Saturday, November 22, 2014

Officer Down - Tallahassee Cop Fatally Shot Responding To A House Fire

Cops get bum raps all too often that are based upon the actions of the bad apples in the barrel. Yep, there are a lot of bad, corrupt cops and even some purely evil ones but there are probably many more good cops out there than bad. Those who actually remember that their job is to serve the public.
 
A fine example of cops like that, those who remember it is their chosen profession to serve us, are the officers (and firemen) who responded to a house fire in Tallahassee, FL today. They did not respond to shoot any dogs, they did not respond to beat someone up, they did not respond to steal anything or to accept a bribe, they did not respond to violate anyone's rights, they apparently did not respond in military garb with military weaponry. They were on duty and were performing that duty with pride, integrity and guts while trying to save lives if necessary. At least one who lived nearby to the burning home and who was apparently off duty also responded.
 
When the first on duty officer arrived he was fatally shot down in cold blood, allegedly by the owner of the burning home. The guy then allegedly picks up the officer's firearm, reportedly walks down the block and shoots another on duty officer with the first officers gun (that officer was wounded but his body armor protected him from death or a serious injury). By that point fire engines that had responded were backing away hurriedly.
 
Sometime after the officers were shot, the gunman was shot and killed by whom I am imagining was an off duty officer based on what was reported in a Fox News article. According to that article: "The gunman, who was not immediately identified, was shot to death by a Tallahassee police officer who lived nearby. The officer heard the initial shooting, grabbed his gun and ran toward the house..."

I am guessing that since it was a Saturday that maybe the off duty officer had to drop a paint brush, or the sponge with which he was washing his car, or the tongs with which he was turning some hotdogs on the grill, or the beer he had been about to enjoy, or the baseball bat he was using to hit a few balls to his son as he too responded. Even though he was responding for a the same reason as the on duty officers - to save lives -  he had heard the shots and knew he was running into a shootout and was not responding to a 911 call about a house fire. Think about that before the next time you condemn all cops - yep, many of them truly are the good guys.
 
The whole thing seems as if it must have been a preplanned ambush designed to target the cops and maybe was also a suicide by cop. Whatever it was and however it unfolded, to me it seems the work of a madman or maybe even a terrorist.
 
My condolences go out to the family, loved ones and friends of the fallen officer.
 
My congratulations for a job well done go to the apparent off duty officer who responded to and ended the rampage.
 
All the best,
Glenn B

Recoil...

...can have wonderful effects. 
 
 





All the best,
Glenn B

Joe Biden Was Kind Of Right About Women & Shotguns

 
All the best,
GB

"Criminals Are Made, Not Born" - The Deadliest School Killing In U.S. History

It was not Columbine with 13 dead, it was not Sandy Hook at 27 dead nor was it even Virginia Tech with 32 dead although that may be the record high fatalities for school shootings (source of those numbers).

Nope, the deadliest school massacre in the USA took place way back in 1927 in Bath Township, Michigan. On May 8, 1927, Andrew Kehoe detonated dynamite and pyrotol in the Bath Consolidated School that killed 38 (36 children and two teachers). He then detonated another explosion in his truck, in which he was parked near the school, killing another 5 people including himself. Prior to that he had destroyed his house and farm buildings killing two horses while at it. Prior to all that carnage he also had killed his wife. The death toll was yet increased, about three months later, when another child died as a result of injuries from the blast.

The death toll of his rampage was: Mrs. Kehoe his wife - 1, children and teachers who died that day in the school - 38, other innocents who were killed when Kehoe detonated the explosives in his truck - 4, Kehoe himself when the truck went up - 1, and another child who died later as a result of injuries sustained in the school bombing - 1. So the total of those actually killed due to the actual school bombing alone was 39 and the total number of victims killed in all by Kehoe was 44, add to that Kehoe himself and the overall death toll was 45.

I imagine you could argue that Kehoe killed 44 people at the school since when he detonated the explosives in his truck he was outside the school at the scene of that crime. If you want to be a purest and consider only those who were killed that had been inside the school, then counting only those 39 killed as a result of the school bombing alone - it is still the worst school massacre in U.S. history.

To read more about it and to learn about the quote in the title of this post, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_School_bombings

All the best,
Glenn B
 

No Hunting Today

I was going to head upstate to get in some deer and maybe some bear hunting but that's not about to happen with the gout gouging away at my big toe. It's gotten a lot better since last night but is still very painful especially with each step I take. If I get lucky, maybe I can go tomorrow. I figure I'll know by late this afternoon if it seems like it is getting well enough for me to head up north maybe as early as tonight. That way I will be able to get in a full day afield tomorrow.

All the best,
Glenn B