SC Officer shot 4 times in the back and killed - investigation continuing

[CannibalCrowley]

If the police would've responded to his firts call, this wouldn't have happened. Here we have a man who witnessed several people firing weapons on his property along with killing a pet and trying to break into his shed. He confronts at least one and said armed person makes a sudden move or simply does something besides putting down the weapon. If the roles were reversed, many would be defending Odam for killing an armed trespasser.

Maybe Odam should've taken FedDC's advice from a previous thread:

Here is a tip, when you are being detained by a citizen/LEO at gunpoint, do as that person says: DO NOT make furtive movements or point any objects at the guy with the gun...

Remember, Odam took 2 shots to the back and one to the side (it hit him in the left arm and then struck his heart). It seems that Odam was turning to face Rye. Doing so while armed generally isn't a good idea. If Rye was the LEO and Odam the suspect, then those denouncing Rye would instead be cheering "good shoot!"
FedDC

Seriously folks, we are only hearing one side of this story and that is the guy that got shot.

 

[FedDC]

And conversly, because the victim was a cop, he is obviously the aggressor and entitled to less protection under the law...

Biased much?

 

[EricOKC]

FedDC

And conversly, because the victim was a cop, he is obviously the aggressor and entitled to less protection under the law...

Biased much?

As you have pointed out in previous threads, and as someone was so kind to repost here, it isnt a good idea to make sudden moves when someone has a gun on you - especially if you're also armed.

Admit it Fed, if the roles were reversed and the cop shot the citizen, even on the citizens property, you'd be saying it was a legitimate shoot by virtue of the fact that the citizen was armed. You know it and we know you know it. Denying it wont change that fact.

Someone on my property, uninvited, armed with a rifle? Hm...I'm thinking I might be a bit quick on the trigger too. After all, at the end of the day, we all just want to go home, dontcha know.

 

[Sportcat]

UPDATE

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2184667&nav=0RaMPwuY

Suspect charged with deputy's death to have bond hearing Aug. 25

(Columbia) Aug. 17, 2004 - The Columbia man charged with killing a Beaufort County Sheriff's Deputy on Saturday will have a bond hearing next Wednesday, according to the Richland County Solicitor’s office.

Thomas Grover Rye, 58, is charged with murder in the death of 22-year-old Robert Odam.The time of Rye's hearing has not be determined. He is being held at Richland County's Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.

Rye says he killed Deputy Odam in self-defense. Odam was found dead on property Rye owns in Eastover on Saturday afternoon. Richland County Coroner Gary Watts says Odam had been shot four times, including twice in the back.

Odam's family says he was visiting his wife's mother, who lives near Eastover, next door to Rye.

Sheriff's spokesman Joseph Pellicci says Rye had called 911 earlier Saturday to report that someone had tried to break into a shed on his Eastover property and killed one of his cats.

A deputy was sent out to investigate, but before the deputy arrived investigators say Rye called a second time to say he confronted, shot and killed an armed suspect on his property. In July Rye told deputies someone came on his property and killed some of his cats.

The family says the deputy was outside taking target practice when Rye shot him four times. Pellicci says it does not appear Odam charged toward Rye or fired his gun.

A memorial fund has been established for Deputy Odam. Donations may be made to the Deputy Robert T. Odam Memorial Fund at any Carolina First Bank location.

 

[Shootcraps]

The Sheriff's department doesn't seem to be very forthcoming with details of the investigation. Their spokesman (Pellici) is quick to say:

"it does not appear Odam charged toward Rye or fired his gun".

but why is he saying this without any more details? Is it an effort to protect the deputy (who may have been in the wrong) and make Rye look like the bad guy?

Perhaps Rye has an ongoing feud with his neighbors, and this was just another episode that turned really ugly?

Is Odam's brother-in-law the only witness? What's his story?

DETAILS!! We need some.

 

[Shootcraps]

>>A memorial fund has been established for Deputy Odam. Donations may be made to the Deputy Robert T. Odam Memorial Fund at any Carolina First Bank location.<<


And I was surprised to see this established so quickly. Is it unusual to create a memorial fund for a deputy who dies in a non-duty related incident?

 

[TallPine]

Sheriff's spokesman Joseph Pellicci says Rye had called 911 earlier Saturday to report that someone had tried to break into a shed on his Eastover property and killed one of his cats.

the deputy was outside taking target practice when Rye shot him four times.

2 + 2 = 4

 

[CentralTexas]

Something odd

The article said he had been in the Air Force for TWO (2) years. There are no two year enlistments in the Air Force, 4 or 6 only.
Therefore he was medically discharged, mental or physical- but fit for being a cop on the outside?
Administrative- I.E. kicked out

You would think a cop would know about trespass also.....

CT

 

[Mike Hull]

I noticed that about the interrupted Air Force enlistment also.

 

[tcsd1236]

The article said he had been in the Air Force for TWO (2) years. There are no two year enlistments in the Air Force, 4 or 6 only....

I assume the USAF allows IRR in hardship cases, just as the Army does.Irrelevant to the current situation.

 

[CentralTexas]

Well

in todays climate of "Stop Loss" etc and troop burnout few and far between hardships are granted, they were tough to get before the war.
This IS relevant when a citizen may be falsely accused of murder & get hung because of the deceased being a cop.
Not all cops are saints & the 2 years service is a red flag- this one may have a history of bad behavior, it's very germane in this case.
CT

 

[flatrock]

Lots of missing facts.

It could very well be that Rye shot Odam because he had been shooting his cats, and he didn't think the Sheriff would do anything about it because he was a deputy. That's not justifable homicide, and he should be tried for murder.

There may very well also have been a history of bad blood between these two neighbors, in which case Odam should have known not to be trespassing, especially while target shooting.

It could be that Rye caught Odam shooting at his cats, and confronted him. Odam made a more that Rye felt was threatening, and shot him. For this to fit there would have to be an explaination for the shots in the back.

It could also be that Odam had nothing to do with the cats being shot, and simply was in the wrong place at the wrong time. That still doesn't mena it was or wasn't self defense.

"it does not appear Odam charged toward Rye or fired his gun"

If he was target shooting, how could they tell if he had fired at Rye or not?

I also wouldn't expect a sheriff's deputy to charge an armed person.

The news articles really don't provide much useful info.

 

[BeLikeTrey]

um hello?

He's a cop. They never do anything wrong so stop implying they do. There are alot of good points made here. especially the way the "civilian" is always assumed guilty where as "The Enforcer" is always presumed innocent. Shouldn't we all hold everyone to the SAME standard?



That being said there seems to be a distinct reason for constantly stating the two shots to the back while leaving the details out (if not fuzzy) on the timing of the shots and the placement of the other two. Hmm wonder why?

I think the FULL report should be in order first. This could go either way.

 

[Shootcraps]

Right. We need the details. If the first two shots were the arm and neck ones, they could have caused him to spin around and the next two went into the back (maybe).

You're also right about the standards. If he wasn't in uniform, on the job, responding to an incident then the fact that he's a deputy is totally irrelevant.

I would be willing to bet that his department isn't thinking that way. Especially when the only information Pellici releases is "it does not appear Odam charged toward Rye or fired his gun". This sounds to me like he's trying to remove Odam from suspicion.

BTW, I just looked at that statement again. If you're illegally on someones property with a loaded rifle, then you don't have to "charge toward them or fire the gun" to make you a lethal threat.

 

[DMF]

As I said before there is too much speculation and too little real info going on here.

Just look at the crazy speculation about his military service. Anyone ever consider that maybe he was in the Reserves or Guard, and did it full time for two years before becoming a cop? See there is another possibility, TOTALLY SPECULATIVE, but might explain the media interpretation of two years "in the military." The truth? WE DON'T KNOW.

Someone here posted that Odam had an AK. There is nothing in the media reports to support that.

There is all kinds of BS from the media, from the cops, from the people on this board, regarding what kind of threat Odam was or was not. But we don't know.

Again, I'll say the same thing I do when the cops are the shooters:

1- We don't have enough facts to determine if this is a justified shoot or not.

2- Just because someone got shot in the back doesn't mean the shoot wasn't justified as self defense.

So it boils down to this there needs to be an investigation to determine what really happened. Maybe it was justified, maybe it wasn't, but we don't know anything more than what's in the crappy news articles.

Is it sad Odam was killed? Yes, but I doubt that any of us will ever get the truth about whether it was justified self defense, or a murder, based on the news stories.

 

[Shootcraps]

You're right DMF, we don't have enough info. We're just moving the pieces of the puzzle that we have around to see if we can get a clearer picture.

We know the Sheriff's department is investigating. I'm really wondering why they're so tight-lipped about details. Sure they can't tell us everything they find. We're just anxious to hear a little more.

I'm sure we can all agree that if Rye is at fault, he should be punished according to the law.

And the flip side is, if Odam is at fault then Rye should be acquitted of any charges.

Was Rye feuding with his neighbors and looked at these people being on his property as an insult? Possible - but we need more info.

Was Odam being cocky and thinking that just because he's a deputy, he can do what he pleases? Possible - but we need more info.

Was Rye's 911 call confirmed that someone did break into his shed and kill some of his cats? Mr. Pellici?

And if Odam's brother-in-law was with him, why haven't we heard anything from him? If someone murdered my brother-in-law right in front of me, I'd be screaming about it to someone. On the other hand, if my brother-in-law was being a dick at the time and was at fault, I might not be screaming so loudly.

 

[Beren]

Someone here posted that Odam had an AK. There is nothing in the media reports to support that.

http://www.lowcountrynow.com/stories/081604/LOCdeputy.shtml

"Pellicci said Odam was on Rye's property firing his AK-47 in what was believed to be target practice Saturday afternoon. At least one other person was with Odam, Pellicci said."

(Lt. Joseph Pellicci is a public information officer for the Richland County Sheriff's Department according to the article - B.)

 

[Beren]

Other bits from a new article:

http://www.lowcountrynow.com/stories/081704/LOCdeputyfuneral.shtml

"A dead cat was found on the land, but how it died or who was responsible remained unclear, he said. Rye had reported trespassers on other occasions.

Odam's assault rifle, which was legally registered, was recovered by police, Pellicci said."

As everyone has said, there isn't nearly enough information here to reach a conclusion.

A question: on this board and on Glock Talk, I've seen numerous people talk about how they would "kill anyone who hurt their animals." Their animals are "part of the family and every bit as valuable as a human. More valuable than some humans."

Do we have anyone here who would support Rye's action on that basis? (I don't, personally. Pets are property, and while they should be treated with every respect due a living creature, their death is destruction of property - nothing more.)

 

[Edward429451]

Do we have anyone here who would support Rye's action on that basis?

Not across the board. It would depend on the demeanor of the people involved and EXACTLY what was said or inferred. I can see where it could *possibly* go that far depending on the situation, but it would not just be about the animal.

Lots of 22 yr olds are cocky. Who knows what went on for sure.

 

[Sindawe]

Yes.

On my property, injuring or killing my cats WILL get the offending creature injured or killed. Four leggers will get an quick dispatch the back of the line. Two leggers will be shot/budgened into inoffensivness. If such terminates their miserable lives, too frelling bad. Since my cats are all strictly indoor cats, the attacker will have to be in my home to get to the cats. Inside my home w/o my leave or offical papers makes them fair game under Colorado law.

 

[flatrock]

Do we have anyone here who would support Rye's action on that basis? (I don't, personally. Pets are property, and while they should be treated with every respect due a living creature, their death is destruction of property - nothing more.)

I consider a pet different from other property, but not as valuable as a human life. I wouldn't shoot someone over a pet. However, I'm pretty sure that you're facing a bit more legat trouble if you kill someone's pet, than if you destroy a their material possessions worth an equal dollar value.

If after shooting my pet you turned toward me with a gun in your hands while on my property, I might very well consider you a mortal threat and take appropriate action.

 

[Shootcraps]

Wow!

[Q]But when an attacker's bullet claimed the 22-year-old's life Saturday, he wasn't wearing his body armor or badge.

Richland County deputies say he was shot in cold blood while trespassing on someone else's land armed with an assault rifle.[/Q]

The Carolina Morning News seems to be strongly suggesting that Rye is guilty of murder. "shot in cold blood" is pretty strong.


But they are saying Odam was trespassing. I wonder what activities he was involved in while he was breaking the law and trespassing on Rye's property with an assault rifle. Did he shoot a cat or try to break into a shed??


Curiouser and curiouser......

 

[Shootcraps]

More details from WTOC:

"Deputy Odam served the community for just over a year, working in the southern part of the county. But his life was cut short while visiting family. Investigators say it all happened when Odam and some buddies were doing some target practice and got into an argument with a neighbor next door. "


Who are the "some buddies" and what's their side of the story?

 

[Shootcraps]

And from policeone.com:

"An autopsy showed Sunday that Odam was shot four times, including twice in the back and once in the left arm, Watts said. Another bullet grazed Odams neck. The bullet that struck Odams left arm ultimately hit his heart and killed him."

"We havent found anything during this investigation to support (Ryes) theory of self-defense, Pellicci said. At this point, we feel that Mr. Rye murdered Mr. Odam without any provocation."

 

[SOT_II]

One of the main problems here is that something that was not right was going on.

1. There is a dead cat
2. The guy was shooting on someone elses land
3. SC may allow for defense of property
4. If someone is shooting on my land...and I don't knwo who they are...I'm not really going to ask them if they are shooting at me, my cats, or at something else.

So this old guy hears gunfire...sees one of his cats dead calls the cops and arms himself....walks out and sees a guy with a gun shooting...
what would you do?

Me I would have waited for the cops and stayed inside...but then again maybe I wouldn't. This happened by my last year...and I went out to investigate and caught to people that had escaped from a workfarm in NY trying to break into my shop....didn't shoot them...but I would have if they had guns and turned on me.