Cop shoots at snake, kills boy, 5

Lawdog1379 · 08-06-2007, 08:58 AM

NOBLE, Oklahoma (AP) -- 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.

"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."

Tracy thought someone must be trying to kill him and his grandson, so he put the child on the back of a 4-wheeler and drove to his daughter's house about 200 yards away.

"Then two officers came out of the brush over there," he told The Oklahoman. "They didn't tell us they were the ones who had been shooting or that they had shot him. They didn't admit a doggone thing."

The boy was pronounced dead at an Oklahoma City hospital, about 25 miles north of Noble.

Wade refused to identify the officer but said the person had been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

"This is so bizarre it has to be fully investigated," he said. "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."

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jessica Brown said a state investigation was under way, though it appeared the fatal shot had been fired by the officer.

Tracy has little doubt. "I'm not saying the cop shot him on purpose," he said. "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."

Pure fcuking stupidity. All the officer had to do was call animal control. If Noble, OK doesn't have an animal control unit do anything ANYTHING but discharge your weapon. I mean come on.

Mr. Wacko · 08-06-2007, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lawdog1379

"Then two officers came out of the brush over there," he told The Oklahoman. "They didn't tell us they were the ones who had been shooting or that they had shot him. They didn't admit a doggone thing."

-smh... hopefully they give Mr. Officer life w/o parole

Itsalwayshard · 08-06-2007, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lawdog1379

NOBLE, Oklahoma (AP) -- 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.

"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."

Tracy thought someone must be trying to kill him and his grandson, so he put the child on the back of a 4-wheeler and drove to his daughter's house about 200 yards away.

"Then two officers came out of the brush over there," he told The Oklahoman. "They didn't tell us they were the ones who had been shooting or that they had shot him. They didn't admit a doggone thing."

The boy was pronounced dead at an Oklahoma City hospital, about 25 miles north of Noble.

Wade refused to identify the officer but said the person had been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

"This is so bizarre it has to be fully investigated," he said. "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."

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jessica Brown said a state investigation was under way, though it appeared the fatal shot had been fired by the officer.

Tracy has little doubt. "I'm not saying the cop shot him on purpose," he said. "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."

Pure fcuking stupidity. All the officer had to do was call animal control. If Noble, OK doesn't have an animal control unit do anything ANYTHING but discharge your weapon. I mean come on.

Thats ****ing horrible really sad what a waste.

kamjah · 08-06-2007, 09:01 AM

DURRR, stupidity reigns again

Itsalwayshard · 08-06-2007, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Wacko

-smh... hopefully they give Mr. Officer life w/o parole

It was an accident and however terrible the situation is thats excatly what it was, he should be sacked for been careless.

Staberella · 08-06-2007, 09:01 AM

OMG! My prayers go out to the family. I can't even look at the picture of the grandfather, the look on his face is so devastating that I'll cry.

RIP little man and I hope the idiot that did this to you gets his comeuppance. I'm gonna go hug my 5 year old son now. BRB.

**GApump** · 08-06-2007, 09:03 AM

That was really careless of that officer, the first thing anyone teaches you when you learn to shoot is not to point a gun at someone, the second is look at what is behind your target....idiot.

Bad Company · 08-06-2007, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Itsalwayshard

It was an accident and however terrible the situation is thats excatly what it was, he should be sacked for been careless.

x2

I bet the cop feels awfull.

FunkDaddy · 08-06-2007, 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Itsalwayshard

It was an accident and however terrible the situation is thats excatly what it was, he should be sacked for been careless.

I believe officers are trained to be a little more cautious than that. "Careless" with a firearm resulting in death is a jailable offense imo, especially somebody who should know A LOT better.

kamjah · 08-06-2007, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bad Company

x2

I bet the cop feels awfull.

all the guilt he feels he deserves. i hope he never forgets how stupid he was that day. that much carelessness in his line of work is unforgivable.

Geno · 08-06-2007, 09:10 AM

Discharging his weapon is fine as is shooting some annoying snake. Not looking at your background and negligently killing someone should draw charges. Accident or not, each individual is responsible for their actions. If these guys were being attacked by someone or something, it would be different and I would cut them some slack but this is just not acceptable. The officer who fired the round should be charged with negligent homicide or manslaughter and the other officer should have negligence charges for not stopping him from doing something stupid.

Staberella · 08-06-2007, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FunkDaddy

I believe officers are trained to be a little more cautious than that. "Careless" with a firearm resulting in death is a jailable offense imo, especially somebody who should know A LOT better.

QFT. Also another poster brought up a good point. He should have called animal control, they would have dealt with it and nobody would have gotten killed in the process. Shooting at it carelessly like that? WTF?

Geno · 08-06-2007, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FunkDaddy

I believe officers are trained to be a little more cautious than that. "Careless" with a firearm resulting in death is a jailable offense imo, especially somebody who should know A LOT better.

Depends on the department - some officers are not trained at all.

hunter1492 · 08-06-2007, 09:11 AM

Sounds like a poor gun training. Your always supposed to look at what is behind your target to make sure your shot is clear before you shoot. RIP Austin.

d_k · 08-06-2007, 09:11 AM

I got a little brother close to his age, I'd kill the officer who did that if it my was my bro..strong recklessness

BryantLifter · 08-06-2007, 09:12 AM

How did a kid fishing get hit with a bullet aimed at a tree?

Seriously did it ricochet? I'm baffled my the physics in this situation.

kamjah · 08-06-2007, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BryantLifter

How did a kid fishing get hit with a bullet aimed at a tree?

Seriously did it ricochet? I'm baffled my the physics in this situation.

i was wondering this too. if the officer and kid were standing at (roughly) ground level and the snake was up in a tree. how the hell did it hit the kid?

Lawdog1379 · 08-06-2007, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Itsalwayshard

It was an accident and however terrible the situation is thats excatly what it was, he should be sacked for been careless.

An accident is something that occurs to which you had no control over like getting hit by lightning. This was completely preventable so I don't consider this an accident.

1quick1 · 08-06-2007, 09:17 AM

I was wondering why they didn't just call animal control instead. I thought anytime an officer had fired his firearm there was a lot of paperwork associated with it.

On that note I see both sides of the story. People saying lock him up and throw away the key are being too harsh. Yea I know what you're thinking but come on. For all you know this guy spent 25 years serving and protecting and he makes one VERY big and VERY stupid mistake and people want to throw him away for life. I'd be willing to bet he's just as dramatized as the family. I'm sure he's going to get charged with involuntary manslaughter and be fired. No matter what though it won't bring the kid back

Either way it's a very sad and unfortunate tragedy. RIP.

**Mindripper** · 08-06-2007, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jassdolly

OMG! My prayers go out to the family. I can't even look at the picture of the grandfather, the look on his face is so devastating that I'll cry.

RIP little man and I hope the idiot that did this to you gets his comeuppance. I'm gonna go hug my 5 year old son now. BRB.

Heartbreaking.

What a tragic nightmare for the family.

I immediately looked at the picture of 4 year old son.

youm0nt · 08-06-2007, 09:23 AM

dollee · 08-06-2007, 09:24 AM

what kind of dumbass police officer shoots a firearm at a snake IN A TREE?

**Mindripper** · 08-06-2007, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dollee

what kind of dumbass police officer shoots a firearm at a snake IN A TREE?

One that accidentally shoots a child. Now a life is lost, a family is destroyed and I am sure the cop's not doing that great either.

Tragedy all around.

dollee · 08-06-2007, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mindripper

One that accidentally shoots a child. Now a life is lost, a family is destroyed and I am sure the cop's not doing that great either.

Tragedy all around.

yea. very sad story. I just can't imagine an officer firing upwards toward a tree. That's insane. I can't that any part of an officers training suggests shooting a gun at a snake, ever. There's animal control, etc. I don't see why any officer should ever fire a gun at a snake, unless it's to save a life.

shadowwalker021 · 08-06-2007, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kamjah

i was wondering this too. if the officer and kid were standing at (roughly) ground level and the snake was up in a tree. how the hell did it hit the kid?

maybe the cop wasn't right under the tree, like 10 feet away maybe... cuz how could he miss twice right. and then the boy and father were 300-400 yards away and the bullet just slowly crept down. namean

Staberella · 08-06-2007, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mindripper

Heartbreaking.

What a tragic nightmare for the family.

I immediately looked at the picture of 4 year old son.

Definitely. The one who's going to suffer the most in this tragedy is the grandfather. Imagine how he must feel, you know he's blaming himself for taking the boy fishing that day. All he wanted was to have a fun day with his grandchild and I can almost see a little boy smiling and happy and full of wonder, "Grampa? Did we get a fish yet?" and then tragedy. I feel the worst for the grandfather, he has to realize and I hope somebody tells him that it's not his fault.

Baby_Jesus · 08-06-2007, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by d_k

I got a little brother close to his age, I'd kill the officer who did that if it my was my bro..strong recklessness

I doubt you would kill an officer of the law

But damn i think im misunderstanding, how did the boy get hit? they said the snake was in the tree (strong no reading comprehension)

**Mindripper** · 08-06-2007, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jassdolly

Definitely. The one who's going to suffer the most in this tragedy is the grandfather. Imagine how he must feel, you know he's blaming himself for taking the boy fishing that day. All he wanted was to have a fun day with his grandchild and I can almost see a little boy smiling and happy and full of wonder, "Grampa? Did we get a fish yet?" and then tragedy. I feel the worst for the grandfather, he has to realize and I hope somebody tells him that it's not his fault.

My boy fished with my dad all weekend.

Jesus Christ, absolutely terrible...

J-Bol · 08-06-2007, 09:33 AM

He probably didn't see the kid or grandfather as it says "Then two officers came out of the brush over there," he told The Oklahoman. Plus, I would consider that an accident. A horrible accident, but an accident nontheless. He was aiming at a snake in the tree and somehow shot a kid on the ground. No one here would have ever thought about that. "If I aim at the snake in the tree, I might shoot that kid (that I can't see) on the ground". He'll probably get put on leave with pay for awhile, but I wouldn't really expect more. It truly sounds like an accident.

**Mindripper** · 08-06-2007, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J-Bol

He probably didn't see the kid or grandfather as it says "Then two officers came out of the brush over there," he told The Oklahoman. Plus, I would consider that an accident. A horrible accident, but an accident nontheless. He was aiming at a snake in the tree and somehow shot a kid on the ground. No one here would have ever thought about that. "If I aim at the snake in the tree, I might shoot that kid (that I can't see) on the ground". He'll probably get put on leave with pay for awhile, but I wouldn't really expect more. It truly sounds like an accident.

I wouldn't be surprised if the officer kills himself. Honestly, the gravity of what he did would pull the strongest of people into the darkest place.

Sucks all around...

*leaves thread, depressed*