[Dave P]

Well, do ya?


(there should a picture here somewhere ...)


story here (http://www.floridatoday.com/!NEWSROOM/indexlocal.htm)

[BryanP]

Probably not the best way to cover him, but it does make for a nice photo. And at least the finger is off the trigger.

[Wanderer]

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :cuss: :cuss: :cuss:

What the heck does that cop not know about gun safety???? That's horrible. Plus if someone trips over him or he mose, he could accidentaly pull the trigger, and that'd be a hard thing to explain to his superiors. "um, well you see my gun was stuck in his ear, so....."

[brownie0486]

Covering the BG that way may not have been an option. We don't know, we were not there and so we should not pass judgement about his procedural protocol.

The finger is not on the trigger and so if he was bumped or someone tripped on him I don't see the gun going off here.

Also, how would another being tripping over a uniformed officer with a gun drawn. Most would be moving in the opposite direction from this scene normally.

I've covered VC that way back in "70" with a gov 45. They were less prone to thinking they may be able to make a move on me with the muzzle control at their ear/temple.

Brownie

[Legionnaire]

"It was an excellent use of our resources," Palm Bay Lt. Dave Crispin said. "This is what we're all about. It's persistence and tenaciousness in tracking down and capturing people that are committing crimes against our citizens." Yup, that's what police are all about. Tracking down and capturing people that have committed crimes. And why we need armed citizens is to prevent and deter the crimes in the first place.

Glad they caught the guy.

[OF]

Without being there we can't judge the officer for choosing to cover the guy that...closely. Scumbags who try to kill people don't get the nice treatment, and that's fine with me. There are certainly cirumstances where that type of coverage would be appropriate, there are other circumstances where it would not be. I'll assume it was appropriate until I see something that says otherwise.

That being said, let the wild speculation and armchair QB'ing begin :) It does appear the guy is handcuffed, in which case the gun to the head could be considered a little much. But I have no sympathy for the scumbag, only concern for the law. Maybe the cuffs just clicked and the photog got the shot off right before the officer removed the gun. No way to tell.

- Gabe

[Preacherman]

Bear in mind that the suspect might have been in the process of being handcuffed at the time that this picture was taken. We can't see more than his head and shoulders, with his arms obviously behind his back. It may be that an officer was busy handcuffing him at the time, and another officer was holding the gun to the suspect's head in order to make sure he knew the consequences of making a wrong move. After all, the guy had just stabbed another person, and until the cops searched him (which would happen only after he'd been handcuffed), they wouldn't know whether he still had a knife or other weapon. Under those circumstances, the picture would make some sense.

However, if he was already handcuffed, that officer should face internal disciplinary action for unnecessary use of force, or something similar...

[pax]

Here's the news story. It is at http://www.floridatoday.com/!NEWSROOM/localstoryA8203A.htm

Palm Bay police capture suspect in hit-and-run accidents, stabbing

By Lourdes Briz
FLORIDA TODAY

PALM BAY -- After an intensive eight-hour search, Palm Bay police captured the man they think stabbed someone in the head with a pocket knife after a road-rage incident.
Walker

John Monroe Walker, 28, of Fellsmere, was arrested at gunpoint in a back yard. He is being charged with aggravated battery and resisting without violence. Walker could also face charges of hit and run and leaving the scene of an accident.

Palm Bay police called in its dog unit, a Brevard County Sheriff's helicopter and about 25 officers and volunteers in the manhunt, which covered eight square miles.

"It was an excellent use of our resources," Palm Bay Lt. Dave Crispin said. "This is what we're all about. It's persistence and tenaciousness in tracking down and capturing people that are committing crimes against our citizens."

When captured, Walker was barefoot and shirtless, clad in dark shorts and appeared dirty and dejected, Crispin said.

"He was pretty disheveled-looking," he said. "He was obviously in swampy water."

The incident began as a fender-bender at around 7:28 a.m. at Foundation Park Boulevard and Babcock Street.

A man identified as Walker, who was driving a truck that was later reported stolen, rear-ended a Palm Bay woman's car and took off.

The woman's husband, Christian Joyner, had been driving behind and gave chase after the initial accident.

A hitchhiker in the man's car demanded to be let out but wasn't, according to Barney Weiss, Palm Bay police spokesman.

The man then hit another vehicle at Jupiter Boulevard and Windswept Avenue and took off running in the woods as Joyner's husband caught up.

A wallet with Walker's ID was found inside the truck.

"They wrestled and then the suspect pulled out a knife and stabbed (Joyner)," Weiss said. "His injuries were not life-threatening."

Crispin said Joyner's wound was several inches long and was above his left ear.

The hitchhiker stayed at the second accident scene until police arrived.

Instead of going to the hospital, Joyner joined police on their search. He rode an ATV around nearby streets and woods with blood still on his shirt. He refused to comment, shaking his head instead.

The fugitive entered at least one home while hiding from police.

Michael Greenwood, 44, woke up at around 7:45 a.m. to find him in his study.

"This guy was sitting in the computer chair, slumped over," he said. "He seemed like he was really drunk or pretty much out of it. He had blood on his hands."

He then ordered the fugitive out of his house, which is on Treemont Avenue, and he complied.

"I feel kind of vulnerable right now," Greenwood said.

Police used a reverse 911 system to call about 1,000 homes inside the perimeter set up from Garvey Road to Eldron Boulevard, and Americana Blvd. to Jupiter Blvd.

Residents were warned to stay inside and lock their doors and windows.

"We've used it a couple of times. It's always been really effective in informing the community," Weiss said. "What it does is heightens awareness of the citizens."

It was a resident on Santo Domingo Avenue and Tindal Street that led police to Walker.

"A citizen ran out onto the street and said 'He's behind my house,' " Crispin said.

The officers then went to the man's back yard, where they saw Walker lying down. He jumped up and tried to run for about a yard or two, then stopped.

"Once we chased him down he just gave up," Weiss said. "He was arrested without incident."

Residents in the quiet, wooded neighborhood were concerned and frightened by the incident.

Paula Porter, of Palm Bay, didn't let her 13-year-old daughter spend her last day of summer vacation at a local park.

"You're not going. . ." she told her when she heard police were looking for Walker. "Not with someone lunatic like that running around."

The two had been shopping at a nearby Beall's Outlet when they noticed the circling helicopter.

Walker had three warrants out for his arrest, Weiss said. One was for burglary in South Carolina, another for parole violation and a third from Georgia for probation violation.

"He has an extensive history of domestic violence, escape and burglary in the South Carolina and Georgia area," Weiss said.
I think Joyner might be stupid.

And I wonder whether Greenwood ordered him out of the home with, or without, a weapon of some sort. (Would you do what he did, unarmed?)

pax

[willyjixx]

that picture looks like a close up of a soon to happen mob hit.

nice bracelet

[Daniel T]

"Once we chased him down he just gave up," Weiss said. "He was arrested without incident."

Was that before or after the gun-in-the-head photo was taken?

[greyhound]

Do these types of perps have an allergy to shirts?

Or is there some unwritten rule in the less well to do communities that all shirts must be removed when the temp is over, say, 80?:D

[Leatherneck]

I think Joyner might be stupid. Said the Mistress of Understatement...:D

TC
TFL Survivor

[Kharn]

Do these types of perps have an allergy to shirts?
I've seen guys on Cops that tried to run from the police who ended up wearing two or three layers of clothing. The cops would lose the guy for a second, and then find a pile of clothes where they thought he hid and would have to resume the chase with no idea of what he was now wearing. This probably goes along the same line, the guy ditched whatever he thought the cop could ID him as wearing.

Kharn

[Trisha]

What's the big deal?

If a goblin surrendered abruptly (whatever the scenario), that's probably how I'd detain it until the Deputies arrived (which could be a longish wait up here).

I've seen several taken into custody in the hood with that technique and hey, any projection of 'resistance' just evaporated. If it worked on the VC, it's my first choice!

Trisha

[tiberius]

I'm sure a wider angle picture would have shown that particular cop's jack boots quite nicely. :rolleyes:

[roscoe]

Does this not push Glocks out of battery? It does on other autoloaders.

[pale horse]

I dont see an issue with the way this was handled. Read what he did and then ask yourself it it warented that kind of reaction. If I was in his shoes or in a situation where I had only a partner and had to control 5 bad guys at one time, you bet I would do that.

In fact I almost did this to my brother. He made me the Godfather of his son and then started dealing drugs out of his home when my nephew was 3 months old. Instead I "talked" with his supplier and then there was no drugs my brother could hook people up with. I knew the supplier personally and told him that I would drop a dime to several detectives in my Church just because I could.

There are several things you look back on and say that was not the smartest way to handle it, but you learn from it and move on.

[tiberius]

"Once we chased him down he just gave up," Weiss said. "He was arrested without incident."

It is this quote that makes me question the need to threaten the suspect with summary execution.

[TheeBadOne]

I suspect this photo shows what ended his resistance.

[Standing Wolf]

I don't have a problem with this at all: creatures like that need to be held in place until solidly secured in jail cells. The first duty of the police is to the law-abiding, not law-breakers.

[cool45auto]

That would definitely keep me from moving around!:uhoh:

[notbubba]

Well, because that was right by my Mom and Dad's house I HAVE NO PROBLEM will the cops treating that dirtball rough.:fire: