Police shoot, kill man

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

[DainBramage]

Thanks for the link. They did try non lethal means at first(mace and batons), then shot him after he had already struck them once and continued to swing a metal rake at their heads.

[Bon mots]

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:

Hah! It was justified, and it was a STEEL GRAVEL RAKE as I posted and not a light little leaf rake like in the photograph you posted.

One of the officers was hit in the arm while blocking his head which resulted in an injury that required a visit to the hospital.

See this post.

Witnesses indicated that Vega was swinging a heavy metal rake "wildly" and "violently" at the troopers' heads, with the prongs pointed toward them, said Lupas. Vega hit Tpr. Stanley Betkoski in the arm, injuring him, Lupas said.

One witness said Vega was obviously trying to "do damage" to the trooper, Lupas added.

Betkoski was later treated at Berwick Hospital Center for his wounds and released.

The veteran troopers tried using mace and batons to subdue and arrest Vega, but they didn't work, said Lupas.

DA's findings
Here's what Lupas said his investigation found:

When the two troopers responded to Vega's residence for an alleged assault and a reported protection from abuse order violation, they tried to arrest him. Vega became combative and fought them.

Vega ran, picked up a tree branch, and attempted to hit the troopers with it.

Vega did not obey orders to stop. Officers tried to use mace and batons, but they were ineffective.

Vega then grabbed the metal gravel rake and swung it wildly at the troopers' heads, hitting Betkoski in the arm.

Bat then drew his weapon and commanded Vega a number of times to drop the rake.

When Vega refused and tried to hit Betkoski again, Bat fired one shot, hitting Vega in the upper torso. That was about 20 minutes after the troopers arrived at the home. Bat was eight to 10 feet away from Vega on Italy Street when he fired the shot.

[Bon mots]

So, to reiterate my post on the other thread,
...there is a lesson in this.
          NO                       YES


NEVER bring a rake to a gunfight.

[1rudeboy]

I agree. And go even one step farther. Chicago cops can't carry nightsticks because of liability concerns, thereby increasing the liklihood of accidental shootings. Thanks, Mayor Daley.

[TC Rider]

No decent person would swing a rake at a police officer. Where do you get off thinking you have the right to hit a police officer and not suffer any consequences?

Indecent people deserve to die?

Hit a cop, take a bullet? Consequences indeed, what happened to doing time for 'assualt on a cop'?

Why do I think you are a huge fan of "Judge Dredd"?

[LibWhacker]

LOL . . . okay, thanks, it's definitely looking better for the officers, imo. :-)

It's not something cops should take lightly, that's for sure. One of those puppies weighs 4 or 5 pounds and can do a lot of damage. Here's another picture of a gravel rake I found on the web:

Three long knives on a pole . . . About as deadly as you can get without having a gun in your hands.

The lesson I take from this is that in the future I should be a little less hasty in questioning the motives of police officers -- who I generally love as a group -- based on initial newspaper accounts of an incident.

Therefore, I shall make no comment concerning today's big cop story involving the shooting death of an unarmed man who threatened a police dog with a ___________ [shower shoe/sandal/sword/hand grenade?]

It's just too early to pass judgement.

Seriously, thanks for the update. Sorry I didn't acknowledge it; I just noticed it today.