Milton Smith, 44, a patrol officer in the 46th Precinct in the Bronx, was arrested after officers saw him buying marijuana...Admittedly, the first shouldn't be a crime, but if Smith caught you with pot, what do you think he would have done? I also can't judge the second incident, because we all know how a vengeful ex can ruin your life, but again, should the call have been made against one of us, Bharat would have unquestioningly slapped on the cuffs. As for Officer Malave, those carpet guys are just lucky they didn't lift a finger against him.
Roberto Bharat, 28, an officer in the 103rd Precinct in Queens, was arrested and charged with assault after he allegedly slapped his girlfriend...
Officer Malave and two carpet delivery men exchanged words, and the officer lifted his shirt to show them his gun...
[Thanks to declan]
[More from "The Only Ones" files...]
I will begin this post by saying that your facts are all wrong on the story concerning Officer Andrew Pagel. It was a different officer who was about to ride the mechanical bull and asked Andrew to hold the gun for him. Both officers were part of an off-duty group who met for a sandwich at a local pub. Andrew left his gun locked away in his pick-up. The other officer returned from riding the bull and Andrew attempted to hand his gun to him. It was in a concealed holster in Andrew's boot. The holster snagged on Andrew's boot as he reached to secure the gun, which discharged, hitting Andrew in the leg. (not the foot.)
ReplyDeleteAfter an internal investigation, the Police Department found that Andrew used good judgment for offering to hold the gun as his fellow officer rode the mechanical bull. As the gun was fumbled while handing it back to the other off-duty officer, Andrew acted properly, seeking to secure the gun.
I am Andrew's father and I believe that I have all of the facts correct. Will you change your post and report the truth? I realize that the truth is not as sensational as the inaccurate version.
Thank you,
Cecil Pagel
First of all, you're posting this to the wrong story.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I don't see anything I said that needed correction. I've handed guns to people untold times in my life and never come close to a negligent discharge, which is what this was regardless of any other factors you cite.
I'm unmoved by your "the holster snagged" excuse--it is the human operator who is responsible for proper hosltering, unholstering and gun handling.
If my holster snagged and resulted in a negligent discharge in a public place, particulalry one that serves alcohol, Andrew and those who gave him a pass would be the first ones to arrest me for it.
Here's my correction.
ReplyDeleteThe part you objected to about who rode the bull was a direct quote from the original news story--they have since changed their text. I have no problem revising that, nor substituting "leg" for "foot."
But you're missing the point--regardless of any department whitewashing about Andrew's "good judgment," he committed a profoundly dangerous and negligent act. His negligent discharge is the only reason this was a news story--and had a civilian done it, that civilian would have faced charges--not been given an elitist pass.
As for being more interested in sensationalism than the truth, if your blind defense of your son's negligence makes you want to delude yourself into believing that, I really don't give a damn.