Police shoot, kill man

Press Enterprise (Bloomsburg, PA) ^ | 8/22/2003 | Susan Schwartz

[Born Conservative]

MOCANAQUA — State police shot and killed a man who was swinging a garden rake at them while his horrified wife or girlfriend and neighbors watched, witnesses said.

Life Flight was called to help the man neighbors identified as Edward Vega, of 121 Italy St., after he was shot in the chest around 6 p.m. But the Life Flight doctor declared him dead, and the helicopter took off without him, said Dr. George Hudock Jr., county coroner.

A pool of blood and the garden rake remained in the middle of the road. State police strung crime-scene tape to block the street. A forensics team arrived on the scene, and a trooper began interviewing neighbors. The road was still closed off at 9:30 p.m.

It's unclear how the incident began. Channel 28 reported that state police said Vega and a woman who lived in the house with him had been fighting. The woman reportedly called police and said Vega was violating a protection from abuse order.

Neighbors, who said they feared to give their names or get involved, said they came out of their homes to see the man they knew as Ed in the roadway swinging tree branches at two state troopers.

They said Ed backed away toward his detached garage, where he dropped the branches, grabbed the metal rake and began swinging that at the officers.

That's when one trooper, about three steps away from the raging man, fired the shot, the neighbors said.

The man's wife or girlfriend ran into the street, crying and covering him with kisses, they said.

Neighbors recall friendly man

Neighbors said the couple had four children, with a fifth on the way.

Some neighbors said they had seen police cars at the house before.

But several said they were shocked by the shooting.

One weeping woman was gently escorted away by a trooper. Other stunned neighbors watched the troopers from their porches or the sidewalk.

Johnny Cielli, 81, of 102 Italy St., said the man he knew only as Ed and his family had moved into the neat white house with red trim just a few months ago.

Ed was a small man, weighing only 130 to 140 pounds, he said. Cielli used to walk by his house every day.

"I'd see him, and he'd always say 'Hi,'" Cielli said. "He had a little dog, and he'd tell me, 'Don't worry about the dog. He won't bite you.'"

Annette Knorowski, 56, of 126 Pond Hill Road, stared when she saw the police tape and heard what had happened.

"Oh my God, he was such a nice guy," she said.

She said she baby-sat two children in a house just down the street from Ed's home.

She would walk by his house while she took the youngest girl out in her carriage.

Ed always smiled and talked to her, she said.

Sometimes, he would walk with her on his way to do gardening work around the town.

"He told me it was a nice town, that everyone kept the street so nice and clean, that the people were so friendly," she said.

He was always busy, doing yard work for people, she said.

Another time, he stopped by the house where she worked and dropped off some flyers advertising a new house cleaning service he and his wife were offering, he said.

"He was a hard worker," she said. "He was always going someplace to do something for somebody.

"If he just had a rake, they shouldn't have shot him," she said.

State troopers said they would not release a statement about the shooting until their investigation was completed.

Hudock said he would be conducting an autopsy this morning at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital.

[TC Rider]

They said Ed backed away toward his detached garage, where he dropped the branches, grabbed the metal rake and began swinging that at the officers.

Ed was retreating and the cops had no reason to feel threatened, he did not deserve to be shot. Whatever happened to talking them down?

[Erik Latranyi]

"What kind of pu$$y cop nails a dude swinging a rake??? Cop should be fired and put in jail for 5 years"

It is easy to have a big mouth until your life is put on the line with idiots who have a violent past.

[ampat]

You can't shoot an armed suspect in the back if he is running away, but you can shoot a man with a rake. Where are the existing non-lethal weapons, like bean bags, and pepper spray?

[Porterville]

Oh, but cool aide drinkers believe the "king can do no wrong" that is why folks are being dragged out of that court house in Alabama, to many no judges and no cops could never be wrong or be going straight to hell... but then I think of old Ruthy and O'connor and realize we are screwed.

[Erik Latranyi]

"They said Ed backed away toward his detached garage, where he dropped the branches, grabbed the metal rake and began swinging that at the officers."

Backed away, grabbed a rake, came out swinging.

Doesn't sound like he was retreating!

Can you read?

[Porterville]

It's easy to not know what it like to have knives and guns pulled out on you also.. but I never shot anyone... I certainly never shot anyone with a rake... my brothers a cop, he isn't a pu$$y like this guy...

[Erik Latranyi]

"You can't shoot an armed suspect in the back if he is running away, but you can shoot a man with a rake. Where are the existing non-lethal weapons, like bean bags, and pepper spray? "

Local police do not have bean bags. Only big-city, liberal police departments invest in non-lethal weapons.

[SauronOfMordor]

I'm only 5'4" but I can kill with a rake if I choose to. Very sharp, pointy things and if I can get inside someone's defense zone, I can do some nice damage.

There were two officers against one small guy, and a rake is a rather clumsy weapon. If I have a police baton and a partner, I could block your rake swing with the baton while my partner gets inside YOUR defense zone and whacks you a few with HIS baton.

Two against one, this was not an appropriate use of deadly force

[toomuchcoffee]

""I would have at most shot him in the arm. ""

Yeah yeah, and then the ambulance would haul your shredded, punctured body off to the hospital, while what was left of your consciousness could applaud your niceness. Spare me.

[Stew Padasso]

"Where are the existing non-lethal weapons, like bean bags, and pepper spray?"

Some LEOs cannot be trusted with those either:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/967362/posts

Oops, Wrong Weapon - Bullets Instead of Shock

When a Madera, Calif., police officer drew her handgun instead of a nonlethal Taser and killed a suspect last year, it wasn't the first time law enforcement had mistakenly fired bullets instead of an electronic charge.

Twice before - in April 2001 in Sacramento, Calif., and September 2002 in Rochester, Minn. - officers had drawn guns instead of the Taser device and wounded suspects.

As a result, the city of Madera and police officer Marcy Noriega have filed a lawsuit against Taser International Inc., manufacturer of the electronic device, and blame the company's training procedures for part of the problem.

Noriega shot Everardo Torres, 24, on Oct. 27, 2002, as he sat handcuffed in the back of a police cruiser. Noriega told investigators she intended to stun Torres with her Taser because he had been kicking at the car's window, but she accidentally drew and fired her service weapon.

[LibWhacker]

In the interest of fairness, and since the pro-jackbooted thug element here insists on only showing you one type of rake -- which they think helps their argument -- here's another type of rake that Vega may have picked up. We just don't know yet:

It'd be kind of like getting hit in the face with a broom -- if you were dumb enough to just stand still and let the guy hit you with it. Veeeeeeery life-threatening.

[Porterville]

Have you ever been in a dangerous situation??? You think violent and deadly force is necessary in a case like this??? Do you run over poddles who run after your car when driving to work???

If I ever apply for a job with your company, will you make sure and disclose that "throw down the hammmer" nature in you management skills.

[Erik Latranyi]

"Oh, but cool aide drinkers believe the "king can do no wrong" that is why folks are being dragged out of that court house in Alabama, to many no judges and no cops could never be wrong or be going straight to hell... but then I think of old Ruthy and O'connor and realize we are screwed. "

Did I ever say that they can do no wrong? No. Do not put words in my mouth.

This violent, loser, jerk beat his wife up several times in the past. Even when she was pregnant. She had a restraining order against him.

Do you want to defend this guy with your ignorant remarks?

[Dead Corpse]

Ah yes, just keep trying to draw a specious line between self governing individuals and socialist anarchists.

Looks like you need some more coffee... a LOT more coffee.

[TC Rider]

"They said Ed backed away toward his detached garage, where he dropped the branches, grabbed the metal rake and began swinging that at the officers."

Backed away, grabbed a rake, came out swinging.

Doesn't sound like he was retreating!

Can you read?

I read fine, thank you. Which part of backed away don't you understand?

Where does it say came out swinging in the original story? Nice embellishment, joker.

The cops had to be advancing on him, if we accept the story before us. Thus, the distance to Ed was irrelevant, they were putting themselves in range of the deadly rake.

[toomuchcoffee]

""They said Ed backed away toward his detached garage, where he dropped the branches, grabbed the metal rake and began swinging that at the officers. ""

Drop the rake Ed. C'mon Ed, I needed that nose. Please Ed, drop the rake. Darn! Now my arm is all bleeding, and it's messing up my uniform. This isn't nice, Ed. Pleeease, drop the rake OW OW OW..

[Porterville]

Should he have been shot??

[Erik Latranyi]

"Have you ever been in a dangerous situation??? You think violent and deadly force is necessary in a case like this???"

Yes, I think deadly force was justified in this case. This man had a violent past, was acting violently, and gave the officer little time to respond.

Keep defending criminals.

[Erik Latranyi]

"Should he have been shot?? "


Yes. He gave the police officer no time to respond in any other way than to defend his life with his sidearm.