Shootcraps
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- Jan 18, 2004
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Which is worse: a cop's death, or kids getting away with drinking?
Stupid cops, doing stupid stuff is way worse.
Which is worse: a cop's death, or kids getting away with drinking?
"The uniformed cop didn't know what was going on," McCormick said. "He just saw somebody holding a gun, and he shot the undercover cop three times in the back -- boom, boom, boom."
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-...y?coll=orl-jobs-utility&track=mostemailedlink
OPD mistakenly kills UCF officer
Pre-game shooting at citrus bowl University identifies victim as Officer Mario Jenkins -- UCF student also is wounded, taken to ORMC Officer
Jay Hamburg, Erin Cox and Susan Jacobson
Sentinel Staff Writers
September 25, 2005
A party before the University of Central Florida football home opener turned deadly Saturday when an Orlando police officer shot and killed an undercover university police officer working with state agents to stop illegal drinking.
The dead UCF officer was identified as Mario Jenkins, 27, a four-year veteran with the university police.
He was shot by Dennis Smith, a reserve officer for the Orlando Police Department who had retired after 25 years on the force. Smith was placed on administrative leave Saturday night, standard procedure in all shootings by police.
A UCF student also was wounded in the fracas and was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center. He was identified as Mike Young, in his early 20s, by Rachel Neal, an 18-year-old UCF student who said Young is her boyfriend.
She said Young was walking to the portable toilets when he saw a fight and tried to break it up. Neal was nearby when she heard two shots and saw Young lying on the ground.
Neal said Young is studying to be a special-education teacher.
Though some observers said Young may have participated in the fight, student Nick Myer of Stuart said Young tried to help Jenkins.
"It was devastating," said junior Nicole Jorgensen, 22, who watched the scene unfold as a brawl turned into a deadly shooting.
"Everyone's pretty shaken up," said 18-year-old Jon Negrini, who comforted several friends so upset that they were unable to speak. "We're leaving on a bus back to campus."
The incident occurred shortly after 5 p.m. outside the Florida Citrus Bowl in an area where students were tailgating and partying.
Official details were sketchy late Saturday, but police and spectators said Jenkins apparently confronted a group of students who were drinking. The students, some said, turned belligerent.
Witnesses said Jenkins pulled out his badge and his gun and fired the weapon. Some said he fired the gun into the air, and one person who claimed to have seen the incident said Jenkins shot a student in the leg.
Mike McCormick, 22, a 2003 UCF graduate, said he saw the incident. He said an undercover officer was investigating underage drinking when a scuffle began. He said Young, a UCF fan, grabbed the undercover officer. Others, such as Myer, said Young tried to stop the fight.
McCormick, who is from Jacksonville Beach, said Jenkins pulled out his gun and fired several shots.
A uniformed Orlando officer who was patrolling on a bicycle saw Jenkins fire his weapon.
"The uniformed cop didn't know what was going on," McCormick said. "He just saw somebody holding a gun, and he shot the undercover cop three times in the back -- boom, boom, boom."
UCF President John Hitt expressed sorrow about the incident.
"It's going to change a lot of lives," he said.
Hitt added that the university will study the program that sends officers such as Jenkins undercover to stop illegal drinking.
Troy Williamson, a spokesman for the UCF Police Department, said Jenkins frequently worked with fraternities, many of which were tailgating in the area where the incident happened. Jenkins began work on "Operation Knight Watch" about 2 p.m. Saturday.
He was assisted by six other UCF officers and seven agents with the state Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco to cut down on underage drinking.
Several Orlando police officers also were patrolling in the area.
"People say, 'University police, who are they?' We have to remind them we are officers of the law, and we have a job to do," Williamson said.
Williamson said the department's 50 officers are a close-knit community now devastated by the shooting.
"It's going to be a black time for a couple weeks," Williamson said. On-duty and off-duty officers gathered at the hospital as soon as they heard of the shooting. "It's pretty tough right now. It's pretty awful."
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which is investigating the shooting, would not release any details of what happened, partly because investigators are relying on statements from at least two busloads of witnesses.
"When the dust settles, we will get to the bottom of this, and we will have an answer to what happened tonight," said FDLE spokesman Geo Morales.
"It's tragic, and it's sad, and I'm real sorry that we have a University of Central Florida officer that was fatally wounded in this incident," said Sgt. Barbara Jones, a spokeswoman for the Orlando Police Department.
Nicole Jorgensen of Melbourne said the incident was traumatic. Though she didn't know any of the people involved, she said she saw Young, the student who was shot, wrestling with Jenkins.
"The [undercover] officer pulled out his badge and gun. This one guy wouldn't surrender," Jorgensen said. "He shot three times in the air. Another officer shot the [undercover] guy. . . . It's pretty freaky. You don't think you would see this at a UCF game."
Eyewitness Jason Pfeiffer of Orlando, a 2003 UCF graduate, said the entire event was unnecessary.
"There never should have been a gun pulled. It was excessive, no question about it," Pfeiffer said. "Come on, it's a college-football game, and they're trying to arrest people for underage drinking. It's sad. This whole thing could have been avoided."
Mike Bianchi, Alan Schmadtke, Keith Kohn and Joe Kaleita of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report. Jay Hamburg can be reached at 407-420-5673 or [email protected]. Erin Cox can be reached at 352-742-5926 or [email protected]. Susan Jacobson can be reached at 407-931-5946 or [email protected].
1. When is it acceptable to fire warning shots in the air?
If he really did this, it sounds like bad tactics to me.
sounds like the undercover cop made a fundamental error, and died as a result of his actions. Bad karma indeed, but understandable
I am willing to bet you are 100% wrong on this one. Maybe Florida just gives out badges to any ole one, but in California, our University Police are sworn state officers who must go through an academy and have jurisdiction state wide. I would be willing to bet that Florida is no different.No academy or formal training is necessary for the position
Do you have any clue as to what it takes to actually work under cover and, do you have any idea of the regulations you must follow to do so - or is it all just idle speculation?
What I'm about to write is speculative, and I admit that upfront
Please feel free to tell me if you feel I could be wrong on this point.
I guess I should also make some of my comments clearerAlso...more speculation...I do think it makes a difference what TYPE of undercover work he was doing. Was he just strolling around the crowd looking for underage drinkers as a campus cop? Or was he working a case for six months concerning some fraternity that had made a hundred thousand dollar business out of selling booze to underage freshmen for the ATF?
I guess I should also make some of my comments clearer
He was a four year uniformed campus cop, how undercover could he have been at a schooll related function
That would be the Florida State Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco NOT the BATF&E. P)lease don't confuse the two. The federal boys do NOT go around enforcing STATE alcohol laws.Mario Jenkins, a canine officer working with agents of the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco,
It is interesting you forgot to post the entire set of requirements. Then if you go look at the Florida Statutes, Chapter 943, you will find this.MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Must meet the requirements of Chapter 943, Florida Statutes*, and have one year of law enforcement experience. Two years of military or other appropriate experience may substitute for the required one year of law enforcement experience. Appropriate college course work or vocational/technical training may substitute at an equivalent rate for the required experience.
Ah Joab, so they do have to receive some training and a 19 year old high school graduate cannot simply apply and be hired off the street as some people erroneously claimed. Imagine that.943.13 Officers' minimum qualifications for employment or appointment.
(9) Complete a commission-approved basic recruit training program for the applicable criminal justice discipline, unless exempt under this subsection. An applicant who has:
(a) Completed a comparable basic recruit training program for the applicable criminal justice discipline in another state or for the Federal Government; and
(b) Served as a full-time sworn officer in another state or for the Federal Government for at least 1 year provided there is no more than an 8-year break in employment, as measured from the separation date of the most recent qualifying employment to the time a complete application is submitted for an exemption under this section,
is exempt in accordance with s. 943.131(2) from completing the commission-approved basic recruit training program.
(10) Achieve an acceptable score on the officer certification examination for the applicable criminal justice discipline.
(11) Comply with the continuing training or education requirements of s. 943.135.
Well, I guess (in the absence of more information) I agree that the action appears to have been excessive. But I'm betting that this young lady's idea of how it could have been avoided is that she thinks the authorities should ignore underage drinking at football games. I'd further bet that if someone would suggest to her the alternate way it could have been avoided (people underage not drinking alcohol, and those of age not getting drunk and pelting a cop with beer bottles) that someone would be rewarded with a classic deer-in-headlights look. ("What? You mean like not break the law?")"There never should have been a gun pulled. It was excessive, no question about it," Pfeiffer said. "Come on, it's a college-football game, and they're trying to arrest people for underage drinking. It's sad. This whole thing could have been avoided."
My point was not that he had only 4 years experience it was that he had been a readily identifiable uniformed cop in a relatively small community who is now trying to blend in undercover among the very people that would be most likely to be able to ID him as a cop.If THAT sort of thing was going on, then you'd NEED a cop who wasn't all that old...someone who might LOOK like a college age guy. So his having only 4 years experience would be a good thing...cause it would mean he was young enough to pass for one of your suspects. Again...correct me if anyone sees a flaw in this argument.
At a school related function, he might have been hanging out with some of the suspects he had under surveilence...and then saw something happen that demanded he do something and break his cover. Or someone saw him, recognized him as a cop, and started something.
That's it Rojo I'm just a low life liar. Apparently that is easier for you to believe than that the paragraph appearing at the bottom of the screen after the description of the job, which I am not interested in so did not read, would have simply not gotten my attentionNow, now Joab. Did you purposely not post the very last paragraph of the job listing that says this:
Interesting as in it's more in your nature to post a smart ass response concerning my character that is to simply point out an errorIt is interesting you forgot to post the entire set of requirements.
Ah Rojo, please point out where I have said or implied that a 19 year old could have the job.Ah Joab, so they do have to receive some training and a 19 year old high school graduate cannot simply apply and be hired off the street as some people erroneously claimed. Imagine that.
Actually it can kill you, there many examples of this at Arab weddings and a few redneck partiesbut I do not think it is deadly. In fact I do not think it would break your skin.