True Grit Farms":110dp4t3 said:
Then a cop grabs the guy and his rife goes off, really? Innocent bystanders in the line of fire for the rancher, but not the cops? Who knows what was said between the rancher and cops? Alcohol can and will make you say things that you shouldn't. Why did the cops shoot him so many times, to make sure he dies? And why didn't either one of the cops have a body camera that was working? And no pictures or video from the bystanders? S
TG, I just quoted you cause I believe I can answer a few of your questions mixed in with everything else. Since I'm stuck at work, I took Alan's suggestion and watched the video explanations by several witnesses of what occurred, read large sections of transcripts of testimony and read a large amount of the special prosecutors letter of recommendation.
First and foremost, a .223 is not a large round, and no one would take that round to hunt an elk, much less attempt to dispatch a bull. It can be done, but it is not an appropriate tool for someone who's primary job isn't euthanizing animals. I bet most people would't guess the correct spot to put a bullet in a bulls head and the brain is not very large. That's something that is learned. Secondly, the lung capacity of cattle are extremely small compared to overall body size, which is why they are so prone to succumb to respiratory disease. All in all, it would be easy to miss vital organs on a chest shot for someone not familiar with cattle and actually hit the rumen, make a head shot that doesn't hit the brain, or even if hit in the lungs, a large animal could probably withstand a handful of shots an remain viable for a period of time.
Problem number 1 is an injured animal that isn't easy for someone not familiar with cattle to dispatch easily with a small caliber rifle. The deputy started to try to euthanize the bull only because it had become aggressive.
Problem number 2- you have a ticked off rancher. This man was visibly upset and observed not only by the two deputies, but by a volunteer fireman directing traffic as well who heard the man tell the deputy with the .223 something along the lines of "put the piece of $#it away".
Problem 3, as I suspected, and the biggest factor in initiating confrontation between the deputies and the ranchers was concern for bystanders. The man walked around the bull and was reported to be aiming his rifle in the general direction of the bystanders to the south. By the testimony of the deputy, it was because of the concern for the bystanders that the deputy interrupted the man from proceeding to dispatch the bull. I saw no evidence of the other witnesses disputing the fact of the direction that he was aiming or that there were people in that direction. The reason the bystanders were a concern for the rancher and not the deputy, is because the deputy had been shooting at the bull from a 90 degree perpendicular angle (east/west) with no one behind the bull instead of north/south where there were people to the south and in the general direction of his aiming.
Is there anything in the record disagreeing with this summation of facts to the point of initiation of confrontation?
The man was shot 12 times, 4 times with the handgun by one officer and 8 times with the .223 by the second. The .223 was fired 16 times. How many of those 16 shots were fired at the man? Were there not several shots fired at the bull? So did the deputy actually fire 16 shots that rancher, 8 shots, or somewhere between 8 and 16?
Disregarding this situation, if a visibly agitated individual swings a loaded firearm at your body, and you feel immediate threat to life, how many shots are too many shots?
How long does it take to fire 8 shots from a AR? How long does it take a man to collapse to the ground that has been shot? How long does it take a man that has been shot through a major vessel to lose enough blood/blood pressure to become immobilized? Before a man is unresponsive, do you know that he has been immobilized? Does being fatally wounded stop someone from firing a weapon if they have not yet lost consciousness?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BVCt9eZubg
I'm sure I'm just paddling upstream..... but the number of times a person was shot is less important than if the choice to shoot was justified. If one shot is justified, then all shots needed to immobilize the threat is justified.
