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All right....

Here’s where Hale pees in the punchbowl...

Aside from all the emotionalism and pathos in the article - and yes, it IS tragic - there’s some things that need to be dealt with.

1. The family KNEW this man had Alzheimer’s issues; it is THEIR responsibility to see that he was not a danger to himself or anyone else for that matter. I say that because my mother dealt with my Grandmother, who was CONSTANTLY trying to “go home” as she put it, trying to get out the door in the middle of the night. She picked up scissors once to MAKE my mother open the door, and only after Mom phoned a neighbor to come over was she convinced to stop. Mom put KEYED deadbolts on all the doors so she couldn’t get out. But she tried a few times. This condition lasted about a year until she passed away, at 87. Up to that point, there was NOTHING wrong with her, and then boom... her memory went.

So, to my point, Westbrook “slipped outside” - evidently a lot - because NO ONE was watching him. I blame THEM for not being responsible enough to take precautions to prevent that from happening.

2. The article says Hendrix “confronted the man outside”. I’m not clear if that means “at the front door” or he followed him outside.

IF the guy followed him outside and pumped rounds into him, he COULD be charged with second degree murder. We had an incident here in PA several years ago, where a naked drunk guy who had a habit if urinating in his yard in drunken stupor at night got confused, walked into his neighbor’s yard and, finding himself “locked out”, promptly picked up a metal yard chair and threw it through the neighbor’s sliding glass doors.

The neighbor - a combat veteran - was awakened from sound sleep at 3am by the sound of crashing glass, and a naked, bloody man in his living room. He fired three shots into the man, who turned, stumbled back outside, and was staggering away. The neighbor followed him outside and put FIVE more rounds into him to drop him.

The DA - and he’s WAS NOT a lib - said this (paraphrasing): “The first three shots were justified, as the man was in your home. As he left your home, you followed him outside, and he was no longer a threat, and you basically “executed” him.”

And that guy wound up in jail on 2nd or 3rd degree - manslaughter, I think they finally charged him with. And this is a Castle Doctrine state...!

The PA guy was awakened by shattering glass in the middle of the night, he was FREAKED, and the adrenaline kicked into high gear. Was it excessive? I don’t know - what’s “excessive” when you believe your life is in endangered? For all he knew, the guy could have had a weapon stashed outside.

So, while I’m NOT saying I agree with the Pennsy DA in that case - because I don’t - I’m saying that it COULD have gone bad for the Hendrix guy if that DA proved that he wasn’t physically endangered.

But - back to Hendrix - If Westbrook was forcing his way into the house, and Hendrix shot him, I can see that happening. It’s horrible, but understandable. BUT - if he just went outside and blasted Westbrook because he was “scared”... well, that’s pretty black and white to me.

I can just HEAR the DA saying “Then why didn’t you slam the door and stay in the house until the Police came?”

Tragedy. It happens. But realistically, the FAMILY of that poor man had a responsibility to care - PROPERLY - for their loved one and they failed, and now he’s dead. They’re angry at the man who shot him, understandable.

But Alzheimer’s is NOT something that can be taken lightly, and when you have a relative that you are charged with caring for, it is your responsibility to see that they are PROPERLY cared for and secured.