Posted on 01/30/2014 10:55:13 AM PST by dragnet2
Actual headline below: Would not fit in title header
Rookie cop who shot 72-year-old dead in his home while investigating burglary at the WRONG address will not be charged
A family devastated: Waller was shot by Fort Worth police as they searched his home for burglars in the dark using only flashlights
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2548819/Rookie-cop-NOT-charged-killing-72-year-old-accidental-search-home.html
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
If there were any witnesses, that is the story they will/would be sticking to also. That is if they want to continue living.
And Fort Worth is very high on the list of cities with underfunded pensions.
You think these guys are a problem today, just wait a few years until they discover their retirement benefits are never going to happen.
Yea, reading the article makes you think theres so many problem with the police version of event. It could simply be bad reporting
Several years ago my Dad was at home by himself on a cool summer evening and had the house locked up tight and his bedroom window was open and he only had the tv on. He heard someone open the back gate and with their flashlight was working their way through the backyard. My Dad retrieved his .357 magnum and stepped over to the side of the window out of sight and waited.
In a minute or two the goober with the flashlight steps up to the window and starts looking in. At that point my Dad cocked the magnum and roared don’t move! The guy behind the flashlight starts screaming don’t shoot me John! Don’t shoot me! I’m officer so-and-so and quickly put his light on his badge and then face.
My Dad asked him what in the world you are doing? His response, oh you only had one car in your drive way and it’s usually full(it was but Mom and all the kids were away at once) and I thought that was unusual and was checking things out. Dad didn’t quite buy what he was shoveling.
A couple of years earlier, same police department a half a mile down the road, same thing officer snooping around in the dark and their dept. wore black uniforms got drew down on by that neighbor until he shined the light on his badge and uniform.
Sounds like mistakes were made by the cops and the victim. One just because you say you are the police means nothing in the dark, so me some visible ID. Second the homeowner should have called the police and stayed inside to engage in home invasion or break in.
Leave us not forget that not every person claiming to be a cop is telling the truth.
The guys who mowed everybody down at the Valentine’s Day Massacre not only claimed to be cops, they were in uniform.
The saddest part of this sad story is that if Pops had successfully defended his home (albeit under a misapprehension of his need to do so) he might very well have been charged with a capital crime.
Of course you are going to be a little thin on details when only one side survives the encounter...
Prayers out to the family of the murdered. Why are there no consequences for searching the wrong address? What is up with this sovereign immunity crap?
More cops make it home safely.
If the details in the article are correct I gotta go with the cops on this one. Someone points a gun at me I have to assume they’re going to shoot with a very good chance at killing me. No way I’m going to just stand there if I were a cop.
At night and they probably had flashlights pointed in his face. I would be surprised if he saw their uniforms at all. Assuming they had them on. There have been plenty of home invasions where the crooks claimed to be cops. Anyone can shout ‘cop’ at night. And anyone can buy a shirt that says police on it.
I prefer to give the benefit of the doubt to the HOMEOWNER. It would have been nice if the cops had given him the same courtesy.
“Anyone can shout ‘cop’ at night. And anyone can buy a shirt that says police on it.”
This is one reason I think the state’s governor should sign off on any no-knock raid. If I came out of a dead sleep to shouting men and flashlights, I’d probably roll out of bed (a practiced maneuver) and start shooting. (My gun is always in the same place.) I’d be killed, most likely. And, if it was my house, I can assure you’d it would be their mistake. Unless they’re rounding up Freepers.
All it’s going to take is a few cops who don’t follow up on the correct address to be taken down, killed, for new policies to be put in place.
Several mistakes on both sides. The most important is that, when you are in defense, the advantage is usually yours. But if you leave your defensive position and “go hunting”, you are evenly matched.
If someone is mucking around your yard, you should observe, not brandish. In most cases there is very little they can do there other than damage things. If they enter your home, unless they are a cop, you own them. If they are a cop, and you shoot them, you will still be charged with murder, even if they are totally in the wrong.
Eventually, I figure somebody will invent an electronic fence, that when “armed” by someone human sized crossing through it, will activate a prerecorded message that “You have entered private property without permission. Retreat immediately. When you have done so, you will hear the sound of a tone.”
Perhaps someone with access to Lexis/Nexis could do a search. I remember an incident in Minneapolis where a man shot a police officer who had entered his apartment w/o properly identifying himself.
I believe the apartment dweller was not charged, after review by the DA and much publicity. I think the officer survived but with spinal-cord injuries. Incident was sometime between 1975 and 1983.
It was a subject of great discussion by my police acquaintances.
Not in Federal Court.
42 U.S. Code § 1983 - Civil action for deprivation of rights
Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except that in any action brought against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken in such officer’s judicial capacity, injunctive relief shall not be granted unless a declaratory decree was violated or declaratory relief was unavailable. For the purposes of this section, any Act of Congress applicable exclusively to the District of Columbia shall be considered to be a statute of the District of Columbia.
And that doesn’t take into consideration the crime rate. Of course I was just joking, I’m going to stay right here for now. Later I may be seeking asylum somewhere...lol
That’s why I’m not a cop. If I were anyone points a gun at me I assume they’re going to shoot me and they get no courtesy. Either quit pointing it at me or I start shooting to keep from being shot.
Rookie Officer in Fatal Shooting of Homeowner Rejected by FWPD Twice
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