State agency to investigate shooting after death is called an accident
State agency to investigate shooting after death is called an accident
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63
By Johnny Johnson
Published: August 5, 2007
NOBLE — The first shot was so loud it made the hair stand straight up on Jack Tracy's arm. The bullet hit the water just a few feet in front of the boat dock where he was standing.
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‘I just feel really bad'
Police had gotten a call of a snake complaint from a woman on Crest Lane, whose 16-year-old daughter saw the snake hanging about 3 feet of its body outside a neighbor's bird house on Friday.
The woman, who would not identify herself, told The Oklahoman she called the police station to see if animal control could respond and take care of the snake, which she believed to be a diamondback rattlesnake.
She was told that the city, which lost its only animal control officer recently, would send a police officer over to help.
"This was just a freak and tragic accident,” the woman said, "and I just feel really bad for everyone involved.”
Other neighbors weren't as sympathetic.
Crest Lane resident Kara Johnson said there was no excuse for shooting a gun at a snake in a residential area.
"It's a shame that someone had to lose their 5-year-old child over a snake,” Johnson said. "And that's their only child. They'll never get their kid back.”
Neighbor G.W. Henderson said his wife heard a woman screaming within minutes of the shots.
"She was shouting ‘You shot my boy! You shot my boy!'” Henderson said.
Second shot hit snake
City Manager Bob Wade said rumors of overeager Noble officers are inaccurate. "I was told that they tried several ways to get the snake down, but it was still hissing at them and firmly lodged,” Wade said. "What I was told is that the owner of the home either suggested or agreed that they should go ahead and shoot the snake, and then everything happened from there.”
Wade refused to identify the officer suspected of firing the shots but said the officer has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agents were told that officers decided to shoot the animal after being told there was a field behind them, said Jessica Brown, bureau spokeswoman.
"The first shot grazed the snake, and the second killed it,” Brown said.
Wade said he is 90 percent sure that the same bullet that killed the snake also killed Austin, but due to the trajectory of the shot and the fact that Austin and his grandfather were downhill, investigators have to be 100 percent certain.
"This is so bizarre it has to be fully investigated. ... We're pretty sure circumstantially that it is the bullet from the police officer's gun, but it might be a bullet from someone else,” Wade said.
Tracy has little doubt about what happened.
"I was standing right beside him when they shot him in the head,” he said. "There just wasn't anything I could do for this baby. He was dead. And he was just the finest Christian boy. His mother just bought him a Bible not a week before this — he wanted one that was camouflage because he was in the Lord's army.”
Tracy said that when he saw the news reports and heard the police chief saying it was an "unfortunate accident,” the remark seemed too trivial and dismissive.
"I'm not saying the cop shot him on purpose,” Tracy said. "It was an accident. But let me tell you — if I had a kid and put him in this car and didn't put him in a car seat and he got killed on the way to town, they'd charge me with murder ... and what this cop did is a lot worse than that. ... There was no reason for him to kill my grandson.”
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The 2 crimes listed below come from the Oklahoma Statutes down to the letter.
I would like everyone to stop referring to this incident as an "ACCIDENT, it is called "2nd Degree Murder-Imminently Dangerous Conduct 21 O.S. 701.8 and Reckless Discharge of a Firearm 21 O.S. 1289.11." Here are the elements of each crime:(form your own opinion now and tell me what ya think:) 2nd Degree Murder-Imminently Dangerous Conduct 21 O.S. 701.8 1.) the death of a human 2.) caused by conduct which was imminently dangerous to another/other persons 3.) the conduct was that of the defendant 4.) the conduct evinced a depraved mind in extreme disregard for human life 5.) the conduct is not done with the intention of taking life of or harming any particular individual. Reckless Discharge of a Firearm 21 O.S. 1289.11 1.) knowingly engaged in conduct 2.) possession of weapon 3.) actions such as creating a situation of unreasonable risk and probability of death or great bodily harm to another 4.) demonstrating a conscious disregard for the safety of another person. In a residential neighborhood, it is not safe to shoot any weapons. There are thousands of places that bullet could go after it hits the primary target. I am truly embarrassed. I am a Law Enforcement officer of 8 years and tonight, while on patrol; at a convienence store, a woman made a statement to me that all cops are idots. I asked her what she was referring to and she stated that the boy should be alive and how could that have happened? We talked for a little bit and I convinced her otherwise, all are not created equal. My heart and prayers go out to the family and just as well to the officer.(Im sure, all parties involved are devasted.) However, I have no reservations for the City Manager or the Chief of police. That officer failed and the City Manager and Chief of Police failed to properly train that officer and furthermore, have no clue....their statements and accusations are absurd. Secondly, rather a citizen gives you permission or not to fire your weapon....you as the officer are liable and (hopefully trained) for your actions and must make the correct decision...(rather you have a split second to do it or not) you can not put the blame on the citizen. Third, the City of Noble probably still maintained the Animal Control equipment....send the second officer back to the station and retrieve the noose bar, while the other officer stays on the scene, then come back and safely remove the snake fourth, after failed attempts with garden tools, and as a very last resort maybe........use your 00 buck shotgun.......maybe.....I said. It is hard to say but... I can honestly say.....I would not have fired my duty weapon period!!!!!!! The only time you are to fire your weapon....when deadly force is authorized!!! I would like all people to maintain there trust in us and to not condem all law enforcement officers. Justice will prevail!!!! Secondly, I asked all persons on this board to pray for the family and the officer!!
Of course, you have to have the understanding that this officer was not intending to shoot a person, but still, a snake? I echo the others stating he/she should have used a shovel or something else to knock it down. Do Animal Control units in Oklahoma not have snakegrabbers? I know game wardens do. If they weren't properly trained, then heads should roll further up the ladder. I feel horrible for the officer in this situation, but I feel worse for the family who lost their son/grandson, etc. My son is 4, & if it had been him or a member of my family, I would want to take legal action to see that this doesn't happen again. The grandfather was right about negligence when in sad cases a child who is not restrained in a car seat dies in/due to a car wreck--the driver is held accountable. Accountability is the operative word, & I also agree with the others screaming that the city manager should never have tried to subdue the situation, reducing to a tragic accident. That's reinforcing the image of keystone cops running around with firearms in rural areas. I disagree with the statement that Oklahoma is backwards--stupid accidents can happen anywhere. There are stupid people everywhere, world-wide. Haven't you heard that Common Sense has died? To refocus on the issue--I think suspension (he/she's going to need some time off!), but never to be allowed to carry/use a firearm professionally again would be appeasable for sanctioning the officer, but the family should be rewarded huge damages from the city. This is where the lawyers need to do their job. Right now, I am doing the best I can to pray for the family & that the little boy's soul can rest, forgiveness willing. God Bless them.
We have been violated by the media, pictures of our home are now out there for the entire world to see. We chose not to release a statement because we felt like it was not our place to state anything since we were not home at the time of the accident. I am now wishing we had since there are so many wrong statements about us and how the accident occurred.
My husband and I have known the family since we were young and they are wonderful people. We need to spend this time focusing on them and the loss of Austin, and keep all parties involved in our prayers.
Steve, Perry OK