the front seat. (after her came twins, who always were side by side in the back seat) By the time she was in a bolster seat in the back, she was old enough to speak out or even figure out how to open the door on her own.
Every time I read about a child being left in a car, it turns my stomach, and I know it could happen to any family that’s in a rush, especially a large family. Given the temp, it wouldn’t take long for the child to die in the car. I suppose the only solution is to have one person always responsible for the youngest, most helpless child(ren).
Does that also go for non-government employees?
I’m with you. Prayers are desperately needed.
How sad. I personally think it is a tragedy, not a crime, whether for government or non-government employees. I think criminalizing a mistake that leads to tragedy, even a dumb mistake (in hindsight), is not particularly useful. Neglect or abuse are a different matter.
Thanks, there are so many ‘beautiful people’ even on this site that say that they WOULD NEVER forget their kid in a car. Well, I promise them that if one of them got a cell phone call while driving that their mother had been shot during a home invasion, they’d forgot about their kid, at least for a few moments.
In my case, in one of the rare times that I had only one kid in the car, and in the back seat, he fell asleep. I was driving, looked over my right shoulder for a lane change, and saw him there. Scared the CRAP out of me, as I had TOTALLY FORGOTTEN that he was in the car (and I was only thinking about work at the time). Needless to say, none of my kids were ever alone in the back of our cars again after that.
Here in Houston if you’re not a ‘beautiful person’ you can easily wind up with dead kids this way, unless you pro-actively try to prevent it.
This is horrible.
I don’t understand why the officer is being charged. He’s already living through hell.
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