works for the cops...
Posted on 02/28/2014 9:07:46 PM PST by Uncle Chip
The family of a Georgia man who had Alzheimers and was shot dead in the middle of the night as he knocked on the door of a house, have spoken of their heartbreak that the person who carried out the shooting will not face criminal charges.
Joe Hendrix, 35, fatally shot 72-year-old Ronald Westbrook on November 27 last year.
The elderly man had slipped from his home as early as 1 a.m. and wandered in the cold and dark for hours until randomly approaching the home of Hendrix's fiancee on a rural cul-de-sac, repeatedly knocking on the door and ringing the bell.
Hendrix's fiancee called 911, while Hendrix grabbed his .40-caliber handgun, went outside and confronted Westbrook in the dark.
Hendrix told police that he fired four shots after Westbrook ignored commands to stop, identify himself and raise his hands.
Mistaken: Ret. Lt. Col. Ronald Westbrook, 72, who suffered from Alzheimer's Disease was shot in the early morning hours of November 27, 2013.
Joe Hendrix who shot him will face no criminal charges. Henderix mistook Westbrook for an intruder when Westbrook tried to enter the home of Hendrix's fiancee just before 4 a.m.
District Attorney Herbert 'Buzz' Franklin's office characterized the incident as a 'tragic shooting death' in a written statement......
'You can get away with anything if you claim you were scared,' Ms. Westbrook said refelecting on the county prosecutors' decision not to press charges against Hendrix....
'I'm a little upset,' said Deanne Westbrook, the slain man's widow. She said she felt police and prosecutors had done a thorough job. 'I really wanted to see it go before a grand jury, and then maybe before a jury. But they tell me there's not enough evidence for that.'
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Prosecutor drops charges without taking it to the Grand Jury.
This is a horror story :-(
All involved need prayers lifted up for them.
works for the cops...
This is a tragedy but it also reflects poorly back on the aggrieved family who should have kept closer watch on a relative with Alzheimers.
Any family or responsible caretaker of someone stricken with Alzheimers should inform the neighborhood of the person’s condition. Had this been done it is likely the old man would have been returned safely to his bed.
I have little sympathy for those that do not take the time to at least exchange names with their neighbors. I have friends in Los Angeles who tell me they have never spoken to their neighbor in the 15 years they have resided next to each other.
It appears you think the case was so weak you had to make up things to bolster your side for gun grabbing.
As reported in the orginal article, the situation is very different from your lie:
“As Mr Hendrix’s financee called 911 the 34-year-old confronted the stranger outside his house and, when Mr Westbrook walked towards the house without identifying himself, Mr Hendrix fired.”
Perhaps you are an MSNBC employee?
Ronald Westbrook rang the doorbell of a home at 4am
He rang the doorbell but was shot in the front yard.
As reported in the orginal article, the situation is very different from YOUR lie.
hey if thge cops get immunity because THEY feel threatened, citizens ought to have it too.
no extra special police powers us regular serfs can’t have. it’s either we both have it oir neither do.
So are you condemning this man, or justifying the cops?
other way round. cops kill people all the time - and dogs fencedin back yards, one of which my city attorney uncle had, the cop was on the other sideof the fence, looked over the fence andshot my uncles dog - so why shouldn’t regular citizens have the same ability? cops kill people defending their house from being raided by cops who dont identify themselves as cops and ever get into trouble evenif its the wrong address.
I notice you didn’t quote the article, as I did.
<>I notice you didn’t quote the article, as I did.<>
How much do you want to bet:
Ronald Westbrook rang the doorbell of a home at 4am
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3096559/posts
Ronald Westbrook rang the doorbell of a home at 4am
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3096306/posts
I’ve reread the entire article, and can’t find it.
Perhaps you would quote and paste an entire paragraph, so that it can be found?
That's some nice BS additive that Hendrix worked up on the advice of counsel because his original statement was this:
he fired four shots after Westbrook ignored commands to stop, identify himself and raise his hands.
Hendrix was the aggressor doing the confronting after Westbrook rang the doorbell and began walking away.
Furthermore he shot him not because he was afraid but, by his own admission, because the guy would not follow his orders to stop, put his hands up and identify himself.
That's not self-defense nor is it SYG nor is it the purpose for having a weapon.
It's murder.
No it’s a homicide.
Ronald Westbrook rang the doorbell of a home at 4am on Wednesday after wandering around in the dark for almost four hours in rural Walker County, Georgia, wearing just a light jacket and a straw hat in the cold 20 degree temperatures.
And the third paragraph in this article:
The elderly man had slipped from his home as early as 1 a.m. and wandered in the cold and dark for hours until randomly approaching the home of Hendrix's fiancee on a rural cul-de-sac, repeatedly knocking on the door and ringing the bell.
All 3 articles are perfectly clear --
If it's at your house, you do as you want.
Me, come to my house in the middle of the night, come towards me and refuse to identify yourself? You're going to get a chest full of buckshot.
Where I live, they won't even charge me. History has proven that last bit.
Thanks for putting some of the key arguments for a clean shoot in bold.
Those trigger happy dog murdering cops are quite disgusting and unfit for service.
As for this case, tragic. But I’d be loathe to charge the man with a crime.
This seems tragic but to be honest this guy who got shot had Alzheimers which is a curse in itself.
To lose one’s mind is a terrible thing.
I now have another relative (in his upper 80s) who is crippled for five years from a stroke really bad, now diagnosed with cancer in multiple organs, that after my grandmother lived to over 100 crippled similarly.
Years earlier both told me they hoped they would die before reaching those states, and they didn't get there wish.
When they die its very conflicting, you feel relieved that the misery is over but you mourn the one you remember you had good times with years before.
“As for this case, tragic. But I’d be loathe to charge the man with a crime.”
I kinda have to agree.
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