posted
I am going to say this, Trooper Vetter should have opened fire as soon as the weapon was pointed in his direction. The dumb ass cop who pulled up got out, approached an armed individual with a weapon displayed at an officer down call should be sent off to work a cross walk. I saw at least four to five instances where the man should have been shot. I am not second guessing these guys it is just my perception of what I probably would have done. I have had a weapon pointed at me twice in the line of duty and both times I walked away and the other guy didnt. THis is a great lesson to us all that it doesnt matter how old someone is, they can still kill you.
posted
He plea bargained down to 40 years with no parole. He was 72, so either he'll get out at age 112 or die in prison.
Also, the rifle was a Ruger Mini 14.
I also was wondering why the second officer didn't engage the shooter more aggressively.
But If you hear the radio transmissions, the shooter fired of the officer then uses the officer's radio to call in the shooting, saying that an officer is down without giving any details.
To another officer listening, it could have sounded like a helpful citizen was calling in the situation, so they may have expected to find that helpful citizen there rather than the shooter.
Also, there could have been a perception that the shooter, an elderly white man in a cowboy hat, didn't fit the profile of a perp, so the responding officer may not have initially perceived him as a threat - other than the fact that he is holding a rifle, of course.
Many lessons learned there, one being that a "bad guy" doesn't have to look like a bad guy. A dangerous EDP can look like anyone.
posted
I know Trooper Vetter. He lived a couple blocks away from me and had 2 small children. He used to come to my criminal justice class and show how you could determine how fast a car was going at the scene of an accident from how long the tire skids and weight of the car or something beyond me like that. Good man and Trooper. I got kicked out of Sunday school pretty soon after that because they didn't think this guy should get the death penalty and I related how I would've felt if that had been my father (a police officer at the time). Maybe I should've used more tactful wording in Sunday school.
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