my 1st post....Ive got updates..this is on GT, and Sigforums, as well as AR15.com.....brings it into perspective.
My Mother and sister go to church with Mr. Fish, he is a good father and family man.
===================================================
http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=88546
Kuenzli sufferedpanic attacks, stress disorder
By LARRY HENDRICKS
Sun Staff Reporter
06/06/2004
Although Grant Kuenzli was known universally to be a gentle, helpful man, investigators with the Coconino County Sheriff's Office came across one man who called state police after a confrontation with Kuenzli.
And despite what some Payson residents may think about the gentle nature of the dogs Kuenzli had in his care the day he was shot, one of them had nearly been shot several months earlier because of extreme aggression.
Among the documents in the case file of the shooting death of Kuenzli, Detective Scott Feagan included a report about a trucker who works with Swift Trucking, who had an emotional confrontion with Kuenzli in late March. The driver was shown a photo of Kuenzli by detectives and said, "That's the guy." An officer with the Arizona Department of Public Safety took a report of the incident.
According to the driver's statement to detectives, he had pulled his truck into a service station near the Payson area and a little white vehicle parked behind him. Once out of the truck, the driver was approached by a man (identified as Kuenzli) yelling at him and waving his arms spastically.
The trucker stated that he warned Kuenzli to stay away while Kuenzli said that the truck driver could have killed him. Kuenzli accused the driver of hitting his car and leaving the scene of an accident.
The truck driver called DPS.
"He was very confrontational," the driver told detectives, adding that Kuenzli went inside the store "mouthing off." The driver stated Kuenzli calmed down when the officer arrived. The driver stated he was doubtful Kuenzli was "playing with a full deck."
After Kuenzli was shot by Fish, detectives found a computer CD titled "lawsuit" in Kuenzli's car. When detectives opened the CD, they found several e-mail documents. Among the e-mails were: The City of Mesa determining Kuenzli's dog was not a working dog; Kuenzli stating that his dog needs to be off the leash as therapy to help him with his disability; an apartment manager's statements of leash law violations; a discussion about his dismissal as a Gilbert fire inspector in 1999; a document for an unemployment appeal hearing; and a document referring to Kuenzli being upset at a lack of dog parks in Mesa.
Also in Kuenzli's car, detectives found a letter from the Maricopa County courthouse, stating that Kuenzli's claim against the court was being denied because one of the courthouse guards had been attacked by Kuenzli's dog.
Several documents from Gila County authorities were included in the file that referred to one of the dogs Kuenzli had in his charge, on loan from the Payson animal shelter, the day he was shot by Fish.
The dog, a chow mix named Hank, nearly had been shot by a Gila County detective several months ago for attempting to bite the detective several times. Hank, whose owners could not keep him fenced in, was eventually taken to the Payson Humane Society. According to documents compiled by the shelter's staff, the dog was not to be released without prior approval because the dog has a history of being a "fear biter" and "aggressive."
Also found in Kuenzli's car after the shooting was an appointment reminder for Kuenzli at Southwest Behavioral Health Center in Payson.
Detectives requested Kuenzli's records from the center. The center provided voluminous records on Kuenzli, who had been receiving treatment there for a panic disorder with agoraphobia, post-traumatic stress disorder and a mood disorder.
On a form dated February 9, Kuenzli stated that he had attempted suicide, was depressed and had anxiety. His sleep apnea was alleviated when he slept outside.
"His situation discourages him," the form preparer wrote.
Kuenzli had become overwhelmed by his firefighter job, began exhibiting signs of PTSD because of events he witnessed as a firefighter and emergency medical technician. His last date of work was in January 2003.
A core assessment was made that he has a number of problems in his effort to go back to work that stem from a stressful work life. Goals he set for himself included an exercise routine, letting go of suicidal thoughts and getting back on his feet.
He listed as his support system for doing this as "the friendly people I meet in Payson; Payson Humane Society."
Linda Almeter, Kuenzli's sister, said she had been made aware of her brother's treatment for mental health issues.
"I don't know the details about the diagnosis or treatment," she said. "I do know that Grant was a very sensitive person, and I can imagine how he was traumatized by his work as a firefighter."
Regardless, her brother was not a violent person, she said. Even if he had a mental problem, that is no reason to take his life.
"He was of no threat to the person who shot and killed him," she said. "He was unarmed."
Editor's note: At the time of the Daily Sun's review of the case file, detectives were compiling background histories of Kuenzli and Fish that were unavailable. Also unavailable was a taped interview between Fish and detectives
==================================================
http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=88532
Shots fired from one foot away
By LARRY HENDRICKS
Sun Staff Reporter
06/06/2004
The May 11 shooting death of Grant Kuenzli at a trailhead near Payson has sparked a statewide debate as to whether the man who shot Kuenzli, Harold Fish, acted in self-defense or overreacted and deserves to face punishment.
Investigators with the Coconino County Sheriff's Office have stated that Fish's statements of self-defense and evidence at the scene were consistent with each other.
The Coconino County Attorney's Office filed a complaint Friday charging Fish with second-degree murder.
The following was compiled from the incident case file as of June 2, 2004. Investigative report of Det. Scott Feagan of the Coconino County Sheriff's Office dated May 18.
Upon arriving at the scene, Feagan secured Fish's 10 mm stainless steel Model Target 2, semi-automatic handgun.
"In speaking with Harold Fish, I observed his demeanor to be somewhat frustrated and he appeared depressed about this incident," Feagan stated.
Fish stated to Feagan that he had just finished his hike and was looking forward to getting to his car when two dogs came running at him. Fish stated he thought the dogs were trying to bite him, that they were agressive with "yellow teeth and growling."
"Fish said, 'I had an automatic on my backpack belt. I remember yelling, 'stop the dogs.''" Feagan stated. "Fish said, 'I couldn't tell if it startled him (indicating Kuenzli) or I don't know.' Fish repreated, 'I remember telling him, 'Call off your dogs, stop your dogs.''"
Continued Feagan, "Fish said when they got halfway down the hill, 'I drew my pistol ... and I am still yelling, 'Stop the dogs.'' Fish said, 'They got right up to me and the biggest, most aggressive got about right there.'"
Feagan stated that Fish pointed to an area about five feet from him.
"Fish said, 'I put a shot in the ground in front of the dog to scare and stop him and the dogs jerked and went off to the sides,'" Feagan stated. "Fish said, 'I looked up and here he came.'"
Fish told Feagan that Kuenzli was running at him "full bore" and saying he was going to kill Fish.
"Fish said, 'I don't know if he thought I shot the dog. I don't know. I'm yelling at him, 'Back off, stop' and he's right on top of me and he's swinging his hands, and I couldn't see if he had anything in his hands. I don't know.'"
Continued Feagan, "Fish said, 'He looked crazy. He's coming right at me and the dogs are on both sides of me and it's bam, bam, bam, like that. I couldn't stop him.' Fish said, 'I couldn't get down because it's downhill. I had my pack on. I couldn't go anywhere.'"
Feagan added that Fish said to him that he thought to himself that he couldn't run from the dogs, that they would get him from behind.
"'Gosh, I want to be anywhere else,'" Feagan stated Fish said.
Fish told Feagan that he had dropped his walking stick.
"'I wasn't thinking about the stick, and if I had thought about it, I probably could have beat them (the dogs) with the stick. It was so fast,'" Feagan stated Fish said.
The whole incident took three seconds, Fish told Feagan.
"'Good grief, I had nowhere to go ... I couldn't go downhill, I've got dogs, a crazy guy,'" Feagan stated Fish said. "'I don't know if he picked up something, I couldn't tell, his hands were moving so fast. Good grief, I'm going to get murdered out here in the middle of the woods. I was wishing I was the heck someplace else. I never had anybody do that.'"
Continued Feagan on what Fish told him, "'I wish I could talk to him. I wish I could ask him, 'what were you thinking?''" Incident report of Sgt. David Ramos, Coconino County Sheriff's Office dated May 11.
Ramos, the first deputy on scene, received a similar story from Fish about the dogs approaching and firing a shot into the ground.
"Immediately thereafter, Harold Fish observed an individual running at him, full speed, downhill with a 'wild, crazed look in his eyes' screaming that he was going to kill Fish for shooting his dogs," Ramos wrote in his report. "Fish yelled back at this individual, who was closing the distance rapidly, that he did not shoot the dogs and that the dogs were fine and ordered this individual to stop."
Ramos continued: "When this individual would not slow down and continued to run at full speed at him, Fish pointed his handgun at the subject and yelled several times to 'stop, or I will be forced to shoot.'"
Fish told Ramos that he was in fear for his life at that point, fearing the person running at him would follow through with his death threats. When the man running at him was nearly on top of him, Fish fired.
The man fell to the ground.
Fish told Ramos that he immediately laid the man on his right side, rested the man's head on Fish's backpack, took a space blanket out of his pack and put it over the injured man, who Fish said was still alive.
Fish told Ramos he ran to State Route 87, flagged down a person in a white car. The person in the car called for help. Fish then went back and waited with the man he had shot until medics arrived.
Sheriff's officials found the two dogs back in Kuenzli's car, which had the passenger door propped open with a piece of wood.
Coconino County Animal Control removed the dogs.
"The first dog, which had the appearance of a yellow Lab, was removed from beneath the steering wheel area on the driver's side of the vehicle," stated Ramos' report. "This dog was very submissive to the animal control officer."
Continued Ramos: "The second dog, which was removed from the back seat area of the vehicle, was extremely hesitant in exiting the vehicle and had to be physically taken from the car to be taken into the care of the animal control officer." Incident report of Cpl. Jeff Palmer, Coconino County Sheriff's Office, dated May 13.
Jeff Palmer, a deputy who specializes in tracking, documented Kuenzli's path downhill from his vehicle to the trail where he fell. Evidence suggests Kuenzli had been moving faster than a walk.
Kuenzli's stride varied between 26 and 40 inches, and the straddle between his right and left foot averaged between 18 to 24 inches.
Palmer stated in his report that a person going down a moderate grade hill walking would have a short stride and a 10- to 12-inch straddle between the right and left foot. A person running down the hill would have a stride of 40 to 46 inches and a straddle of 8 to 12 inches. A person loping down a slippery slope would have a stride of 30 to 40 inches and a straddle of 23 to 26 inches.
Palmer described the area where Kuenzli descended as "... a forest mix of pine and manzanita. The area was littered with pine needles and pine needle debris. The trail down from the vehicle was that of course [sic] granite gravel." Report of investigator with Coconino County Medical Examiner's Office, and autopsy report of Yavapai County Medical Examiner, dates not noted.
Kuenzli had been shot on the right and left side of chest three times. Two of the wounds were fatal, with one puncturing the heart and another puncturing a lung. The death was ruled a homicide.
"All three wounds appear to be at very close range approximately one foot away from the shooter," wrote the investigator in his report.
Kuenzli also had a pronounced gunshot wound to his right thumb and a creased wound on the top of his left forearm.
Toxicology reports of Kuenzli were negative except for the presence of two types of antidepressants and caffeine in his system.
===================================================
