Friend stops drunk friend by shooting tires

[mpthole]

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Last update: November 9, 2004 at 8:42 AM
Friend stops drunken driver by shooting out his tires
Associated Press
November 9, 2004 TIRESHOT1110


BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Taking to heart the credo that friends should never let friends drive drunk, a man shot out two tires on his pal's car to keep him from driving under the influence.

Alas, the move backfired when the incensed driver got out of his car, pulled a knife and attacked his friend, according to a report by Bloomington police.

Police arrested the driver, David Woodward, 39, of Indianapolis, on a preliminary charge of battery after the fight early Sunday. Woodward could not be reached for comment Monday.

Authorities said they expected to file charges within a few days against the other man, whose identity was not released, after officers found two handguns and an assault-style rifle in his home.

Woodward, who had been staying with friends in Bloomington, went out drinking with them Saturday night and then told them he wanted to drive home to Indianapolis, police said. One of the friends tried to take Woodward's car keys but grabbed the wrong ones.

Woodward got in his car and started backing out of the driveway, but his friend's car was blocking his way. The friend then retrieved a 9 mm handgun and shot out both left-side tires on Woodward's car, police said.

 

[Andrew Rothman]

You beat me to it by six minutes!

Never bring a gun to a car fight.

I wonder whether the shooter had had a few himself.

 

[Fastlane]

Am I the only one that thinks this makes gun owners look stupid. I really dislike seeing articles like this one.

 

[Ransom]

Am I the only one that thinks this makes gun owners look stupid. I really dislike seeing articles like this one.

Yeah, this is poor judgement. When you discharge youre firearm in public you better have a damn good reason. This was a bad move and there are better and less dangerous ways to keep someone from driving drunk. If worse comes to worse let him drive off but call the cops and hopefully he wouldnt make it too far.

 

[DMK]

Authorities said they expected to file charges within a few days against the other man, whose identity was not released, after officers found two handguns and an assault-style rifle in his home.

Is it illegal to own guns in WI? This reporter sure makes it appear that way.

 

[jefnvk]

Is it illegal to own guns in WI? This reporter sure makes it appear that way.

I caught that, too.

 

[mpthole]

FWIW: The story comes from Bloomington, Indiana - not Wisconsin.

 

[Mark13]

What a bunch of idiots. Shooting at an occupied car? That guy should lose his rights to own guns. He just doesn't have the judgement for it.

 

[ZeroX]

I don't know how to respond. *points to location <----*

 

[Jubei]

They say that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. I can appreciate what he was trying to do, but not the way that he did it.

Jubei

 

[ExtremeDooty]

This was obviously the time to use a phone, not a gun.

 

[Brian Dale]

If you "have to" shoot your buddy's tires to keep him from driving drunk, you've waited too long before taking action. Yes, I read that "One of the friends tried to take Woodward's car keys but grabbed the wrong ones." If there were multiple friends present, they had several options between "oops - wrong keys" and gunfire.

 

[armoredman]

Yikes, what a bozo, both of them.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Dumb + dumb = really dumb.

 

[Tom Servo]

officers found two handguns and an assault-style rifle in his home.

"Assault-style?!?"

Oh, yeah. Wisconsin. Go figure.

Still, this raises some interesting points. First, the shooter was also drinking. BIG no-no. Second, no threat of imminent harm, hence no legally (or morally) defensible reason for shooting.

Third, since the guy in the car didn't start it and was fired upon without merit, I would think he'd be legally justified in responding with lethal force. He'll probably beat the battery charge on those grounds. Heck, if somebody fired three feet away from me without direct provocation, I'd be in the red pretty quick. Good thing the guy in the car didn't have a gun.

Then again, I don't drink and handle firearms, nor do I go shooting things for no good reason, so I guess I can't completely understand. Still, this is almost Darwin material.

 

[USP45usp]

I could understand knifing the tires but shooting them out .

Also, those that say that it was already too late for action, I had a friend that we got his keys from him.... little did we know he had another set in his wallet.

But we heard the car door open and we got there and while one distracted him we got the hood open and the ignition coil wire.

Sure, he was pissed but he got over it. At that same bar, another group of friends didn't try as hard as we did about a week later (different person then the one that we stopped).

A young girl was killed when he hit her and drug her about 250yds. I don't remember the guys first name but his last name (IIRC) was McDonald and this happend in Alamogordo, NM .

Wayne

 

[odysseus]

Weird...

Authorities said they expected to file charges within a few days against the other man, whose identity was not released, after officers found two handguns and an assault-style rifle in his home.

How does finding the items mentioned mean that they will press charges? That's how this author makes it sound like. I hate that, they don't mention the weapons were illegal. It's just the typical crap to drop the "assault-style" words. Crap-o-la.

 

[SMLE]

I would indeed consider it a LAST resort, but with the very real and lethal danger of a drunk driver, I would still consider the use of force justified. What if the drunk in the car had been shooting up a mall instead? Using force to stop him would make you a "hero". A drunk drivera are just as deadly as mad gunmen and far more common. Like I said, a LAST resort, but still something to think about and to weigh against the risk to innocent lives.

My $0.02, YMMV

 

[Peter Gun]

I think this is a good example of poor reporting. I'm sure there is a lot more to this story. First of all, i think its a lot more likely the "keeping my friend from driving" story is just a cover for some other confrontation. The police are most likely considering charges because the shooter is not able to own firearms. End result is the story gives the impression of a well meaning gun owner who behaved irresponsibly (advancing the agenda that NO ONE can be trusted w/ guns) when the real story is an illegal owner of guns behaved like the criminal he is (who will not be affected by any gun law... hes a criminal)
just my hunch.

 

[ExtremeDooty]

Shooting up a mall or even deliberately trying to run people over with a car would justify shooting the drunk driver. Leaving a party is a different matter altogether. There was time for the police to respond in this instance without a civilian resorting to gunplay.

 

[litman252]

------Oh, yeah. Wisconsin. Go figure-----
Erik F, go back and r e a d again, it's not up here. pointed out a couple of times.


I think it was a stupid thing to do, however, if the drunk had killed someone on the way home someone would have ended up sueing the buddies at the party.

Tony

 

[aguyindallas]

What an embarassing story for gun owners. I have to admit though, it sounds like this guy is somebody who should not own guns as he is obviously not responsible enough to say:

"Alcohol comes out, guns go away"

Both of these guys are idiots. If there was already a car blocking his in, what was the big deal. He wasnt going anywhere anyway. :banghead:

So, a lawful gun owner (idiot) gets turned into an unlawful gun owner over a few drinks. Now he has at the least commited the crime of discharging a firearm in city limits. Most likely a negligence charge will also fall into play.

Wonder where those 2 rounds ended up?

 

[Carlos Cabeza]

The "Not So Bright" method of keeping a drinking friend off the road. I have knifed the tires on a friends car before and we fought over it for weeks later. Later, as we grew older and wiser he thanked me and admitted I did the right thing. Some folks have no ability to make rational choices when alcohol is involved.

 

[Jim March]

"In related news, Ms. Linda Feelgood, the local spokesliberal for both the Million Mom March and the Mothers Against Drunk Driving organization had her brain spontaniously burst into flames when her ideals collided head-on in a tragic accident..."

 

[Yojinbo]

"assault-style"

That bugs me too. Were these weapons stolen? If not, then why are they news? If I get arrested for any reason is my .30-06 deer rifle going to make it into the news as a "sniper-style gun was found at this home"?

The two drunked idiot thing is too stupid to comment on. It brings up the point: if there are all these importanct things (driving, shooting, working, child rearing) that we cannot do while drinking - why in the world do we drink at all?

-Yo