After reading the article again, I'm curious what law he broke. I don't know Oregon's law and haven't been able to find where they talk about CHL and the use of a weapon...someone have a government link to it?
Reading through the article again, some of the statements seem absurd (unless of course the law was broken):
Sgt. Wilson said Roger Witter, 48, had a concealed weapons permit but he was at fault for firing the shots in a public area, even though no one was injured in the shooting.
Really? Unless the law says you cannot shoot at fleeing criminals what is the problem? No one was injured right? "...shot in a public area..."? I'm missing the point of saying that...not sure what good a CHL is is you can only use it in your home. I wonder what their definition of "public area" is and how it relates to CHL. (for those who also have journalism backgrounds: at least the writer got the "L" in the word...sometimes they miss it and you get a hilarious article)
Wilson said Witter fired in the direction of a TriMet bus stop while trying to stop the robbers and that was a risky thing to do.
Were there people at the bus stop? The article doesn't say, but it tries to imply that Mr. Witter was reckless because there was a bus stop. Part of discharging your firearm is knowing your surroundings. And Mr. Witter says he was aware of the surroundings:
In an interview with KGW, Witter said he was sure he didn't put anyone in danger and he was trying to help.
“I felt it was the right thing to do, I never pointed my weapon at anybody. The shots were controlled shots at the car,” Witter said. "I would do it again."
Though I would say he was pointing his weapon at someone...the criminals...
Police arrested Witter on several charges, including unlawful use of a weapon and reckless endangerment. He was released from the Multnomah County Jail overnight on his own recognizance.
"By Witter's own admission, he never felt that his life or anyone else's life was in danger," Sgt. Wilson said. "He was just trying to detain the suspects for police... It is important to remember that no matter how frustrated one may be with crime and the criminal justice system, it is not permissible to use deadly force in this type of situation. Those two rounds could've gone anywhere... in fact, we're still not sure where they went."
Aren't they going to have to prove he was reckless? As for using his weapon unlawfully, in NY and Texas, it looks like one may indeed use a firearm to stop fleeing criminals even if it isn't a life threatening situation, so I wonder what the law on the books in Oregon is.
Those two rounds could've gone anywhere... in fact, we're still not sure where they went.
lol, I wonder if they're in the bad guy's car
Maybe one of the BGs will show up at the hospital with a GSW and can be arrested.
Police believe the suspects are also responsible for another AT&T store theft at Mall 205 in Portland, which occurred about 30 minutes prior to the theft in Gresham. An AT&T representative said in a statement that the company is taking the matter very seriously and employees are cooperating with law enforcement.
Not really part of my point, but I love these lines in articles. Anyone ever heard of a company representative giving a statement that the company could care less about being robbed and their employees are stonewalling law enforcement just to be a pain? I often think these lines are added to skew the public's feelings toward people like Mr. Witter..."AT&T is being a good little company...very helpful...not like that Witter guy"
I'd also point out that jail does not mean convicted...just means arrested. But this article (and many other instances) makes me seriously consider getting some CHL insurance:
http://www.mmdbrokers.com/
Just a final note, as I said earlier, I'm not saying what Mr. Witter did was a good idea and it may even be illegal in his state. I wouldn't recommend anyone try it. I personally wouldn't probably not have shot at a fleeing vehicle because I'm just not that good. I doubt many of us are. But maybe Mr. Witter is...like the article said, they haven't found the bullets...maybe he's just that good and those bullets are in the vehicle? I'd really like to get a look at Oregon's law concerning appropriate use of a CCW.