Cop Shoots Man in Florida Courthouse

[TheeBadOne]

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP)--A police officer shot a knife-wielding man several times Friday in a courthouse lobby, officials said.

The victim, who was not identified, was hospitalized in an intensive care unit, said Bobby Hernandez, Miami Beach police spokesman.

The man walked into the lobby, confronted a police officer and charged the officer with a knife, Hernandez said.

Hernandez would not disclose how many shots were fired, or where the victim was shot.

The officer, who was not injured, will be placed on a routine 72-hour leave while the shooting is investigated, Hernandez said. The unidentified motorcycle officer is a 22-year veteran who was at the courthouse for a traffic hearing.

The court closed after the shooting, Hernandez said.

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/ap/ap_story.html/National/AP.V4818.AP-BRF-Courthouse-.html
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Just imagine you are a Cop. It's your day off, but you have to go in for court to testify on a minor case that someone plead not guilty on (speed, petty theft, etc). You really don't want to go on a day off, but at least it's Overtime and should be a short simple case. While sitting there planning on what you are going to do with the rest of your day off once you get called to the stand, some maniac attacks you with a knife!!!

 

[mdsteele]

The victim, who was not identified

So the guy with the knife is the "victim"?

 

[P95Carry]

Yeah ..... ''victim'' ..... sheesh.

What happened to ''Perpetrator'' ........

By all accounts a first rate shoot. Kudos to the cop.

 

[cordex]

Sounds like a good shoot.

On the other hand ... if that were me there testifying for a case or serving on a jury or what-have-you, I'd have no way to defend myself.

Glad the officer was able to defend himself. Not glad that I wouldn't be granted the same capability.

 

[fiVe]

Here! Here! Cordex.

The courthouse is a gun-free zone & thus rife stomping grounds for bad guys.

 

[TheeBadOne]

On the other hand ... if that were me there testifying for a case or serving on a jury or what-have-you, I'd have no way to defend myself.

Glad the officer was able to defend himself. Not glad that I wouldn't be granted the same capability.

Devil's Advocate
On the other hand you're not a uniformed Cop, and thus would not have been attacked (but I do hear you).

 

[TallPine]

On the other hand you're not a uniformed Cop, and thus would not have been attacked

Only cops are ever victims of violent assault ..... ?

 

[cordex]

On the other hand you're not a uniformed Cop, and thus would not have been attacked

Witnesses and jurors are never attacked?
You're right that in this particular case I would not have been attacked. I suspect that you wouldn't have been either. While I cannot say for certain, my guess is that the knifeman here had a beef with that particular officer (maybe he was the subject of that particular hearing?) and was targeting him specifically. I'd be interested to hear how this plays out.

 

[Corey ACP]

Just wondering, Was the lobby that the shooting took place in before or after the metal detectors? I'd like to know if someone let this "victim" into a secure area with a weapon. ???

 

[HABU]

If he isnt smart enough to sneak up on the cop and stab him, he deserves to get shot.

For the record, I do not condone sticking cops.

 

[Quartus]

my guess is that the knifeman here had a beef with that particular officer

Or just with officers in general, so he picked the first uniform he saw.


Or he was looking for suicide by cop. <shrug> No way to tell from this news story.

Any way you slice it, it was a good shoot.

 

[JPM70535]

Lets be glad the officer was in a part of the courthouse where he still had the means of self defense at his disposal. In many juristictions, guns are not allowed in the courtroom by anyone except the Baliffs and the Judge.

 

[Standing Wolf]

The victim, who was not identified...

Wrong. The knife wielder was the criminal. The cop was the victim. Self-styled "journalists" who can't distinguish between criminals and victims should go back to flipping hamburgers.

 

[Matt G]

Lets be glad the officer was in a part of the courthouse where he still had the means of self defense at his disposal. In many juristictions, guns are not allowed in the courtroom by anyone except the Baliffs and the Judge.

Name one. Many courthouses won't allow cops on civil issues, like divorce proceedings or custody hearings, to carry, because of the emotional issues. But I don't know of a criminal court that won't allow cops to carry in their own jurisdiction. Not saying there aren't any-- I just don't know of any.

On the other hand you're not a uniformed Cop, and thus would not have been attacked

With respect, TBO, retaliation happens with startling regularity to non-officers. Heck, a cop's easier to ambush out on the street (uniformed, works in a public place, usually has a beat). If one wanted to pop a non-sworn witness that's been making him/herself scarce, though, one might well have to find them at the courthouse. I know of one DA investigator who on more than one occasion made it his business to escort in and out witnesses in criminal trials. (He, a non-uniformed LEO, could defend them.)

Last criminal trial I testified at, I stuck around afterword for sentencing. Looking around, I noticed an extra bailiff in the room. Then I noticed a transport deputy in the corner. Woops! There came in the transport deputy's partner. I smiled to myself; in the room were now four uniformed S.O. deputys, me (who was in uniform and carrying my normal armament), the judge, the assistant DA, the defendant, the defense attorney, the court reporter, and a man later identified as someone from the probation office. So that made a total of 11 people in the room, 5 of which were uniformed and armed. (And the judge might well have been; I don't know her view on packing.) The judge passed sentence, and the guy was told to go with the transport deputies. He looked a little confused, and then shocked, as his attorney spoke quietly to him in apologetic tones. Seems Mr. Defendant was NOT prepared to go to prison, that very day! Ah. No wonder the extra cops were in the room.

 

[TheeBadOne]

Name one. Many courthouses won't allow cops on civil issues, like divorce proceedings or custody hearings, to carry, because of the emotional issues. But I don't know of a criminal court that won't allow cops to carry in their own jurisdiction. Not saying there aren't any-- I just don't know of any.

My local courthouse prohibits carrying a firearm by anyone except LEO's who are on Official business, ie: testifying in court, bringing in evidence, etc. If they are on a day off and stop in to get license plate tabs, no can carry. If they want to pull in for coffee and BS, no can carry.

 

[Corey ACP]

Don't know about your state, but the federal courthouse here makes all LEO place their firearms into a locker before entering the building. All state and local courts you only need to show your ID and sign a log to get in, whether or not in uniform.

 

[Andrew Rothman]

In this incident in September, a deranged plaintiff shot a defendant and a lawyer inside the courthouse. It was a gun-free zone.


http://news.mpr.org/features/2003/09/29_hughesa_hencoshooting/

One person is dead, another wounded after a shooting this morning on the 17th floor of the Hennepin County Government Center in downtown Minneapolis. Officers have a female suspect in custody. The shooting happened outside a room where harrassment cases were being heard. The violence has prompted a renewed call for greater security in the largest Minnesota government building outside of the State Capitol.


Minneapolis, Minn. — Pele Brown from Minneapolis was waiting in the courtroom for her own case to start when she heard a gunshot in the lobbby.

"I knew that was a gunshot," says Brown. "My sister used to be a Minneapolis police officer. I used to go to the gun range. I know that was a gun shot. It was loud."

Brown says others in the courtroom went to the door to see what happened.

"And then we heard some people screaming out in the back, outside in the hall. We heard the deputies saying, 'Put the gun down,' and 'Call 911, call 911.'"

Brown says that's when deputies came in and said no one would be allowed to leave or enter the room.

Robert Washington is a county employee and was making deliveries one floor above the shooting. He says he ran down 15 flights of stairs after hearing the shots.

"The main thing I was trying to do is trying to get out of here, you know," says Washington. "After I heard those two pops I was like, 'Hey, I'm outta here.' Take the stairway down."

The Hennepin County Government Center is a busy hub in downtown Minneapolis, where thousands of staff members watch over social service cases, elected officials debate policy and district courts tackle some of the state's highest profile cases.

At a news conference, Sheriff Pat McGowan says the shooting outside the courtroom is the center's first.

"The call for assistance to the 17th floor was aired at 10:17 a.m. by a female sheriff's deputy who was in the immediate area. The suspect was taken into custody without incident almost immediately," McGowan says.

The shooting prompts questions about the building's security. Guards are routinely stationed at key places, but other than signs warning of a court order banning guns, there's nothing to keep someone with a weapon out. County Commissioner Mark Stenglein of Minneapolis says the building's security is often a topic of concern.

"It was built 25-plus years ago to be accomodating to the public. And back then the thought of screening this building was the last thought when they built this building," says Stenglein.

The center has numerous entrances that empty into a large public atrium. County Administrator Sandy Vargas says installing metal detectors would be very expensive.

"A few years ago it was in the $6 million to $8 million range for the hard capital costs. And it was probably in the range of $1 million a year to operate weapons screening," says Vargas.

As many as 350 county employees already face layoffs this year, as officials try to fill a projected $100 million budget shortfall. Vargas says added money for security would have to come from somewhere else, such as human services.

Hennepin County Chief Judge Kevin Burke has called a meeting with other officials to discuss security. He says this is not a high visibility courtroom.

"This would not have been the kind of courtroom where anybody would have said, 'We know somebody's coming here today, so let's do something special.' So another day, in another venue, we're going to have to re-evaluate those issues," says Burke, "because there will be a whole bunch of people who are going to say, 'Hey, look, you've got to do something.'"

One of those people is Hennepin court clerk Jim Little. He says courts frequently deal with strong emotions.

"They're being dragged into court, they may have done something wrong, they may be completely innocent. They're pissed. Where else are you going to have security?" says Little.

Sheriff McGowan says even heavy security can't ensure absolute safety.

"Can we give a guarantee, always, on everything? You can't -- as much as you wish you could," says McGowan.

A sheriff's office spokeswoman says if the suspect had a permit to carry a handgun, it was not issued in Hennepin County.

 

[Quartus]

Brown says others in the courtroom went to the door to see what happened.

Brilliant. Hear gunshots - stick head out of door.

 

[TheeBadOne]

Brilliant. Hear gunshots - stick head out of door.

Believe it or not, that is par for the course. People gawk by nature. They will stand by watching a gun fight (never once thinking a bullet could hit them).

 

[Mad Man]

On the other hand you're not a uniformed Cop, and thus would not have been attacked

In 1986, Aurora (Colorado) police officer Gerald Utesch shot his wife's divorce attorney in court.