Sharp as a Marble - It's not just rules that don't apply to them

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It's not just rules that don't apply to them

Firearm Safety

But apparently common sense doesn't fly with "Only Ones"

FDLE: Marshal's Shooting Of Suspect Accidental, Justified

Ok, riddle me this - How can an accident be "justified"? Justification is required for intentional events, not "Oops! Sorry!"

The FDLE has released an 83-page report about the shooting of David Christopher Sills, who had been sought on felony drug warrants when he was shot Oct. 16. Sills, 26, was later arrested at St. Joseph's Hospital on felony cocaine trafficking warrants.

83 pages? How frickin' detailed are these reports? "Officer Henry took a step with his left foot, followed by one with his right. During the interim, he began to exhale, causing the shirt buttons to slightly change their elevation. Following the respiration, another step was taken, this one causing the hem of the left leg to rise slightly. The 3 bean burrito Officer Henry had for lunch began to cause him digestive distress."

Sills, of Tampa, was struck in the torso about 11:30 a.m. Oct. 16 at The Club at Hidden River, a condominium complex off Fletcher Avenue near Interstate 275, where the deputy marshal and Tampa police tried to arrest him. The joint effort was part of the fugitive task force, said Jim Madden, special agent in charge of FDLE's regional office in Tampa.

Deputy U.S. Marshal Keith Vinski collided with Sills during a pursuit, and Vinski's firearm discharged, according to the report's investigative summary

What idiot runs at full speed with a firearm in their hand? Scratch that, what idiot runs at full speed with a firearm in their hand and their finger on the trigger? Or was this one of those magical guns that discharge themselves using their own free will.

Vinski later told investigators he had approached Sills at full speed, trying to tackle Sills and take him into custody, but that Sills turned away, and he collided with Sills' back.

WHAT?????? HOLD THE f^{&ing PHONE?

What idiot runs at full speed with a firearm in their hand and their finger on the trigger with the intent to tackle someone??????

What could possibly go wrong?

However, it's a moot point - the stupidity has been declared justified.

posted @ 11/19/2008 1:17:03 PM

Comments

Sevesteen says:

on 11/19/2008 1:47:40 PM

What idiot runs at full speed with a firearm in their hand and their finger on the trigger with the intent to tackle someone??????

Every good guy with a gun on every TV show that has a good guy with a gun that I have ever seen.

Linoge says:

on 11/19/2008 5:46:21 PM

What idiot runs at full speed with a firearm in their hand and their finger on the trigger with the intent to tackle someone??????

One trained by and paid for the government.

Any other questions?

Jake says:

on 11/19/2008 6:48:55 PM

Even worse...

Due to the collision, Deputy Marshal Vinski's gun flew out of his hand and onto the ground approximately five feet away.

What idiot runs at full speed with a firearm in their hand and their finger on the trigger with the intent to tackle someone, and doesn't have a good grip on the gun!!????

Brad says:

on 11/19/2008 7:23:19 PM

I have been reading your blog for quite some time, and agree with you the vast majority of the time. I seem to recall that you are a former Marine.

First off, I thank you for your service. I imagine that if you saw combat, you would realize that it is a bit of difference between shooting holes into paper targets, and when you are handling weapons in situations where there is a greater than average chance that lead might be flying back in your direction. Even if you didn't see combat, I imagine you were trained on the effects of combat stress on your mind and body.

I agree that he shouldn't have had his finger on the trigger, but that doesn't make him an idiot. It just makes him human.

I am a police officer. I have had occasion to run with a firearm in my hand. I have been in stressful situations while making felony arrests. During some of these arrests, I thought my life was in danger. I have had adrenaline flowing through my body to the point where I had tunnel vision, auditory exclusion, and my hands were shaking too badly to hold a pen to write something down on more than one occasion.

I train with my firearm(s) at least twice a month and am a firearms instructor, I practice keeping my finger off the trigger and continually harp on my fellow officers to do the same. However, I can imagine making a similar mistake while under that kind of stress. I have been there, and I know how it feels and how it affects my abilities.

Your commenters make light that on TV people run around with their fingers on the trigger, but I would bet that they couldn't run an IPDA course without any errors. How many of you have fumbled a reload or mistakenly hit your magazine realease when you didn't mean to? Those targets don't shoot back, yet people still make mistakes there. Should all cops be like Dirty Harry and calmly shoot bank robbers 50 yards away while munching on a hot dog?

Although the article isn't explicit, this seemed to me to be an arrest while the suspect was leaving or arriving at a residence. This is a very fluid-fast changing situation, and the Marshal might not have had time to holster his weapon. People like dope dealers don't make appointments to get arrested, you never know how things will end up going down.

Even if you have been in the same situation and handled it better (which I doubt you or your commenters have), it is bullshit for you to call a person an idiot based on an article you read. You weren't there.

Would you call a soldier or marine an idiot for having a ND during a firefight? Even if arresting a felon isn't the same situation, the stress that the body and mind is under is similar. Certainly much more stress than a nice afternoon at the range, where mistakes still happen.

Mistakes due to complacency are much less forgivable in my eyes than mistakes made under the stress of combat.

If you think that arresting drug dealers is easy and shouldn't cause combat level stress in a law enforcement officer, then you are entitled to your opinion. Cops get killed making arrests several times a month in this country, it is far from a rare occurance.

As far as the incident being accidental as well as justified, I imagine the justification would be that the Marshal was justified in drawing his weapon when affecting a high-risk arrest, and that he was justified in tackling the suspect. The finger on the trigger would be the accidental part. Now if he was arresting a 60 year old lady for not paying parking tickets, I imagine it would not have been justified.

Anyways, keep up the good work, I like your blog. Sorry for the diatribe. It just rubbed me the wrong way when you insulted and made light of someone who was doing their job...

Robb Allen says:

on 11/19/2008 7:46:49 PM

Sorry for the diatribe.

Brad, this isn't an echo chamber and I'm man enough to take criticism. You need not apologize for speaking your mind here. Your points are very, very valid.

It just rubbed me the wrong way when you insulted and made light of someone who was doing their job...

I owe you an apology, one that will be forthcoming in another blog post I'll do as soon as I get my daughters to bed.

sigboy40 says:

on 11/20/2008 12:57:58 PM

Robb,
I have to agree with Brad, I once dropped a pistol on the ground during a foot pursuit while trying to reholster. I will never, ever do that again. But the fundamentals still apply, finger off the trigger, dont point it at something you are not willing to destroy. Plus one extra, proper grip pressure.

Comments have been closed on this topic.