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At the end of the day, the only conclusion that one can draw from this incident is that it's basically open season on American citizens. There will be no accountability or justice here. We'll hear apologies and excuses, that's all. Some way will be found to demonize and blame the victim. It's just another signpost on the road to unintended consequences.

Unfortunately you are correct. The agent recieves sympathy because he has served the nation first in the Marine Corps and the as Federal Law Enforcement Agent. This sympathy results in no prosecution and he stays on the payroll when he committed such a mistake. He shot an innocent man who for obeying his orders. He did not show the proper care that he should have and a person was gravely injured. Keeping this agent on the Federal Payroll and not prosecuting him on criminal charges tells the public they may be randomly killed because tehy are wearing similar clothing and riding in a car similar to a suspect in a bank robbery. In a war between Federal Law Enforcement and the public everyone looses. That is the nature of such a war.

In the state of Connecticut we have a crime know as "Reckless Endangerment." A person is guilty of this crime when they commit an act of such grevious negligence that the public safety is endangered even though no one is killed. I am certain Maryland has a similar lazw on its books although I am flaging a Maryland counselor for verification. Christopher Braga may well be a good husband and father and have otherwise lived an exemplary life I do not know him but there are numerous other cases of individuals who have lived exemplary lives who wind up facing felony charges for far less. People go to jail for having a blood alcohol level over .10% and getting into an automobile accident. People go to jail for "negligently discharging firearms." Based upon the statements from Braga's attorney he intended to shoot this man. The negligence was in the failure to use the felony stop procedures to insure that the subject stopped was safely in a non threatening position prior to verifying his identity as the person sought or an innocent bystander. There may also be necessary charges if he and the other agents delayed calling Paramedics for any time longer than necessary to insure the suspect and the woman were under control. Being a generous person that means three minutes maximum. Given four FBI agents present one minute should have been more than enough.

Now some have stated that former military personnel should not be police officers that to me is not something i sign on to most former military do not have such a huge adaptation to a police role. In short that is neither an excuse or explanation for this incident.

The agent should have been behind cover ordering the young man out of the car. He should not have fired until he saw a weapon in the young man's hand. In prior stories it was clearly stated that he was beside the car at close range when he fired.

An attorney for Schultz's family said afterward that Schultz was shot while reaching to unfasten his seat belt after being ordered out of the Pontiac Grand Am driven by Krissy Harkum, 16, also of Pasadena. . But the attorney, Joseph C. Asesnio of Glen Burnie, said yesterday that Schultz might only have reached for the door to comply with the agent's order.

If the above is true and at this point I have no reason to believe otherwise to me the agent will be facing conviction. Prosecutorial discretion should not be used in this case as the consequence of distrust of Federal Law enforcement is so great a harm to this nation that anything other than a full prosecution of the agent is a crime in and of itself. The one situation which can not be allowed is for this agent to retain Federal Law Enforcemnt powers after this abuse of those powers. However, IMHO we shall see the agent quietly restored to clerical duty perhaps at another facility. The young amn and his girlfriend will recieve substantial payments in settlement of the civil injury and the next time it happens it will degrade the state of the nation even further until the already weakened bonds that hold us together civily break under the strain.

Maybe in a hundred years Christopher Braga will be as infamous as Banisteer Tarleton is or maybe as well know as Dred Scott. This could well be the case that decides the issue of resitance to Federal authority for some people. it may well affect some FBI agents who have seen their once proud agency slip ever downward into a morass of incopmetence, political corruption, and pandering to political correctness. This is exacerbated by the fact that at this time we are in a "War on Terrorism." The FBI will be expanding and taking on new missions. an influx of trainees will merely add more problems to an already troubled agency. were the majority of the new recruits good state and local officers who merely moved up the ladder to the Federal Agency then the levening of their experience might well make up for the expected downturn in quality of job performance but what we are dacing is the worst of all possible outcomes.

Stay well - stay safe - stay armed - Yorktown

Well the victim here is a member of a known right wing paramilitary homophobic organization, so he most likely deserved it.

Anyway, there's a good possibility that he would have turned into one of those nutty militia types.

You just can't trust those Eagle Scouts....

L