All the best,
Glenn B
Saturday, April 9, 2016
Justifiabe Firearms Arrest Or Not?
I think not but I will leave it to my readers (and if it comes to it to a judge and or jury). I encourage you to chime in with your comments to what your think happened. I, for one, would love to see the reactions of both LEOs (current and retired) and non-LEOs to this arrest but please if you do reply do it respectfully.
An off duty Houston PD officer claims a man pointed a gun at him twice while in a gas station and arrested the guy at gunpoint. The guy claimed his gun fell out of the side panel of his vehicle as he rushed out of the vehicle to go to the rest room. Sounds like a pretty lame story, on the guy's part, doesn't it!
It seems that there may be evidence that the officer was the only one violating rules or regulations. What it says near the end of the article makes me wonder if anything else, other than the guys gun, influenced the officer to make that arrest. Well, watch the video at the below link. THEN and ONLY THEN, read the accompanying article.
http://www.khou.com/news/local/man-claims-he-was-wrongfully-arrested-for-pointing-gun-at-off-duty-officer/126858009
I watched the video about 20 times, and froze it almost as often at the point where the guy's right hand moves over the steering wheel as he exits he vehicle. I did that mostly to look at the 'suspect's" right hand to see if it was holding a gun. I cannot see a gun in that hand. The door latch was evidently in his other hand. Thus I did not see any chance for the 'suspect' to have pointed his gun at the officer once as he exited his vehicle, let alone that he got out of the car holding it and pointing it at the officer, then dropped it, then picked it and again pointed it at the officer (as the article says is claimed in court documents). To me, it sure looks like what the 'suspect' said happened is what really happened. What do you think?
On the other side, maybe the cop actually saw it or maybe he truly believes he saw it that way after the fact of it really having been otherwise. What I mean is that maybe he did not see the gun pointing at him but as the guy picked it up the officer's mind played a trick on him. It happens, and in the current state of affairs with all the anti-cop sentiment in this country (real or imagined), maybe he saw it that way. Of course, it could be he is just rabidly anti-gun for non-law enforcement and lying his arse off - who can tell. A video from another angle might show that when the guy picked it up, it was pointed at the officer but the video we can watch, at the provided link, sure does not seem to support the claim. The claim reportedly was that the guy pointed a gun at the officer as the guy got out of his vehicle, then dropped it, then picked it up, then pointed it at the officer again. Once more, I just don't see that in the video. So, is there anything else, even something possibly just hinted at in the report, something that possibly could have influenced what the officer saw?
I have to wonder about the actions of the officer right before the incident since he reportedly was shown, in the store video, buying beer just before it happened. I don't think they meant root beer. If buying beer is it also it possible he had also drinking before the incident? It certainly would be something for the PD, if truly being objective, to look into. Had he been drinking before the incident it could put this in a whole new light.
Regardless of whether he was drinking or not, what goes against the officer, besides the video and the statement of the guy who was arrested, is the reported violation of departmental policy/regulation for buying beer while in uniform. If he can violate one regulation, as was reported, then why not another. This possibly will all be brought to the jury's attention, if it goes to trial, in the form of a rebuttal to any testimony by the officer or as a way to discredit the officer's integrity. I will guess that, in the absence of any other video evidence or witnesses, if this goes to trial by jury, the 'suspect' will be exonerated of an assault charge or any lessor charge related to pointing a gun at the officer.
Of course, if the 'suspect' has prior conviction and lied on his permit application that will go against him and his integrity; however, that already seems to have been addressed in as much as it was reported that those charges had been dismissed. Then again, that is giving a lot of credit both to the media and to the defense attorney. I mean, when have attorney's or the media ever gotten it wrong, right!
However it winds up, it goes to show you need to really give some thought to where your gun is located, why it is there and if it could be better positioned. It may also well go to show that if you are a LEO, you really need to be sure of your probable cause before making an arrest and before swearing to it in court or on an affidavit and you had best follow departmental policy instead of being seen violating it immediately prior to an arrest.
All the best,
Glenn B
An off duty Houston PD officer claims a man pointed a gun at him twice while in a gas station and arrested the guy at gunpoint. The guy claimed his gun fell out of the side panel of his vehicle as he rushed out of the vehicle to go to the rest room. Sounds like a pretty lame story, on the guy's part, doesn't it!
It seems that there may be evidence that the officer was the only one violating rules or regulations. What it says near the end of the article makes me wonder if anything else, other than the guys gun, influenced the officer to make that arrest. Well, watch the video at the below link. THEN and ONLY THEN, read the accompanying article.
http://www.khou.com/news/local/man-claims-he-was-wrongfully-arrested-for-pointing-gun-at-off-duty-officer/126858009
I watched the video about 20 times, and froze it almost as often at the point where the guy's right hand moves over the steering wheel as he exits he vehicle. I did that mostly to look at the 'suspect's" right hand to see if it was holding a gun. I cannot see a gun in that hand. The door latch was evidently in his other hand. Thus I did not see any chance for the 'suspect' to have pointed his gun at the officer once as he exited his vehicle, let alone that he got out of the car holding it and pointing it at the officer, then dropped it, then picked it and again pointed it at the officer (as the article says is claimed in court documents). To me, it sure looks like what the 'suspect' said happened is what really happened. What do you think?
On the other side, maybe the cop actually saw it or maybe he truly believes he saw it that way after the fact of it really having been otherwise. What I mean is that maybe he did not see the gun pointing at him but as the guy picked it up the officer's mind played a trick on him. It happens, and in the current state of affairs with all the anti-cop sentiment in this country (real or imagined), maybe he saw it that way. Of course, it could be he is just rabidly anti-gun for non-law enforcement and lying his arse off - who can tell. A video from another angle might show that when the guy picked it up, it was pointed at the officer but the video we can watch, at the provided link, sure does not seem to support the claim. The claim reportedly was that the guy pointed a gun at the officer as the guy got out of his vehicle, then dropped it, then picked it up, then pointed it at the officer again. Once more, I just don't see that in the video. So, is there anything else, even something possibly just hinted at in the report, something that possibly could have influenced what the officer saw?
I have to wonder about the actions of the officer right before the incident since he reportedly was shown, in the store video, buying beer just before it happened. I don't think they meant root beer. If buying beer is it also it possible he had also drinking before the incident? It certainly would be something for the PD, if truly being objective, to look into. Had he been drinking before the incident it could put this in a whole new light.
Regardless of whether he was drinking or not, what goes against the officer, besides the video and the statement of the guy who was arrested, is the reported violation of departmental policy/regulation for buying beer while in uniform. If he can violate one regulation, as was reported, then why not another. This possibly will all be brought to the jury's attention, if it goes to trial, in the form of a rebuttal to any testimony by the officer or as a way to discredit the officer's integrity. I will guess that, in the absence of any other video evidence or witnesses, if this goes to trial by jury, the 'suspect' will be exonerated of an assault charge or any lessor charge related to pointing a gun at the officer.
Of course, if the 'suspect' has prior conviction and lied on his permit application that will go against him and his integrity; however, that already seems to have been addressed in as much as it was reported that those charges had been dismissed. Then again, that is giving a lot of credit both to the media and to the defense attorney. I mean, when have attorney's or the media ever gotten it wrong, right!
However it winds up, it goes to show you need to really give some thought to where your gun is located, why it is there and if it could be better positioned. It may also well go to show that if you are a LEO, you really need to be sure of your probable cause before making an arrest and before swearing to it in court or on an affidavit and you had best follow departmental policy instead of being seen violating it immediately prior to an arrest.
All the best,
Glenn B
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