Posted on 12/08/2012 10:26:35 AM PST by smokingfrog
A 27-year-old mother of two has been fatally shot by an off-duty sheriff's deputy after he suspected her of shoplifting at a Houston Walmart.
Harris County Sheriff's deputies have said that victim Shelly Frey, Tisa Andrews and Yolanda Craig were stealing when they were confronted by Louis Campbell a 26-year veteran of the force who works as a security guard at the store.
According to Campbell the women ran to their car and when he rushed to open the door, they accelerated away - at which point he fired the deadly shot into the car which hit Frey in the neck.
** snip **
Tragically, Frey wasn't even supposed to be at a Walmart that evening.
Earlier in the year she pleaded guilty to stealing shirts and a package of meat from another Walmart and as part of her plea arrangement she agreed to never enter Walmart stores again.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
After chasing Frey and the other two women to their car, Campbell opened the door and commanded them to stop, but the car was placed in drive and moved forward. 'I think it knocked him off balance and, in fear of his life and being ran over, he discharged his weapon at that point,' said Thomas Gilliland, Harris County Sheriffs Office.
The police should charge the driver with her death.
Perhaps the officer thought she was someone’s pet dog.
Tried to speed away. Hmmm. Officer standing in the open door.
If she was in a parking space, speeding away would be backing out of that space.
That would put the officer in mortal peril of being knocked over by the door and the angled door guiding him right under the front wheel.
I think I’ll reserve judgement until I have more facts.
I never go unarmed into a Walmart.
Okay, that puts things in a different light.
The cop was involved with a car, read that weapon, trying to drive away, read that being used as a weapon against him, when he fired his weapon to defend himself from this assault. He had every right to do so and he had the authority of his badge to command them to stop. These ladies, mainly the driver, made a choice not to obey the officer and then to try and run him over with the car. This was not a simple shop lifting situation.
You assume the reporter is giving you all of the facts??
How many times did he shoot? Did he even intend to fire the gun? I don’t think we know at this point.
Holy cow.
Tragically, Frey was’t even supposed to be at a Walmart that evening.
= = = = = == = == = = == = == = =
Tragically? Yes, for the Deputy.
Without her promise, chances are she would have been in jail, BUT because she ‘promised’, she was out.
Maybe she had her fingers crossed when she ‘GAVE HER SOLEMN WORD’ to a Judge.
The line ‘Because I am a scorpion and I couldn’t help myself because that is what us scorpions do.’ Comes to mind.
That makes it self defense in my book, and everyone (except Israel, of course!) has an absolute right of self defense!
It said nowhere in the article she was trying to run over anyone.
You think the death penalty is correct for shoplifting? You people are really something.
I should have put a little smiley face at the end of that.What I mean is that if I ever decide to engage in shoplifting for the *second* time (I shoplifted a pack of gum from a Woolworth's at age 11) it *won't* be in a store guarded by the NYPD (or the Harris County Sheriff's Dept).
The “pulled out of his shoes” thing adds up with your guess that she tried to reverse out of the space and hooked the cop with the door.
Two things...
1. The dead chick put herself in position that opened her up to forced submission by authority (i.e. getting shot).
2. Give an authoritarian with a gun the legal cover to shoot you and they will take full advantage of it regardless of whether they or anybody around them are ACTUALLY in an actual life threatening situation.
I find the 2nd point actually more frightening than the first.
That was a quote from the article, I just failed to Italicize it.
Actually :D
There is a place for deadly force. This isn’t it. The off duty police officer used terrible judgement based on the initial report.
Something fishy here. Walmart guards I don’t believe are armed.
As I understand, "what she did" (the shoplifting) is not even involved here, except as a lead-in. She was killed in a struggle with an armed, uniformed cop when she had an advantage of a vehicle.
The LEO's actions will be reviewed, of course. He can use the weapon only to protect himself or others from deadly harm. Shooting at a fleeing shoplifter is not it.
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