Police Confront Broward Judge at Gunpoint

[PUCKER]

Happened in Florida.

From: http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Brow ... 99.html?dr" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"Police Confront Broward Judge at Gunpoint, Confusion on Easter Sunday leads BSO to wrong house"

This made the hair on the back of my neck stand up!

But Carmita was downright angry. Remember the man outside her kitchen window who pointed a gun at her? Still wearing her pajamas and footies, she approached him afterward. “I said ‘you had a gun pointed at me!’ He said ‘because I felt threatened.’ I said ‘threatened how?'"

She said other officers explained to her that they have families too and they want to make it home alive each night. But she says they did so in a condescending way, lecturing her as if she’d done something wrong.

“I know no one apologized, OK? And, to me, if you want to make amends for something, you want to make peace, you apologize, you shake, you leave, you say ‘I'm sorry,’" she said. "And, you know, the cop that had his gun on me, he said ‘well, I was fearing for my life.’ I said ‘really! You were fearing for your life? Really?’ He said ‘forget it - I'm out of here.'"

[WildBill]

"Police Confront Broward Judge at Gunpoint, Confusion on Easter Sunday leads BSO to wrong house"

Obviously a mistake. Even if he didn't admit fault, I wonder why the officer refused to apologize. Sometimes all it takes is a few words to de-escalate a bad situation. I learned that in my CHL class.

[Rex B]

That seems to be par for the course in such Wrong-house scenarios.
She's lucky if they didn't break down the door and shoot her chihuahua.
Their legal dept probably advises them not to admit wrongdoing by apologizing.

[tarkus]

I can only hope the judge will remember their professionalism and integrity if any officer from that department is ever in their court.

[RoyGBiv]

If the Judge was willingly walking out of the house, she must have already realized that the people outside were legitimately the Sheriff's department.. Why would she not leave her gun on a table inside?

The whole thing was an unfortunate series of miscommunications, but that one was the worst. IMHO, YMMV.

[WildBill]

I can only hope the judge will remember their professionalism and integrity if any officer from that department is ever in their court.

I believe that she will.

And, to me, if you want to make amends for something, you want to make peace, you apologize, you shake, you leave, you say ‘I'm sorry,’" she said.

[WildBill]

Their legal dept probably advises them not to admit wrongdoing by apologizing.

I have no idea if this is true or if it is department policy. I believe that an apology can be made without admitting wrongdoing. "Judge Holmes, I am very sorry that this happened." To me it sounds better than "Forget it. I'm out of here."

[gigag04]

Seems routine to me...

Someone outside goes inside and lowers all the windows, they are in the area for a report of a burglar at house that seems to not be there...this person is in the same area. A reasonable person might assume that the burglar is in the house. Then the judge's gun comes into play. Seems to me like the police did fine, and didn't shoot the wrong person.

Not sure why you guys are all upset - if the judge was chewing me out, when I did exactly what I was supposed to, I would've walked off too, instead of getting into it with her.

Also recommend reading the article - the snippets quoted in this thread tell a bit different story than what I got from reading it.

Police in South Florida often say they routinely must make certain people confirm who they say they are before lowering their weapons.

But Carmita was downright angry. Remember the man outside her kitchen window who pointed a gun at her? Still wearing her pajamas and footies, she approached him afterward. “I said ‘you had a gun pointed at me!’ He said ‘because I felt threatened.’ I said ‘threatened how?'"

...because someone inside had a gun...

[Hoi Polloi]

IIRC, the timeline was:
-911 call from a neighbor goes in on an invalid address.
-Cops take a guess on which house was meant, seeing movement inside one house on Easter evening and guessing that was it.
-The man of the house was in the kitchen and that's who the police saw, but he did not see the police.
-The same neighbor who called the police then called Carmita to say a burglar is in the neighborhood.
-Carmita sees movement outside her window and lowers the blinds, hollering out that she saw a man outside with a gun pointed at her.
-Carmita's sister, the judge, comes from another room with her gun at her sister's cry.
-The judge verbally identifies herself and that she's armed, asking them to identify themselves.
-The police identify themselves and order the family outside at gunpoint.
-The family obeys the police commands, continuing to verbalize what they're doing. They're dressed in PJs and clearly together and complying.
-The police continue to hold them at gunpoint, screaming high tension commands at the family. Stress is high all around.
-Upon recognizing the judge, an officer tells the rest to stand down then chews out the judge for having a gun because the police would have treated her differently if he hadn't recognized her as a judge.
-The family breathes a sigh of relief and expressing their fear from the ordeal.
-The officer with the gun is dismissive and contentious, arguing back and then walking off.

[PUCKER]

HP, you did a great job summarizing it, thank you!

[pbwalker]

Seems routine to me...

Someone outside goes inside and lowers all the windows, they are in the area for a report of a burglar at house that seems to not be there...this person is in the same area. A reasonable person might assume that the burglar is in the house. Then the judge's gun comes into play. Seems to me like the police did fine, and didn't shoot the wrong person.

Not sure why you guys are all upset - if the judge was chewing me out, when I did exactly what I was supposed to, I would've walked off too, instead of getting into it with her.

Also recommend reading the article - the snippets quoted in this thread tell a bit different story than what I got from reading it.

Police in South Florida often say they routinely must make certain people confirm who they say they are before lowering their weapons.

But Carmita was downright angry. Remember the man outside her kitchen window who pointed a gun at her? Still wearing her pajamas and footies, she approached him afterward. “I said ‘you had a gun pointed at me!’ He said ‘because I felt threatened.’ I said ‘threatened how?'"

...because someone inside had a gun...

From the article:

The call to police said there might be a burglar inside 235 Southwest 4th Street. But there is no 235. Only 236 and 230.

What is the SOP in these instances? Just pick someone who looks / does something suspicious?

This all could have been avoided...

My $0.02

[C-dub]

I wonder why the police didn't just knock on the door and ask if everything was okay. I'm beginning to wonder if the neighbor was setting up the judge.

[Ameer]

But Carmita was downright angry. Remember the man outside her kitchen window who pointed a gun at her? Still wearing her pajamas and footies, she approached him afterward. “I said ‘you had a gun pointed at me!’ He said ‘because I felt threatened.’ I said ‘threatened how?'"

If judges in Florida have the authority, it would be poetic justice for Judge Holmes to prohibit deputies from the Broward sheriffs department from carrying guns in her courtroom, even in uniform.

Who could blame her for feeling threatened by them?

[The Annoyed Man]

I think that both the judge and the contentious cop handled it badly. He really should have apologized. Really. He should have. It would have bee "the right thing to do." She shouldn't have been so "in your face" accusatory, and more understanding of the tension the cops were under too. She escalated the situation by throwing her titular weight around. That was "the wrong thing to do." He maintained the escalation by refusing to humbly apologize—which would have cost him nothing, and would have deescalated the situation, and would have shown him to be the better person.

The judge should have known better, once it was apparent that this was a legitimate police action, even if it was at the wrong house. Mistakes do happen. Understand that, and give a little grace here and there. For his part, he's supposed to be a professional. A professional will deescalate at every opportunity. Particularly AFTER it was apparent whom they had detained and that the detention was their mistake. She had done nothing illegal. She had been rousted out of her house in the middle of Easter observances. He should have figured that into his response. It truly wasn't a case of "no harm no foul." He owed her the apology.

Neither person behaved very professionally, IMHO. Must be something in the water in Broward County.

[gigag04]

Seems routine to me...

Someone outside goes inside and lowers all the windows, they are in the area for a report of a burglar at house that seems to not be there...this person is in the same area. A reasonable person might assume that the burglar is in the house. Then the judge's gun comes into play. Seems to me like the police did fine, and didn't shoot the wrong person.

Not sure why you guys are all upset - if the judge was chewing me out, when I did exactly what I was supposed to, I would've walked off too, instead of getting into it with her.

Also recommend reading the article - the snippets quoted in this thread tell a bit different story than what I got from reading it.

Police in South Florida often say they routinely must make certain people confirm who they say they are before lowering their weapons.

But Carmita was downright angry. Remember the man outside her kitchen window who pointed a gun at her? Still wearing her pajamas and footies, she approached him afterward. “I said ‘you had a gun pointed at me!’ He said ‘because I felt threatened.’ I said ‘threatened how?'"

...because someone inside had a gun...

From the article:

The call to police said there might be a burglar inside 235 Southwest 4th Street. But there is no 235. Only 236 and 230.

What is the SOP in these instances? Just pick someone who looks / does something suspicious?

This all could have been avoided...

My $0.02

Happens more than you think. You have to do the best that you can with information you've been given.