Posted on 03/19/2012 4:58:48 AM PDT by marktwain
LITTLE ROCK, AR – The shooting death of a constable at a Pine Bluff gas station in January was determined to be justified by the Jefferson County prosecuting attorney.
In his findings released Thursday, Prosecuting Attorney S. Kyle Hunter said that Edward Blundell and Constable Tommy Holcomb engaged in a verbal altercation outside of their cars at a Speedway convenience store. Hunter says Blundell made Holcomb aware that he had a gun, and got back into his car and closed the door.
That is when Holcomb went up to the car with a gun in his hand. While at the passenger window, Blundell fired his gun at Holcomb, and Holcomb returned fire.
About the shooting, Hunter says, “I have concluded that Edward Blundell was justified in his action under Arkansas law in that he was reasonable in believing that deadly force was about to be used against him, therefore, no charges will be filed against Mr. Blundell for causing Mr. Holcomb’s death.”
Hunter said that Holcomb also did not commit any crimes with his actions that day, saying “his error was simply that he failed to communicate the fact that he was a law enforcement officer. He was in plain clothes, and his badge was in his back pocket.”
The prosecuting attorney says that Blundell did not have a license to carry his gun and will be charged with Carrying a Weapon, a misdemeanor. That charge carries a possible sentence of one year in jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000.
whoa...
You’ve got to wonder what got these two so hot at each other that it came to shooting. Small town maybe there was bad blood between them.
Surprising but I don’t see a problem with it.
Any “no-knock” raid is a candidate for the same thing.
> A law enforcement officer was killed by a citizen, and it
> was ruled justified.
Remarkable!
Now we need to see some LEO’s convicted of manslaughter for killing people simply defending their homes from armed invaders in the middle of the night.
Those tactics MUST be abandoned!
If our SOLDIERS are not allowed to conduct themselves that way while fighting a WAR on foreign soil, what possible justification can there be for such conduct by the police on American soil against American citizens?
—A law enforcement officer was killed by a citizen, and it was ruled justified.—
I was thinking two things as I read the article: 1. They have videotape. 2. The cop was in plain clothes and did not identify himself.
Two was verified at the end of the article. I don’t know about one...
He was not a law enforcement officer at the moment of the shooting. He was a nut with a gun.
“He was not a law enforcement officer at the moment of the shooting. He was a nut with a gun.”
Minor correction:He was a LEO at the time of the shooting who didn’t ID himself, posed a lethal threat, and was justifiably killed.
Yes, that too. ;o)
He was Eric Cartman with a gun...
“YOU WILL RESPECT MY AUTHORITAI!”
In Arkansas, as many other states, constables are elected. Therefore, there is less of a “professional” aspect about their police powers and privileges. I don’t know if that factor made a difference in the prosecutor’s mind, but I could see how it might.
Anyways, Arkansas Constitution says there must be one per township, and we will have to do a Constitutional Amendment at the state level to abolish the office of Constable.
Unfortunately, it is needed in many rural areas, and there are some really good guys out there serving with no pay, mostly retired LEO/MIL.
Also, AR legislature has neutered the office of constable to include:
1) MUST BE IN UNIFORM
2) Vehicle must be marked clearly "ARKANSAS CONSTABLE"
3) Must have CLEO Part Time 2 certification to run radar, write tickets, make misdemeanor arrests, and use NCIC/ACIC.
4) ......this guy broke all the rules. He was an unidentified cop with a bad attitude, and the victim felt that he was going to die....and justified in the use of lawful deadly physical force IMHO.
The citizen had no permit. But why not? Arkansas issues permits, so he should have had one.
This is a tragedy. The two men were old enough to have been able to control their tempers.
It is right that the civilian was not charged with murder, but his legal problems are not over, and the recollection of this unpleasantness will be with him for a lifetime.
Same difference.
Pure speculation on my part...but they may have just filled up the tank at $4 per gallon and it put them both in a sour mood.
IF the intent and clear wording of the Second Amendment were followed ,no permits would be issued because they are not needed .Simply being a free citizen of one of these United States is sufficient under the Constitution.
Of course,the statists and those who feel “other people must be controlled for their own good” have attacked the constitutional freedoms from the moment the ink first was applied to the document;and they have succeeded in placing chains not on the government as Thomas Jefferson wished,buty on their fellow citizens.
Maybe the guy who got shot said Obama had nothing to do with the price and it was a mercy shooting.
Yes, like “mercy, Obama sure got the price of gas high”.
Well said.
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