Holy Cr@p...did I do something wrong?????
Posted on 02/19/2005 8:20:52 PM PST by holymoly
CHICAGO - An off-duty correctional officer shot and killed a friend and co-worker early Saturday whom he mistakenly believed was trying to carjack a vehicle being driven by his wife, police said.
Arlin McClendon, 36, of Calumet City, was killed while trying to pull a joke on a longtime friend in an area where two dozen carjackings have occurred in less than a year, authorities said.
"It is a tragic accident, a case of mistaken identity," said Calumet City Police Sgt. Larry Smith. "The victim and the shooter were lifelong friends. They worked together."
McClendon was driving in the suburb just south of Chicago at about 1 a.m. with a colleague when he spotted an SUV that belonged to his friend.
"McClendon began honking and flashing his lights in an attempt to get the vehicle to pull over," Smith said.
What McClendon did not know was that his friend's wife was driving the SUV with the couple's 4-year-old child. His friend, who authorities did not identify Saturday, was in a third vehicle, Smith said.
Once the SUV was stopped, as a joke, McClendon ran up to it and started pounding on one of the windows, said Bill Cunningham, a spokesman for the Cook County Sheriff's Department, which runs the jail where the two men worked.
He also began pulling on a door handle.
The woman's husband did not recognize McClendon, whom he had worked with for years at the Cook County Jail, and mistakenly believed his wife was being carjacked, Smith said.
"He got out of his car and identified himself as a police officer and shot his friend," he said.
McClendon, who was shot multiple times, was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.
Over the last six months there have been 24 carjackings in Calumet City and "that may have played into" the off-duty officer's belief that his wife was being carjacked, Cunningham said.
The two both started working at the jail in 1992, he added.
No charges had been filed in connection with the shooting Saturday night, Smith said.
And although an investigation was pending, given the nature of the incident, it was unclear if the off-duty officer would face any criminal charges, Smith said.
Correctional officers are not issued firearms, but are allowed to carry weapons while off-duty, Cunningham said.
I can see it go down....
*bang bang* Freeze! Police! *bang bang*
"Oh crap"
Really really sad for the shooter, and the family of the dead friend. I'm sure it will rip everyone up.
I don't ~think~ I have any friends dumb enough to try a scary prank with me. Everyone I know knows I am frequently armed and ready to defend myself. What a nightmare.
There is nothing in the story that would indicate that the decedant had not been involved in any of the previous car jackings.
True enough, but I think it's assumed it was a prank on a friend, not a real attack.
That sucks...
There is nothing that indicates that he WAS involved in any of the previous car-jackings.
As reported, it doesn't pass the smell test.
I hope you don't have any friends dumb enough to shoot at something without knowing what they are shooting at. If you are not sure, avoid them. They could be dangerous
And a really poor judgement prank at that (1:00am!)
Maybe doing that in broad daylight...ok.
Holy Cr@p...did I do something wrong?????
Common location, for one. If a bunch of houses in a neighborhood are the sites of robberies in which the front door is kicked in, and someone is caught red handed kicking in a front door in that neighborhood, wouldn't you assume that he might well have been involved in at least one of the previous cases?
There is at least one hole in this story. How does the reported know that the decedant recognized the car that he flagged down? Did he say that after he was shot to death?
I think they added the part about the stats in car jackings to support the mindset of the officer that shot his friend.
If Joe Q. Citizen had shot and killed a scumbag gang-banger trying to hijack him in the state of Illinois, he would be sitting in jail right now with felony charges.
What passes as the "justice" system in this country is a sick joke.
He knew what he was shooting at. He was shooting at a carjacker banging on his wife's window. The carjacker just turned out to be a friend. It's entirely possible this is a good shooting in every way except the sad outcome.
There is a good lesson in being sure who you are shooting at in defense. I know another sad case where a father shot his teenage son crawling through a basement window after sneaking out to party at night.
But the other good lesson is don't play pranks on people that look like life-threatening attacks.
You know that TV show 'scare tactics'?.. they do make sure no-one has access to a real gun right?
Never seen it. There are a couple of the reality shows that I think are going to kill somebody before they're over.
Its not so bad in Texas. Plus we have 10 more executions planned in the next 3 months... cool!! =o)
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