City Manager Bob Wade said rumors of overeager Noble officers are inaccurate. "I was told that they tried several ways to get the snake down, but it was still hissing at them and firmly lodged,” Wade said. "What I was told is that the owner of the home either suggested or agreed that they should go ahead and shoot the snake, and then everything happened from there.”
Wade refused to identify the officer suspected of firing the shots but said the officer has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agents were told that officers decided to shoot the animal after being told there was a field behind them, said Jessica Brown, bureau spokeswoman. [More]
Excuse-making mouthpiece Wade would have done better saying nothing than trying to blame the homeowner for his officer's appalling lack of judgment--as if anyone but the operator is responsible for firing a gun. Ditto for Brown, who indicates telling a cop there's "a field behind them" somehow excuses firing a gun when what's behind the target and in the bullet's path hasn't been determined.
This story is just so appalling on so many levels.
First of all, assuming the Noble "Only Ones" couldn't use a rake handle or a shotgun or snake shot in their handguns, it doesn't seem unreasonable to ask why this wasn't a job for animal control--particularly since they're in the same building as the Noble PD.
And then we have the matter of refusing to release the name--that seems to be a recurring theme--unless "authorized journalists" covering the story are getting their ox gored.
Ironic thing about Noble. They appear to be murder-free.
Until now. And you can bet this will be added to Oklahoma's "child gun deaths" statistics and used as further "justification" against private gun ownership.
One other thing stands out in light of a post from yesterday:
The first shot was so loud it made the hair stand straight up on Jack Tracy's arm.That's understandable. Now compare that to what "stands the hair up" on an "Only One."
[Via HZ. Additional link provided by Mike S]
This is absolutely appalling! Not only is a little boy dead from negligent gunfire from a cop who (a) should know better, and (b) won't see a lick of punishment. If this had been Joe Bob Redneck, he would have been arrested on charges of negligent homicide at the very least!
ReplyDeleteDid you see the last paragraph of the story? Can't believe the press actually published something like this:
ReplyDelete"I'm not saying the cop shot him on purpose," Tracy said. "It was an accident. But let me tell you — if I had a kid and put him in this car and didn't put him in a car seat and he got killed on the way to town, they'd charge me with murder ... and what this cop did is a lot worse than that. ... There was no reason for him to kill my grandson."
Who among us is so ignorant that they feel the need to kill every snake they see anyway? What danger is there from a non-poisonous snake in a tree? (I'd bet money on it being a black rat snake) So, acting out of ignorance, they then magnified that with negligence and killed a child. This was avoidable at every step of the way.
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of cop doesn't understand how to use a firearm? If the cop had used any kind of sense they would've waited to see if the snake would come down. What was the snake hurting at the time that they felt like they had to shoot it out of the tree. And anyone who knows anything about guns knows you don't fire a handgun or rifle into the air, especially if you don't know your surroundings. If the police officer had used a shotgun, which they all carry in their vehicles, this trajedy may have been avoided.
ReplyDeleteThis is by far the most revolting "only one" posting I have seen. To call it a tragic accident is a callous attempt to cover up a blatant crime by an inept and cowardly police officer, can you believe the officers never mentioned to the boy's grandfather that they had fired the shots when they emerged from the woods to view their appalling handy work. My God, where do they find these lowlifes?
ReplyDeleteThis is what happens when you get Barney Fife more than 1 bullet.
ReplyDeleteMarkie Marxist sez: "Unfortunately, this isn't consistent with banning privately owned guns. If it was a CCW holder, we could use it, but since it was one of our government agents, it doesn't fit our agenda, so our friends in the media will just have to sweep it under the rug where it belongs. Too bad it wasn't a CCW holder. We could gotten some real mileage out of a 5-year old. Televised the funeral, had the parents on Oprah and Larry King and everything. I can just hear Larry now, 'Are you angry with the NRA for what happened to your son? No Larry, we're forgiving people, but we do think that they are in large part responsible for this tragedy.' It would have been sweet."
ReplyDelete