Posted on 06/04/2019 6:42:43 PM PDT by snarkytart
An ex-employee of a Mississippi campground, fired last month after pulling a gun on a black couple, was arrested Tuesday, the Oktibbeha County Sheriff's Office said. Ruby Nell Howell, 70, of Starkville is charged with threatening exhibition of a weapon, according to a news release.
Howell turned herself in Tuesday morning and was released on a $500 bond, the sheriff's office said. She is scheduled to be in court June 25.
Video of the confrontation showed Howell on May 26 approaching Franklin and Jessica Richardson, along with their dog, as the couple sought a picnic spot and possible cabin on Oktibbeha County Lake near Starkville.
Wearing a shirt bearing the logo of Kampgrounds of America, which runs the site, Howell is seen in the video holding a handgun by her side. Jessica Richardson says Howell asked them to leave because they didn't have a reservation.
"This lady literally just pulled a gun because we out here and didn't have reservations for a lake we didn't even know we had to have reservations for," she says in the video, which was shared widely on social media. "That's what the office is for up there, ma'am," Howell responds. "We didn't know, ma'am," Franklin Richardson tells her. Adds his wife, "We didn't know. The only thing you had to do was tell us to leave. We would have left. You did not have to pull a gun."
Howell puts the gun in her shorts pocket, telling the couple, "Well, I'm just telling you you need to leave because it's under private ownership. Y'all just can't be out here."
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Bingo. Ghurka rule. If you pull the weapon out, draw blood. Otherwise you shouldn’t have pulled it out. Sometimes these “racist nobody acts racist to another nobody” articles are a staple of Yahoo News. They are usually overblown reactions to stupid moves. That said, there was no reason to pull a gun, if she did so. Carrying a gun is carrying responsibility
Bingo. Ghurka rule. If you pull the weapon out, draw blood. Otherwise you shouldn’t have pulled it out. Sometimes these “racist nobody acts racist to another nobody” articles are a staple of Yahoo News. They are usually overblown reactions to stupid moves. That said, there was no reason to pull a gun, if she did so. Carrying a gun is carrying responsibility
” Too many old white people have been murdered or badly beaten by blacks because the felt diss’d over situations just like this.”
Did they mention what’s happened in Memphis in the past two years or so? Those “knock-out” attacks on older white people. And Starkville is only a few hours from Memphis.
Also happening in Mississippi. I think it was 3 young blacks who robbed and killed an 80+ year old man in Greenville a few years back. He was much loved in the community, and the town mourned his death from a senseless, violent attack.
So, the point being, she might have been somewhat fearful and had reason to carry a gun. The media, however, will always present things in the worse way possible.
She should have handled it better, kept the gun concealed. But with the tensions older white people feel because of the knock-out attacks, she must have felt “better safe than sorry.” Probably a good thing she carries a gun for protection regardless.
Did you hike the AT end to end?
She had it in her hand. Completely uncalled for. There was no reason to behave in a threatened manner. And yes, when someone approaches you with a firearm by their side and tells you to leave, that’s pretty threatening.
Don’t cops pull guns all the time? Don’t they do it for THEIR safety? I’ve seen images of them pointing loaded firearms at members of the public. Did this lady point the firearm at the couple, or just hold it at her side?
Agree totally. I doubt she needed to brandish her gun. I just object to the racial point of the story.
I often look at CNN to check the opposition and frankly because I’m bored with Fox 24/7. They frequently rattle off all the “racial” incidents in their liberal “bible” as proof that Trump and all of white America are racists.
Last night they were smugly discussing the racism of the Chicago and NYC police. Somehow this was laid at the feet of Trump, despite those cities being controlled by leftist Democrats.
Bottom line is, you don’t draw your weapon unless you need to use deadly force and then you proceed to use deadly force. Waiving it around, threatening, warning shots, etc., are major no-nos.
I know a guy with extensive military and police credentials who majorly went off on a cop for drawing a weapon on him and his family during a routine traffic stop. Cops have more leeway than civilians, but they still need to avoid excessive use of firearms.
I agree totally that race is entirely irrelevant to this story.
It is certainly not in evidence that race was any factor here.
But we have a media that is as irresponsible as this old lady was.
More dangerous to more of us too.
Everything apparently
KOA, figures. My buddy with a camper hates them. He’s stayed in 3, swears he’ll never pull into one again. Noisy, said the spaces are packed in tighter than the lot he stores it on. Said he’d camp in a Walmart parking lot before he’d waste a dime there. Oh, and firearms? Knowing him, where ever he is, is not a gun free zone.
The incident is overblown by the perpetually offended. She didn’t point the gun and the people are on private property without reporting to the owner of the property. I worked utility ROW even with high visibility vest and hard hat we attempted to contact the owner.
Private property. Did you see the video?
There was no waving or pointing at the couple.
I believe that trespassers must be warned first that they are trespassing and then be permitted to leave. Only if they don't leave may the property owner use force to eject them. Even then, only that force necessary may be used.
I also believe that having a gun in your hand constitutes "use of deadly force". You don't have to fire the gun or point it at any particular target. Since the trespassers could possibly have been ejected using less force, the person holding the gun has used excessive force.
I'm sure we can all agree that an order from a policeman who has a holstered gun carries with it a threat that would not exist if the same order came from an unarmed person. If the officer draws the gun, that would seem to be greater force than just having the gun.
Just to remind us that white people must always be wrong in confrontations with black people. If this had between white people, it would never have made it into the news.
I just searched KOA’s website FAQs or rules for gun, guns, firearm and firearms. Search came up empty.
I did. Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mount Katahdin, Maine. One of the greatest experiences of my life. There is quite a subculture that hikes the trail every year. It’s a lot more crowded these days than it was in 1984. We actually live near the trail now in North Carolina.
I took my oldest son on several section hikes on the AT when he was little. Two years ago, as an adult, he hiked the Pacific Crest Trail. I’m very jealous of that one and the PCT is on my bucket list.
You had better find out what your state law is.
But bottom line is that you can not violate the law just because you are on your own property.
Trespass laws have conditions and limits.
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