FBI agent describes Arundel shooting

Baltimore Sun ^ | May 29, 2003 | Gail Gibson

[Mrs Double Tap]

An FBI agent who mistakenly shot an unarmed Pasadena man in the face last year says in court papers that he believed the unwitting victim was a wanted bank robber who was reaching for a weapon when, "in a split-second decision," the agent fired "a single shot for his and his fellow officers' safety."

Special Agent Christopher R. Braga offered his first detailed account of the event in court papers made public yesterday as he and two other agents argued that a $10 million federal lawsuit brought by shooting victim Joseph C. Schultz lacks merit and should be dismissed.

[Travis McGee]

When trigger-happy machine-gun-armed plainclothed federal hit teams are roaming our cities, ready to blow your head off point blank for complying with the screamed order to unlock your car door, and they shoot you in the head for obeying that order,and they get away with it Scot-free, the day I foresee in Enemies Foreign And Domestic is not far off.

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[Travis McGee]

Move to Maine. We've got wives up here three or four guys can hide behind.

I don't doubt that, but the FBI would just shoot through them to get you.

[Badray]

"when i was younger and idolized the fbi,. . ."

Me too. I'm sure there are a few honorable agents left, but it seems mostly the FBI is inhabited and run by thugs. Most of the good guys are long gone or (almost as bad) keeping their mouths shut so that they get their pensions or not have a raid 'go bad' on them.

[RLK]

Schultz and Harkum also criticized agents for laughing in the backseat of a bureau car after the March 1, 2002, event, a moment captured by a local television station's camera.

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Uh, that kind of does it.

[RLK]

When I was much younger I idolized the FBI.

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When you were much younger the FBI was the FBI. Now it is something else.

[PhilDragoo]

"The law ... recognizes that not every investigation, nor every arrest, is perfect," Andrew C. White, a Baltimore attorney representing Braga, said in the records filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. "Under the circumstances, however, 20-20 hindsight and the observations of talented attorneys will not transform an honest mistake in the search for a violent felon into a viable" lawsuit.

An honest misunderstanding.

Easily brought to closure.

Line up Andrew C. White and his client Christopher P. Braga.

Scream at them to "unlock their door".

Shoot each in the face.

Call it even.

This sh!t happens all the time and all us precious special agents laugh our asses off when it does.

It's better than sex. Shooting innocent civilians Because We're FBI And They're Not.

Sue Braga for the fillings in his teeth and the laces in his shoes, his contact lenses, his extended family.

Until he's in a van without wheels down by the river reaching for the cat food can he got from the Rudolph dumpster.

[Teacher317]

You forget that the rules do not apply to government executive or enforcement persons in America. They are merely doing their duty, and a few dead Americans is a small price to pay for their expert "service".

[Teacher317]

Maybe I should add the sarcasm tag... looks like this thread requires them. ;^)

[sourcery]

You forget that the rules do not apply to government executive or enforcement persons in America. They are merely doing their duty, and a few dead Americans is a small price to pay for their expert "service".

There are far too many people (including judges) who view things exactly the way you describe. But this view is not morally justified--and I did not want to dignify it by explicitly referring to it. The principles of morality are the same for all persons--even government officials. That's the whole point behind the concecpt of the 'rule of law.' To have different rules for government and its officials violates the principle of the rule of law, and (by definition) establishes tyranny.

Maybe I should add the sarcasm tag... looks like this thread requires them. ;^)

I picked up on your sarcastic tone right away, actually. But it wouldn't surprise me if others failed to catch it.

[FreedomPoster]

>>But it wouldn't surprise me if others failed to catch it.

Hey, I got ripped the other day for questioning the methods of the TSA, and for questioning whether airline safety was really all that much better for the hassles, so it wouldn't surprise me to see folks on FR being unquestioning defenders of Federal LEO's. They're here.

[sourcery]

They're here.

Yes. But unlike many of them, I welcome the presence of those with whom I disagree. It's only by testing one's ideas against the opposition that they can be perfected and proven. And it's only by exposing the opposition to one's ideas than one can ever hope to change minds.

We shoulld all recognize that most people sincerely hold their beliefs. And it would serve no purpose to assume otherwise, since those who aren't sincere won't be convinced by anything we might have to say.

[FreedomPoster]

Agreed. And it does make it more necessary to close sarcasm tags, because it's easy for people to think a sarcastic statement is really serious. ;-)

[Travis McGee]

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[Unicorn]

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[Unicorn]

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