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Festus, Mo. (St. Louis area), Jan. 1 -- A police officer intending to frighten his brother-in-law by pretending to be a burglar was shot and seriously wounded by the homeowner.

http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 30379/1007
http://newsdemocratjournal.stltoday.com ... ot.ii1.txt

- Jim

Just plain stupidity!

especially if the officer knew his BIL owned a gun.

What the heck did he expect to happen?

One of my friends and me were discussing something similiar in regards to that show scare tactics. We had both watched it a little but his girlfriend had watched it a lot. She said their friends sign them up for it. They said they wondered what would happen if they got them to prank me. I told them just to make sure it's nothing that would make me want to shoot someone! My buddy said "Maybe it's just a better idea to not startle or pull any pranks on you all together!" I couldn't help but agree!

that officer is a candidate for a DARWIN AWARD for sure.

Doc

I showed that to my brother. His only response was, "Geez. Why'd they have to say he was a cop? People like that are what makes us look bad!" I would have expected an officer to know better. Especially if the person he was pranking worked with the police as well! I think you only get an honorable mention if you fail to kill yourself. I think you only get a Darwin Award if you're successful!

What's the odds of no charges being filed ?

Dan

phddan wrote:What's the odds of no charges being filed ?

I would say very high. The guy who was pretending to be a burglar was in fact trespassing, and the homeowner reasonably believed someone was breaking into his home.

This kind of incident is usually smoothed over to avoid further negative publicity.

- Jim

Missouri is also a Castle Doctrine state, so the homeowner was in his rights to protect his property when he thought there was an attempted B&E of his home. I am from that area and the DA in Jefferson County is pretty laid back. I doubt their will be any charges filed since this is internal family and they are already going through the suffering.

well at least the "burglar" didn't have to go far for a priest.

Spooked by noises coming from outside his home, the officer's brother-in-law repeatedly asked the intruder to identify himself.After hearing no answer, the man retrieved a gun and fired, wounding his brother-in-law in the abdomen.

"He shot through the door, which might have prevented the bullet from passing through his brother-in-law," Lt. Don Lassing of the Festus Police said.

Too bad the article doesn't go into any detail about why the shooter felt a immanent threat. Sounds like another great reason not to shoot through doors at unidentifiable victims. This is the sort of idiocy that gives the castle doctrine a bad name IMO.

boywaja wrote:Too bad the article doesn't go into any detail about why the shooter felt a immanent threat. Sounds like another great reason not to shoot through doors at unidentifiable victims.

If someone is rattling your doorknob at night and refuses to respond to your commands to stop or identify himself, you may be seconds away from having your door kicked in, possibly by multiple armed attackers.

The guy who was shot is not a victim. He was simulating committing burglarly, and by being on the property he was trespassing.

All that said, I think it's important to be able to see who is at your door, either from a window or by TV camera. Even then, if the guy outside were wearing a disguise, he might still have been shot.

- Jim