Posted on 06/17/2005 6:56:52 AM PDT by Kokojmudd
By Alexis Huicochea ARIZONA DAILY STAR
A 14-year-old boy who stole an earth scraper and led Tucson police on a 12-mile chase knew almost immediately that he was paralyzed from gunshot wounds, police reports released Thursday show.
The two officers - Brian Knight and Brandon Angulo - who each fired at Duncan Dresner two times June 2 defended their actions in the reports.
The reports state that Angulo, Knight and a number of other officers stood in front of the earthmover with their guns drawn as the construction vehicle reversed direction at a dead end in the 800 block of North Camino de Oeste near West Speedway.
Angulo "had his gun drawn and was ordering the suspect to stop," the reports stated. "He fired two shots at the suspect and the suspect vehicle began to veer east and back into the desert. He continued to command the suspect to stop, and the suspect yelled, 'I'm paralyzed!' Officer Angulo advised others not to shoot because the suspect was incapacitated."
The reports stated that Angulo said he believed the large earthmover would have injured or killed officers if it wasn't stopped.
"It went into reverse and I couldn't get my car in reverse, and figured that the tires would crush us," Angulo said. "I pulled back and got out of the vehicle and knew we had to stop the truck. I knew if he kept going it would look like a monster truck rally."
Knight wrote that he saw a "ton of cops behind us. The vehicle went into reverse. I knew if he wasn't stopped he would kill cops. I shot twice."
Officer Scott Wakefield, wrote that he saw Angulo crying a short time after the shooting and heard him say he had no choice but to fire.
During the chase, Angulo said, Dresner swerved the earthmover at his car several times. But the officer said he could not tell if it was intentional or in an effort to hear Officer Charles Pickard, who was riding with Angulo and giving the boy instructions on how to stop the vehicle.
Police have not released the boy's name pending charges and because he is a juvenile.
However, the Arizona Daily Star learned his name after it was mistakenly left in a police report, which was released recently through a public-records request. The newspaper is identifying the boy because the incident endangered the lives of other people.
Dresner was hit by two of the four bullets fired, reports show.
He was airlifted to University Medical Center, where he refused to talk to detectives, saying, "I want my lawyer" and "My mom's getting me a lawyer," according to police reports.
One bullet severed Dresner's spinal cord near his sternum, and his legs are paralyzed. It is still unclear how well some of his internal organs are working and whether he'll need a feeding tube outside the hospital, said Greg Kuykendall, the boy's attorney.
Dresner has not said why he took the 40-ton machine, but he did say he was scared, couldn't hear police commands over the noise of the engine and couldn't see well because officers shined bright lights on him, Kuykendall said. The boy also has said he wasn't trying to hurt anyone, Kuykendall said.
In the reports, Officer Wakefield said he saw Dresner as he passed through the intersection of East Grant and North Country Club roads.
The report states that Wakefield observed a young male driver "who was smiling and appeared to be enjoying himself."
When Angulo and Pickard pulled up next to Dresner, Pickard was directing the teen to take his foot off of the gas pedal, and Dresner asked "Why?"
Kuykendall said the officer may have misinterpreted "what" for "why."
"Use common sense," he said. "How could the officer have heard the boy over the roaring of the machinery? Was he a trained lip reader?"
Kuykendall said the police department is trying to "demonize" Dresner in a "spin campaign" because of its choice to release only portions of reports about what happened.
Geez. . .
Fired only four shots, two hits, incapacitated the criminal and prevented the dangerous idiot from killing people.
Poor little Duncan Dresner could have taken many lives through his recklessness - if the lights were bright and the engine was loud and he was confused he has only himself to blame.
If he hadn't stolen anything he wouldn't have gotten shot.
…young male driver "who was smiling and appeared to be enjoying himself."
…would have injured or killed officers
…"I want my lawyer" and "My mom's getting me a lawyer,"
(I’ll give ya three guesses where I’m going with this.)
Yep, the cops had already grown roots and thus completely immobile.
Total Gold Star Darwin Award Material.........
It's good to see the cop seems more decent than most of the comments have been.
This is ridiculous. The kid went on a rampage with a machine that weighs 40 tons, and those scrapers can MOVE, they're not like a bulldozer. And in the end, it's going to boil down to whether the cop should have heard him over the engine roar. What a load of crap, the kid could have stopped before leading them on a 12-mile chase.
I'm sort of ambivalent on this one.
I already know how the knitters feel.
Boo Friggen Hoo!
If you don't want to suffer consequences of your own stupidity then don't do stupid stuff.
I don't blame the cops one bit. They have to think about the Public safety first then the perpetrator's last.
I bet this stupid kid won't do this again though.
Indeed.
Any lawyer who brings this proposed suit to court should have their law license REVOKED AND BURNED on the courthouse steps and the University Law School should demand their sheepskin back!.........
If the earthmover headed into the buildings at the end of the street the officers would have had to attempt to evacuate those buildings and could very well have died doing their job.
If it was a matter of every man for himself and the police were free to just flee the scene without any regard for public safety - you might have had a point.
But in reality that kid is lucky he didn't get the headshot he richly deserved.
Yes, LARGE, EXTRA-LARGE, EXTRA-EXTRA-LARGE, and HUMONGOUS!
Kudos to these LEOs !
With all the recent stories about cops emptying multiple clips into a suspect (or an animal), it's reassuring to know that some LEO's are still capable of accuracy and control while under pressure.
I don't want our police officers to run away from every confrontation. When a person in a stolen vehicle is confronted by a police officer, they may try to drive past (through) the officer, expecting the officer to move. Such action has been ruled, REPEATEDLY, to be assault with a deadly weapon. This gives the officer more than enough cause to fire on the suspect.
Kid got what he deserved.
Cops deserve a medal.
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