Cop shoots at snake, kills 5 year old boy

Originally posted by intrepid
They should have used a shotgun. Minimum rage and large pattern = 1 dead snake and 1 live boy.

I agree, Why? the police used the service revolver for a none threatening situation causing the death of a child.

He will lose his job and will be charge. No doubt about it.

He should have used a shotgun instead.

My neighbor across the street a police officer lost his job after using his service revolver to stop another neighbor pitbull from entering his house, he didn't even kill the dog, but because he used his service revolver to fire shots considered none threatening situation he lost his job.

In this instance even if it was an accident the life of two persons were put in danger and one die.

Bad situation for the police man.

It really does not matter if the cop was a nice guy and it was an accident he has to pay just like everybody else...You think if a civilian did the same thing they wouldnt have him or her in custody.They would trie to throw the book at that person...The cop will probably get off with a smack on the wrist cause you know they are higher forms of human beings..This guy took a childs life plain and simple,he pulled the trigger before he thought about the repercussions... FIRE him now before he does something stupid again...never let him have a gun again cause he is a dope.

The Cop is guilty of making a stupid mistake that took the life of a young boy. He should be tried and punished, imo. That was defimately an illegal discharge of a firearm.

Exactly my thoughts when I read this one. Did he actually "get" the snake?
And whats even the reason to kill the damn animal? Just remove it.
I guess its too easy to take the gun. Why didnt he taser the poor animal? Or give it a good taste of that pepperspray? Enything but the gun!! For gods sake!!

[edit on 6-8-2007 by finallianstallion]

[edit on 6-8-2007 by finallianstallion]

I'm no lawyer but it seems that this cop is at least guilty of Involuntary manslaughter.

Involuntary manslaughter, sometimes called criminally negligent homicide in the United States, Gross negligence manslaughter in the UK or culpable homicide in Scotland, occurs where there is no intention to kill or cause serious injury but death is due to recklessness or criminal negligence.

This also happened in Noble Oklahoma. I am guessing that Noble is a small town. I grew up in a small Ohio town and I understand the feeling in those towns that you can basically shoot at anything and it will be okay. There were times when I would see people open their front doors to shoot at a ground hog.

It is really a horrible tragedy all the way around and it will, I'm sure, be devastating in a small town.


[edit on 6-8-2007 by zerotime]

Originally posted by Valhall

the man absolutely must be convicted of a felony offense in order to prevent him ever legally owning a gun again.

Because no one this stupid and dangerously moronic ever ever ever needs to have the right to possess a firearm ever ever ever again.

Ditto!!!

Officers should be and are held to a higher standard. Being sure of your backdrop before pulling a trigger was taught to me in Hunters Safety when I was 11 and earlier than that by my Father. Once again, proof its the user not the tool that are to blame.

I'll have to agree about the odd fear of snakes. In fact I'll bet it was more of a pissing contest to see who could hit the snake first.

Originally posted by Blaine91555
In fact I'll bet it was more of a pissing contest to see who could hit the snake first.

Good God, I think I might agree with you, Blaine.

We know that two shots were fired, but we don't know if they were shot from the same weapon.

As ugly and tragic as this incident is for all involved, jeeze I hope it wasn't that ugly.

But I can just see it.....

I thought police bullets were hollow points that pretty much disintergrade when they strike things? I thought the whole purpose of this was to stop bystanders from getting injured and killed?

Thanks.

EDIT: Can someone please explain to me why a cop was shooting at a snake?

[edit on 7-8-2007 by C0bzz]

Guys, the officee made a simple mistake.

How would you feel if you discharged a firearm and accidentally shot a 5 year old kid? Wouldn't that guilt be punishment enough?

People make mistakes all the time and sometimes of great consequence but I think if the guy is a real human being, what he has just done would fill him with guilt, fear, sadness and regret.

Combine this with a sentence and the guy might as well of shot himself.

Seriously think about it from his shoes..... Yes the parents have lost a child, yes a young life has been lost and can't be lived to its fullest but hell thats the point.

Have a heart too aye.

-DJ Luz

edit: When I refer to "guys" it means read everyone else's response too, not assume the world revolves around you.

[edit on 7-8-2007 by illuzian]

You apparently didn't read my post, this isn't about punishment for me, it's about making sure he can't legally own a gun anymore.

To answer your question - I've grown up knowing the proper use of firearms. I would have never done what this idiot did. He didn't just "make a mistake" he made a fundamental firearm safety major bad judgment call.

How terribly sad. Poor little boy.

I am trying to visualise how it could happen and I just can't see it. I can't see how it is possible. Surely, one would look around to see if anyone was close by?

I am shaking my head over this one.

Originally posted by intrepid
They should have used a shotgun. Minimum rage and large pattern = 1 dead snake and 1 live boy.

Yes, or snake shot loads. They are a special round designed for a revolver that shoots a short and wide spread. Trying to kill a snake with a bullet is really dumb.



Snake Shot Loads

He should have never even shot at the snake, I guess a gun can solve all problems.

I think he wasn't thinking, I have a hard time believing his first and best idea was to get his gun, maybe he had just went to the Simpsons movie, definitely pulled a Homer.

In the future, maybe he will grab a stick and whack it if he need to kill something.

Guns make me feel sooo much safer. Not!
I wonder who started using guns first. Cops, or criminals.
Unless one kills for food, there should be no killing, period.

That mean ole hissing snake was in their tree, and darned if
it was going to get away with it.

The little boy payed with his life for their ignorance, now they
will pay with their souls. They have to live with their guilt now.
Justice, was served. The little boy, was their witness.

Originally posted by intrepid
I have a few issues with this. First, what type of snake was it? One that would deprive their kids of their father/mother if bitten? I see that as caution, not a lack of courage. Secondly, I'm sure that in the same position YOU would have been bold enough to use a stick.

I don't think we're talking about a black mamba here. Let's see what types of poisonous snakes it could have been.

A Checklist of Oklahoma Snakes
Harmless snakes
Arizona elegans—glossy snake
Carphophis amaenus—worm snake
Cemophora coccinea—scarlet snake
Coluber constoctor—racer
Diadophis punctatus—ring-neck snake
Elaphe guttata—great plains rat snake
E. obsoleta—black rat snake
Farancia abacura—mud snake
Heterodon nasicus—western hognose snake
H. platyrhinos—eastern hognose snake
Hypsiglena torquata—Texas night snake
Lampropeltis calligaster—prairie kingsnake
L. getulus—speckled and desert kingsnakes
L. triangulum—milk snake
Leptotyphlops dulcis—blind snake
Masticophis flagellum—coachwhip snake
Nerodia erythrogaster—yellow-bellied and blotched water
snake
N. fasciata—broad-banded water snake
N. rhombifera—diamond-back water snake
N. sipedon—northern and midland water snake
Opheodrys aestivus—keeled green snake
Pituophis melanoleucus—bullsnake
Regina grahami—Graham’s water snake
P. rigida—glossy water snake
Rhinocheilus lecontei—long-nosed snake
Sonora semiannulata—great plains ground snake
Storeria dekayi—brown snake
S. occipitomaculata—red bellied snake
Tantilla gracilis—flat-headed snake
T. nigriceps—black-headed snake
Thamnophis cyrtopsis—black-necked garter snake
T. elegans—wandering garter snake
T. marcianus—checkered garter snake
T. proximus—western ribbon snake
T. radix—plains garter snake
T. sirtalis—red-sided and Texas garter snakes
Tropidoclonion lineatum—lined snake
Virginia striatula—rough earth snake
V. valeriae—smooth earth snake

Poisonous snakes
Agkistrodon contortrix—copperhead
A. piscivorous—cottonmouth or water moccasin
Crotalus atrox—western diamond-back rattlesnake
C. horridus—timber rattlesnake
C. viridis—prairie rattlesnake
Sistrurus catenatus—western massasauga rattlesnake
S. miliarius—western pigmy rattlesnake

Source: osuextra.okstate.edu...

So, we have copperheads, water moccasins and rattle snakes. None of which I am aware tend to climb trees.

I'd like to know what type of snake and how much of a threat it was that it needed shot at by a service revolver.

You forgot one, the coral snake. There are only four native types of venomous snakes in north America.

All rattle snakes
Coral snakes
Copperhead
Cottonmouth

All but the coral is pretty easy to spot. The coral has a series of red, black and yellow. The Yellow is in between the black strips, a milk snake can look very much the same, they use it to warn off enemies. the bands on the milk, have white bands instead of the yellow. They do have other variations, tho this is the most common.

Edit, the coral is not in Ok, but the milk/corn snake is... Someone might mistake it....


[edit on 7-8-2007 by SpittinCobra]

Originally posted by illuzian
Guys, the officee made a simple mistake.

Simple mistake? He killed a 5 year old kid by being gun happy. That's NOT a simple mistake. If I (non cop) had done it and it was your grandchild, would you still feel it was a SIMPLE mistake?

How would you feel if you discharged a firearm and accidentally shot a 5 year old kid? Wouldn't that guilt be punishment enough?

Punishment enough? If I kill a child with my vehicle, I get invololuntary manslaughter. Even if it wasn't my fault. Now, this is definately the fault of the cop. Who should actually get voluntary manslaughter IMO. He voluntarily chose to discharge that weapon.

People make mistakes all the time and sometimes of great consequence but I think if the guy is a real human being, what he has just done would fill him with guilt, fear, sadness and regret.

Yeah, it would me too. That still doesn't make him exempt from the crime. Or would you feel sorry for a child rapist who now feels guilt, fear, sadness and regret? I didn't think so.

Combine this with a sentence and the guy might as well of shot himself.

It would have been better that way.

Seriously think about it from his shoes..... Yes the parents have lost a child, yes a young life has been lost and can't be lived to its fullest but hell thats the point.

I would be thinking about how I'm the biggest dumbass and I should be punished for my stupidity.

Originally posted by SpittinCobra
Edit, the coral is not in Ok, but the milk/corn snake is... Someone might mistake it....

Yes, someone like an uneducated trigger happy cop.

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
What??? This was a TOTAL accident! The bullet ricocheted and struck the child. Yeah, there was probably an amount of negligence involved, but this is not a very good reason to be leery of cops. :shk: They're people. They make mistakes.

This is a tragedy and I'm sure the cop wishes he could die right now.

I agree to a point. The officer should have made sure the area was entirely clear before discharging his weapon. I admit, accidents happend and this truely was one of those times.

But, if I had one beer and a half hour later was driving home and someone driving a truck slammed into my car and killed a child that was in the truck, I would more than likely be held responsible because I had alcohol in my system, even though that had nothing to do with the accident or the death.

Freak occurances happen. Just as in my hypothetical situtation above, I should not have had the beer and drove — the officer should not have fired his gun with bystanders within richochet distance.

I can't say that I would have done any different in the same situation. It's truely a tragedy and I do indeed feel for all those involved.

[edit on 7-8-2007 by tyranny22]

If a cop speeds to catch a speeder, who is justified.
If a cop kills to catch a killer, who is justified.
If a cop has sex with a little girl in his cop car,
and then goes out and busts a rapist, who is
justified.

They will be judged, by how they have judged.

Those who were innocent, will be their jury.

God help em.