FL Deputies nearly killed
Don’t Block Traffic
NY Vigilante
1. FL Deputies Nearly Killed
Deputies with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (near Tampa Bay, FL) responded to a call for service where a woman had reported that her son was suffering from a mental health crisis at their home.
Deputies arrived on scene and made contact with the mother. The son/the subject of the call (Ralph Bouzy (28)) was sitting in a car and deputies also made contact with him and tried to de-escalate the situation. However, Mr. Bouzy left the scene in the vehicle. Deputies allowed him to leave and did not engage in a vehicle pursuit - as no crime had been committed.
As deputies were still on scene, in front of the house, near their patrol vehicles - Mr. Bouzy returned to the area in his vehicle and ambushed the deputies. He accelerated the car and crashed into the deputies - with the intent to take their lives.
Both deputies were seriously injured. Corporal Carlos Brito may have to have his leg amputated. Deputy Manuel Santos suffered a broken leg as well.
After the crash Mr. Bouzy casually exited the vehicle and started walking to his home. A Taser was utilized to arrest Mr. Bouzy.
Prior to this incident Mr. Bouzy had multiple arrests - including 3 felonies and 14 misdemeanors. In 2017, after committing a hit-and-run and punching the arresting deputy - Mr. Bouzy stated that he hate police and that he was going to kill a law enforcement officer.
Despite nearly being killed - the deputies utilized less lethal force to arrest Mr. Bouzy. This demonstrates a level of restraint and professionalism that would be unnatural for most humans.
When someone says that they are going to kill a police officer - we should believe them. And, lock them in a cage until they can convince us otherwise.
2. Don’t Block Traffic
A retired lawyer reportedly shot and killed two men who were part of a protest blocking a highway in Panama.
The suspect in this incident is Kenneth Darlington, 77, a retired U.S. lawyer and university professor who lives in Panama and has dual citizenship.
Mr. Darlington has been charged with aggravated homicide and illegal possession of a firearm.
The protestors were campaigning against a recent deal the Panama government over restarting a copper mine. The protesters lined the middle of the highway with tires, flags, tree branches and stones in an effort to stop cars from passing.
Mr. Darlington allegedly stated “this ends here” before exiting his vehicle and storming up the highway towards the protesters. Mr. Darlington began to argue with the protestors and demanded that they open the road. They refused and though armed with a gun and upset - a protestor idiotically dared Mr. Darlington to shoot them.
Local media reported that one of the protesters could be heard saying: “Why don’t you shoot?” while others shouted, “Are you going to kill someone?”
According to that outlet, Mr Darlington replied, “Do you want to be the first?”
Mr. Darlington then opened fire, killing two men. The victims were identified as teachers, Abdiel Díaz, who died at the scene, and Iván Rodríguez.
Do not block traffic. Ever.
You will lose nearly all sympathy points.
But, you cannot shoot people for blocking traffic.
Even if they deserve it on a basic human decency level.
3. Another NY Vigilante
Hero or Criminal?
While at a NY subway station (49th Street N, R and W) around 9:15 p.m. Tuesday evening 43-year-old John Rote witnessed a homeless man attempting to forcibly rob a female by grabbing personal items from her.
Mr. Rote helped the victim. He calmly stopped, opened his gym bag, and pulled out a handgun. He pointed the weapon, yelled commands, and fired several “warning shots”.
No one was struck by the gunfire.
Like Batman - Mr. Rote left the scene and the robber (Matthew Roesch, 49) was arrested by police and charged with attempted robbery.
Police used their limited resources to track down Mr. Rote - who was taken into custody. He has been charged with: criminal possession of a weapon, reckless endangerment, criminal possession of a weapon, and menacing.
So, what should Mr. Rote have done?
Approach the robber and get into a fist fight near the subway tracks?
Try to hold him for police like Daniel Penny?
Walk away and allow the woman to victimized?
Maybe raped and killed.
Mr. Rote is not the bad guy here. He is the good guy. He is the hero.
Would you want your teenage daughter to be on the same subway car as John Rote or Matthew Roesch?
Exactly.
I understand city officials publicly disavowing the actions of a citizen firing “warning shots”.
But, behind the scenes Mr. Rote should be given the Key to the City. Or, at least, a sweetheart plea deal and an endorsement deal from Smith and Wesson.
In reference to the first incident regarding the Hillsboro deputies, it's important for there to be some way through the dispatch system to flag a location or a suspect. My agency had such a system and a name or a location where officers believed subsequent responding officers might be in danger could be flagged in the system and the minute the name came up it would alert dispatchers of a prior threat or incident and officers responding could be notified. Apparently the suspect in this case after an arrest had made threats to murder police officers in the future. To begin with, hopefully he was charged for those threats but there needs to be a system in place where suspects like this can be flagged so that officers who respond in the future have some type of knowledge of a serious threat to their safety. Would that have made a difference here? Maybe, maybe not but in my opinion this is one of those situations where it's better to be safe than sorry.
Regarding the situation with the Good Samaritan on the subway, his mistake was popping off rounds as a warning. The only warning shot should be directly at a suspect who is endangering you or someone else. That being said, with New York's archaic and most likely unconstitutional gun laws, he may still have been in trouble for carrying a gun without the proper credentials but I think it's going to be the warning shots that are going to cause him a headache. He would have been better served just challenge the suspect and give the suspect the opportunity to disengage from the victim or pose a further threat which then might justify a use of deadly force. While the issue of illegally carrying the gun might have come up that would be secondary to charges of actually shooting someone if it could be shown to be justified.