Just Tragic…
I read this story this morning. I realize it was probably an accident, but how stupid are you to shoot at a snake in a tree? If this officer is found to have killed this boy, he should, at the least, be fired and possibly prosecuted for manslaughter.
(Patrick would like to remind you that he is not a lawyer.)
Stray Bullet Kills Boy Fishing in Okla.
NOBLE — A police officer shooting at a snake apparently killed a 5-year-old boy who was fishing at a nearby pond, officials said.
Austin Haley was fishing with his grandfather, Jack Tracy, when Tracy said he heard a shot and saw something hit the water just a few feet in front of the boat dock where he was standing.
Moments later, a second shot hit Austin in the head.
A Noble police officer who had responded to a report of a snake in a tree apparently fired the deadly shot while trying to kill the snake on Friday, City Manager Bob Wade said.
August 6th, 2007 at 9:24 am
What goes up, must come down….that’s so sad!
August 6th, 2007 at 1:17 pm
The stupidity of people constantly amazes me!!
August 6th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
To: Beccagirl-It’s not a case of “what goes up must come down”. The bullet should have never been fired. Police officers have resources available to them. Why didn’t they call animal control to remove the snake from the tree safely and with the proper tools. The idea behind a police officer having a firearm is to use deadly force when neccessary to protect others or themselves. If this snake was so high in a tree that required the police officer to shoot at it and not knock it down with a long stick to capture it, then how much of a threat could it have been? I also doubt that the use of deadly force agianst a snake high up in a tree was needed. This is an incident where a police officer just wasn’t thinking. Now a five year old is dead because of it.
August 6th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
ummagumma32,
I could not have written that better. Your analysis is spot-on. Thanks for sharing it.
August 6th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
the officers first instincts should have been to call animal control. secondly, anyone who deals with firearms knows that you never fire a rifle or handgun into the air. If the officer felt like he had to kill the snake then he should’ve used a shotgun to kill the snake. which would’ve made a whole lot more sense. Maybe if he’d done that at the least this tragedy could’ve been avoided
August 6th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
This is quite disturbing. I agree with everything that has been in response to this. Why were shots fired in the first place? Better yet, why were shots fired without looking around first? Why do we even have animal control if cops are just going to shoot animals? This whole event was mindless. It reminds me of how the majority of cops (not all)are on a power trip. It really sounds to me like it’s a case of,”I have a gun granted to me by the state, I rarely (if ever) get to use it, here’s my chance. Forget looking around to see if people are close to where i’m firing at.”
My point? I know this was an accident, but I really hope the officer involved in this case is prosecuted, and at the bare minimum loses his job over the matter. I know I wouldn’t want him serving the community where I live.
August 6th, 2007 at 7:19 pm
So, why weren’t animal control called in?
August 6th, 2007 at 11:46 pm
That seems to be the big question.
August 7th, 2007 at 7:20 am
I believe Dan answered that in his post. The police officer felt that he had a chance to use his weapon because he most likely never had a chance to use it before in his now very short career. The officer just was not thinking.