Posted on 05/12/2014 8:19:50 AM PDT by marktwain
HEARNE – The police officer who shot and killed a 93-year-old woman is out of a job.
Saturday afternoon, the city council met to discuss taking possible disciplinary action against Officer Stephen Stem. It took them less than 30 minutes to reach a unanimous vote to fire him.
Stem responded to a 911 call Tuesday from Pearlie Golden’s nephew. She was upset about not being allowed to drive after failing a driver’s license renewal test. Roy Jones says when he wouldn’t give Golden her car keys, she went into the house and grabbed a .38 revolver. Jones then ran to the side of the house and called 911.
Stem ordered Golden to put the gun down, but Golden refused. Jones said Golden fired two shots gun into the ground. At that point, Robertson County District Attorney Coty Seigert said Stem fired four shots, hitting Golden twice, once in the right arm and once in the upper chest. Seigert says they have not confirmed whether Golden fired first.
During a protest march on Thursday, Quannel X and the Black Panther Nation threatened to protest in front of Stem’s house, if he was not fired. But the activist asked protestors to “give (council members) a chance to do what's right right.”
Mayor Ruben Gomez said he would recommend termination. Today, city attorney Bryan Ross advised the council do to the same.
In a statement Friday to News 3, Stem's attorney Robert McCabe said he is “fully confident that Officer Stem’s actions were immediately necessary and legally justified.”
Today, McCabe told us he will meet with Stem next week to discuss the termination and what step to take next.
Stem has been a police officer since August 2008. He previously worked for Bryan and Lott. Stem joined the Hearne Police Department in July 2012. Six months later, he shot and killed 28-year-old Tederalle Satchell who was shooting a gun from inside a vehicle in the parking lot of the Columbus Village Apartments. A Grand Jury did not indict Stem in that shooting.
The District Attorney’s Office tells News 3 it could take a couple of months for the Golden case to be presented to a grand jury.
There really is not any justification for calling the cops on your neighbor unless you want their pets killed, them harrassed, roughed up, dragged away in handcuffs or killed outright.
You do not call the cops for someone who needs help.
What if she was your mother? Arm chairing is easy, but then so is a shoot everything policy.
I've got $100 that says that the cop wouldn't have shot a family member of his under the exact same circumstances. The job comes with accepting a certain amount of risk, if you are going to 'protect and serve'.
So, going back to your "what if" question, you do eliminate the "what if someone would have gotten hurt?" question by killing the old woman. Do you see the issue with logic trap with that solution?
Underlying point being that there should be better methods for handling crazy people than euthanizing them.
Yep, I’m guessing that giving the woman her keys back (and disabling the car) would have been a quick fix.
A 93 year old woman or a 10 year old boy firing a gun is exactly the same threat as a 20 year old, 300 pound guy firing a gun.
I have no idea whether this particular shooting was righteous, but the age and sex of the shooter is irrelevant.
This is, BTW, one of the drawbacks of widely available firearms. With no gun involved, the age and sex of the person becomes very relevant and the situation could almost certainly have been defused without anybody being injured or killed.
Correct-I said that when this was initially posted-disconnect one of the battery cables, the accelerator, etc. I’ve only disconnected an accelerator once, but it was enough to stop my extremely inebriated first husband from driving when he could barely walk-when he gave up, I took the keys and hid them-no cops, no jailed or dead person, no fault or guilt on my part...
There was in a previous time. They were institutionalized but alas the left and PC crowd deemed that they “deserved” to live among us no matter their behavior or ramifications. A pill can fix everything, not.
As to your what if your mother question? If you know your mother and actually spend time with her more than once a year you would know what she is capable of or not. This officer was not facing his mother. Non-sequitor. He was answering a domestic disturbance call and facing a person with a weapon who was firing it. It is easy to say what you would do when you have days to analyze and form an opinion. The officer has seconds to make a decision. Unless you have been under fire those decisions are unknown until they happen.
If that is your answer, disband the police department. They are of no use to us.
Whatever happened to bean-bag shotguns? Yes, a couple of rounds sprayed around the nayborhood isn’t good, but where is the situation assessment process anymore?
I always thought the Officer was justified in this case. I was stunned that the Nephew called the cops. With senile or demented elderly you give her the car keys and wait for her to cycle into a different state of mind, or takes a nap. Then you take her pistol and keys then get her medical attention. Why on earth call the cops when crazy granny pulls a gun. Leave and come back later with food. She is like a 2 year old with a toy.
Why can’t people take care of their own without getting the State involved? The State and Law Enforcement should be the last option not the first option.
I think your $100 is safe, and you've also got the Thread Win.
Startled front desk personnel summoned the cops. When a lone officer arrived, he gave the man a proper military salute, addressing him as "Sir" and "Colonel." He told him he had been sent to assist the Colonel in securing the area and taking control of the situation. Returning the salute, the "Colonel" returned the weapon to his waistband.
From there it was just a matter of "tea and conversation" for a few minutes, while the Colonel agreed to a "weapons inspection" by the "Provost." Tragedy averted by sympathetic and well trained facility personnel who fully informed responders of the situation and its background, and a quick thinking young officer trained in the days prior to the militarization of U.S. law enforcement.
Excellent example of ‘to protect and to serve’.
Our military in combat has tighter ROE than our domestic police force.
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