Preacherman
Member
This one's close to home... we've had a rash of shooting incidents here recently. Wonder if it's something in the water? 
From the Alexandria Daily Town Talk (http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050816/NEWS01/508160313/1002):
Police shoot fugitive
Chief says evidence justifies shooting
By Mandy M. Goodnight
August 16, 2005
Blood-stained concrete and bullet-riddled stores still marked the scene late Monday of an early-morning incident in Alexandria between law officers and an armed fugitive that ended in the man's death.
City police officers, Rapides Parish sheriff's deputies and Louisiana State Police troopers opened fire on a vehicle in a parking lot off MacArthur Drive early Monday after the car's driver pointed a gun at police, Alexandria Police Sgt. Clifford Gatlin said.
Investigators have not determined if the shooting of Michael David Mingee of Tyler, Texas, was "suicide by cop."
"All indications in the preliminary investigation point to the shooting being justified, as unfortunate as it is," Police Chief Daren Coutee said.
Coutee said he expects the investigation to be completed by the end of the week. Coutee and the Louisiana State Police have not placed any of the officers involved on leave. Further, Rapides Parish Sheriff William Earl Hilton said, "I haven't and don't plan to put any officer on leave for this."
Hilton sent five officers to support the six officers Coutee sent and four state troopers in capturing Mingee, who was wanted in three states. None of the agencies involved activated their special response or SWAT teams.
The State Police's crash reconstruction team worked Monday to paint a clearer picture of what happened in the Brown's Furniture Store parking lot on MacArthur Drive. Detectives do not yet know how many shots were fired or who fired the fatal shots.
At Brown's Furniture Store, at least seven shots went into the store's glass front, and another bullet shattered the glass front door.
Store Manager Bob Small vowed the store would remain open but said that cleaning up the mess was going to prove to be an all-day affair.
One worker was shocked when she showed up for work. She didn't know bullets had flown through the store hours earlier. Another person in the store responded to the worker's shock by saying, "This was the O.K. Corral," as she walked through the front door.
By 9 a.m., a glass repair specialist had taken measurements at the furniture store and calls were made to a cleaning service. Shards of glass littered the floor, couches and even a table in the middle of the business.
The only item in the store found damaged as of late Monday morning was a lamp.
Hilton and Coutee visited the stores in the shopping center that were damaged in the shooting. Hilton told Small to send him the bill for the damages and he would have it taken care of.
Small said it made him feel good that Hilton and Coutee came by the store.
The men also went to the Family Dollar and viewed damage at Super 1 Foods. The grocery store was not damaged on the inside but had a bit of its wall chipped, Hilton said.
The Family Dollar had a bullet hole in the top of one of its windows above a "Got Milk?" sign and damage in its door jam. The store was open Monday.
All the shots were fired by officers because the preliminary investigation shows that Mingee did not shoot at officers, authorities said.
Mingee, 38, had been staying in Rapides Parish for about a month with his last known residence being a hotel in Pineville, authorities said.
City police had a warrant for his arrest in connection with a case of identity theft, authorities said. Mingee also was wanted in California and Texas on various charges, including theft, burglary and larceny.
On Sunday, the Louisiana State Police received a call from a friend of Mingee's offering to help authorities capture him, Gatlin said. The police spokesman refused to release the name or the relationship between Mingee and the friend.
The friend told troopers he could get Mingee to the parking lot of Super 1 Foods in Alexandria on Monday, Gatlin said.
Officers from the three agencies set up surveillance of the parking lot and watched as Mingee pulled into the lot in a black Lincoln LS about midnight, police said.
Once stopped in the parking lot, officers went to the vehicle and tried to get Mingee out.
Gatlin said Mingee refused to come out of the car and brandished a weapon. Police did not release whether Mingee owned the weapon or if it was registered in someone else's name.
Mingee put the gun to his head as officers tried to get him to step out of the vehicle and put the gun down, Gatlin said.
Instead of surrendering, police said Mingee tried to drive out of the parking lot. Officers had blocked all the exits, and Mingee made a circle in the parking lot before officers boxed him in with their vehicles, Gatlin said.
Again, police said they tried to get Mingee to come out of the vehicle and put the gun down. Instead, Gatlin said Mingee pointed the gun at the officers, and they then opened fire.
Mingee died at the scene. His body is being sent to Bossier City for an autopsy.
Coutee said his officers were debriefed late Monday and were offered counseling if they needed it.
"The officers appear fine," he said.
Law enforcement officers said Mingee was not a stranger to criminal activity.
Alexandria Police Sgt. Lee Leach was investigating a report that Mingee stole the identity of a friend and used it to open a $21,000 line of credit to purchase a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
Authorities in San Diego suspected Mingee of burglary, and in Harris County, Texas, he was wanted on a forgery warrant.
Officers in his hometown of Tyler remember a 2003 incident when Mingee barricaded himself in his home and refused to come out. Don Martin of the Tyler Police Department said Mingee's wife called and told police her husband was acting crazy. When officers got there, the family had left the house, but Mingee refused to come out.
Martin said officers negotiated with Mingee before leaving. He was arrested the next month.
Authorities in the Smith County Sheriff's Office, the country where Tyler is located, said Mingee was wanted on charges of forging a financial document, theft and not paying child support.
Mingee was on probation, but neither Texas or Louisiana authorities knew the circumstances of his sentence.
From the Alexandria Daily Town Talk (http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050816/NEWS01/508160313/1002):
Police shoot fugitive
Chief says evidence justifies shooting
By Mandy M. Goodnight
August 16, 2005
Blood-stained concrete and bullet-riddled stores still marked the scene late Monday of an early-morning incident in Alexandria between law officers and an armed fugitive that ended in the man's death.
City police officers, Rapides Parish sheriff's deputies and Louisiana State Police troopers opened fire on a vehicle in a parking lot off MacArthur Drive early Monday after the car's driver pointed a gun at police, Alexandria Police Sgt. Clifford Gatlin said.
Investigators have not determined if the shooting of Michael David Mingee of Tyler, Texas, was "suicide by cop."
"All indications in the preliminary investigation point to the shooting being justified, as unfortunate as it is," Police Chief Daren Coutee said.
Coutee said he expects the investigation to be completed by the end of the week. Coutee and the Louisiana State Police have not placed any of the officers involved on leave. Further, Rapides Parish Sheriff William Earl Hilton said, "I haven't and don't plan to put any officer on leave for this."
Hilton sent five officers to support the six officers Coutee sent and four state troopers in capturing Mingee, who was wanted in three states. None of the agencies involved activated their special response or SWAT teams.
The State Police's crash reconstruction team worked Monday to paint a clearer picture of what happened in the Brown's Furniture Store parking lot on MacArthur Drive. Detectives do not yet know how many shots were fired or who fired the fatal shots.
At Brown's Furniture Store, at least seven shots went into the store's glass front, and another bullet shattered the glass front door.
Store Manager Bob Small vowed the store would remain open but said that cleaning up the mess was going to prove to be an all-day affair.
One worker was shocked when she showed up for work. She didn't know bullets had flown through the store hours earlier. Another person in the store responded to the worker's shock by saying, "This was the O.K. Corral," as she walked through the front door.
By 9 a.m., a glass repair specialist had taken measurements at the furniture store and calls were made to a cleaning service. Shards of glass littered the floor, couches and even a table in the middle of the business.
The only item in the store found damaged as of late Monday morning was a lamp.
Hilton and Coutee visited the stores in the shopping center that were damaged in the shooting. Hilton told Small to send him the bill for the damages and he would have it taken care of.
Small said it made him feel good that Hilton and Coutee came by the store.
The men also went to the Family Dollar and viewed damage at Super 1 Foods. The grocery store was not damaged on the inside but had a bit of its wall chipped, Hilton said.
The Family Dollar had a bullet hole in the top of one of its windows above a "Got Milk?" sign and damage in its door jam. The store was open Monday.
All the shots were fired by officers because the preliminary investigation shows that Mingee did not shoot at officers, authorities said.
Mingee, 38, had been staying in Rapides Parish for about a month with his last known residence being a hotel in Pineville, authorities said.
City police had a warrant for his arrest in connection with a case of identity theft, authorities said. Mingee also was wanted in California and Texas on various charges, including theft, burglary and larceny.
On Sunday, the Louisiana State Police received a call from a friend of Mingee's offering to help authorities capture him, Gatlin said. The police spokesman refused to release the name or the relationship between Mingee and the friend.
The friend told troopers he could get Mingee to the parking lot of Super 1 Foods in Alexandria on Monday, Gatlin said.
Officers from the three agencies set up surveillance of the parking lot and watched as Mingee pulled into the lot in a black Lincoln LS about midnight, police said.
Once stopped in the parking lot, officers went to the vehicle and tried to get Mingee out.
Gatlin said Mingee refused to come out of the car and brandished a weapon. Police did not release whether Mingee owned the weapon or if it was registered in someone else's name.
Mingee put the gun to his head as officers tried to get him to step out of the vehicle and put the gun down, Gatlin said.
Instead of surrendering, police said Mingee tried to drive out of the parking lot. Officers had blocked all the exits, and Mingee made a circle in the parking lot before officers boxed him in with their vehicles, Gatlin said.
Again, police said they tried to get Mingee to come out of the vehicle and put the gun down. Instead, Gatlin said Mingee pointed the gun at the officers, and they then opened fire.
Mingee died at the scene. His body is being sent to Bossier City for an autopsy.
Coutee said his officers were debriefed late Monday and were offered counseling if they needed it.
"The officers appear fine," he said.
Law enforcement officers said Mingee was not a stranger to criminal activity.
Alexandria Police Sgt. Lee Leach was investigating a report that Mingee stole the identity of a friend and used it to open a $21,000 line of credit to purchase a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
Authorities in San Diego suspected Mingee of burglary, and in Harris County, Texas, he was wanted on a forgery warrant.
Officers in his hometown of Tyler remember a 2003 incident when Mingee barricaded himself in his home and refused to come out. Don Martin of the Tyler Police Department said Mingee's wife called and told police her husband was acting crazy. When officers got there, the family had left the house, but Mingee refused to come out.
Martin said officers negotiated with Mingee before leaving. He was arrested the next month.
Authorities in the Smith County Sheriff's Office, the country where Tyler is located, said Mingee was wanted on charges of forging a financial document, theft and not paying child support.
Mingee was on probation, but neither Texas or Louisiana authorities knew the circumstances of his sentence.
