Posted on 02/26/2008 11:06:45 AM PST by brwnsuga
RYAN FREDERICK is no hero, no matter what they're saying about him on the Internet.
He's the 28-year-old Chesapeake man being held in the Jan. 17 shooting death of Detective Jarrod Shivers.
Shivers, 34, was executing a drug search warrant at Frederick's residence the night he was killed. According to police, the eight-year police veteran was hit in the arm and chest by a shot fired from inside the house.
In a jailhouse interview, Frederick said he was in bed when the police came to his door about 8:30 p.m. Awakened by his barking dogs, Frederick said, he thought his house was being invaded. He didn't know the police were the cause of the commotion, he said.
Even so, it's troubling that a man charged with first-degree murder - for allegedly killing a cop, no less - has generated an ardent fan club. If you Google "Ryan Frederick" and "Jarrod Shivers," you'll get more than 1,000 hits and an eye-opening lesson in wild Internet rumor-mongering and misplaced hero worship.
From his jail cell, Frederick has somehow morphed from an accused cop killer into an innocent victim.
Supporters of Frederick staged a demonstration outside the jail on Saturday. Some protesters carried "Free Ryan" signs.
Oh, please. Ryan Frederick is right where he belongs - in jail. Until the matter is adjudicated, anyway. Even so, some are begging the system to spring him, fueled by the half-truths and outright lies spreading through cyberspace that portray Frederick as a "drug war victim."
Unfortunately, this uninformed rush to judgment isn't confined to the blogosphere.
When was the last time you heard a defense lawyer, in a highly publicized murder case, no less, say that he does not want a change of venue?
"No, no, he has too much support here," said Frederick's attorney, James Broccoletti, when asked if he'd like the trial moved.
If it's unfair to have a jury pool skewed toward conviction, it should also be unfair to have one awash in sympathizers.
We can all agree that this is a sad and troubling case, one that raises serious questions about Chesapeake police procedures. Yet it raises equally vexing questions about the duties and responsibilities of private citizens who choose to exercise their Second Amendment rights.
The tragic part of this story is not that this young man is behind bars. He'll have his day in court. The true tragedy is that a young woman has been widowed. Three children are fatherless. And Chesapeake lost a cop in the line of duty.
Since the shooting, there's been a lot of grumbling about Virginia's drug laws and efforts to enforce them.
If you believe marijuana should be legal, call your state legislator and demand that it be decriminalized. Don't blame the cops for enforcing Virginia's laws.
I don't know if Ryan Frederick is guilty of murder or of anything else. Neither do you. None of us has all the facts.
So here's a thought: What do you say we all hold our fire until the defendant goes on trial?
The way these guys sometimes talk off-duty I have to believe that these entries are, at least in part, recreational.
The hours I work mean that I am “in the sack” often at 2030 hours.
If they are no-knocking then they are not flashing lights until they are inside.
I have seen lots of rhetoric about how the police handled the situation, but I haven’t seen anything about the participation of the Judge who signed the Warrant with the specific no knock provision. Judges are supposed to insert independent, cool headed, examination of the Affidavit. They are to demand that the probable cause statements are sufficient and complete. They are to inquire if any exculpatory information exists. Before they authorize and order the execution of a no knock warrant, they are expected to rigorously examine the reasons that would justify unannounced entry. Still, something went terribly wrong and none of us were there to know the facts. We just bring our own bias to the results.
Yep, just look up Corey Maye to find out that this isn’t the first time.
If a cop dies, the ‘civilian’ must pay with his life (Maye was given the DEATH SENTENCE but that was commuted to life-—for defending his baby daughter in the middle of the night.)
Insult a cop dog, face animal cruelty charges. Act in a manner ‘not respectful’ of their authority and get tased or beaten on until you do. Perhaps stripped naked when YOU were the victim of a crime. Or dumped out of a wheelchair.
Depending how much coffee I have, if I was up late working on a project, weekend, weekday, working, vacation, etc I go to sleep at totally different times and for different durations.
Him being or not being in bed (asleep or not) is not only irrelevant but you cannot attempt to deduce anything from that fact.
NOt that I think we disagree on the larger issues here.
Indeed. The "can't let them flush the drugs" excuse is pretty lame IMO. There are ways of stopping the pipes either at the house, or down the street. If it is enough to flush, then it's not exactly a kingpin we're talking about here anyway. It's just another excuse for a bunh of thuggish wannabes to play soldier and maybe kill someone.
If anything, police are more routinely killed on traffic stops than serving warrants. Does that fact now mean police, can force people off the road in unmarked cars(or with one little siren that people can buy on the internet on the roof) and pull them out of their cars?
Of course not. I also find the excuse of ‘possible presence of firearms’ to be beyond dumb. It’s the USA. Other than a few liberal hellholes, what place in this country is it NOT POSSIBLE for law-abiding citizens to be armed (not that it ever stops criminals anyway) and how often do criminals get involved in firefights with police when they suspect there’s a police raid?
If anything, EVEN CROOKS would be more likely to open fire and hurt police, if but for the fact that the ‘surprise’ element means there’s an element of the unknown to them and they are aware that people pose as police to get at the drugs and money.
So it doesn’t even make sense if one applies the logic of the police.
Fixed that for you.
I haven't seen any reports that someone held a gun to his head and made the offcer invade this man's home.
Acually Kerry is a she. And married to a judge. A respectable citizen who is in no danger of being the subject of a no knock raid.
OTOH, this guy looks like a bad guy
Dittos.
I too feel for his family as I never feel good about a cop getting killed while doing his jib.
I do understand how this kind of thing happens.
I do not grow dope nor do I knowingly do anything illegal. But over the years I know I’ve made a few folks mad as hell at me and one could drop a coin and tell the cops a made up story.
Now I sleep with ear plugs as I am such a light sleeper and if someone broke down my door I’d probably come up with my new Kimber firing.
Thanks for posting the picture. Detective Shivers, by all accounts, was a nice guy, a good father and a good cop. And if you are local, you know that by all accounts the young man who shot him was a nice, quiet young man.
Thanks for posting the picture. Detective Shivers, by all accounts, was a nice guy, a good father and a good cop. And if you are local, you know that by all accounts the young man who shot him was a nice, quiet young man.
A note about the child pornographer who tries to delete his files: He can try to delete files or format his hard drive. It won’t do him any good. Deleted files can be recovered and formatted hard drives still have ALL their information on them. It can be recovered with special software.
We do it all the time.
LOL Who knows.
no knock raids are a danger to everyone thanks to the stupidity of some law enforcement officers, which knows no limits.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.