GUILTY OK - Austin Haley, 5, killed by cop shooting at snake, Noble, 3 Aug 2007

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White Rain

White Rain

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How absolutely tragic. :(


NOBLE, Okla. — A stray bullet fired by a police officer trying to shoot a snake hit and killed a 5-year-old boy fishing at a nearby pond, officials said.
Austin Haley was fishing with his grandfather, Jack Tracy, Friday evening when Tracy said he heard a shot and saw a bullet hit the water just a few feet in front of the boat dock where he was standing.
Moments later, a second shot was fired that 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, according to City Manager Bob Wade.
Tracy said he initially thought he and his grandson were under attack by someone trying to kill them, so he put the boy into the back of a 4-wheeler and drove to his daughter's house about 200 yards away.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,292168,00.html
 
Local LE was trying to shoot a snake out of tree. This will go under revue and I believe the officer will be brought up on whatever they can find for neglect for him. It was a very horrible accident, but as it stands...he should never have fired his weapon for such. The mother stated the bullet entered directly into the back of the child's head and exited from the forehead. It was a deadly shot no matter how it happened. Very sad and very accidental, IMO. Sad that the officer will pay for it, but if he is proven to be negligent...he did cost a young life.
 
White Rain said:
How absolutely tragic. :(


NOBLE, Okla. — A stray bullet fired by a police officer trying to shoot a snake hit and killed a 5-year-old boy fishing at a nearby pond, officials said.
Austin Haley was fishing with his grandfather, Jack Tracy, Friday evening when Tracy said he heard a shot and saw a bullet hit the water just a few feet in front of the boat dock where he was standing.
Moments later, a second shot was fired that 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, according to City Manager Bob Wade.
Tracy said he initially thought he and his grandson were under attack by someone trying to kill them, so he put the boy into the back of a 4-wheeler and drove to his daughter's house about 200 yards away.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,292168,00.html
Click to expand...
What a terrible totally unnecessary tragedy.
 
This is terrible! I wonder how much time he had even spent at the gun range. If this was my child dead, I cannot even imagine what I would be feeling.

It reminds me of a police shootout some time ago, where the police were firing like crazy, and not a one of them hit the desired target, all the while they endangered the public. They needed better training.. more time spent in target practice.
 
For everone involved, I am sure. I know the officer probably would never have done anything to harm a child or anyone intentionally...however...it was his action which did. Accident or no...he has to answer to where his bullet went when he chose to fire that gun at that snake.

The most local small LE agencies around Oklahoma have ever fired a weapon is usually the training they receive in CLEET which is what is required for most small communities. It is a few short weeks of overall training. However, some grew up with guns in this community via hunting etc. and are aware of guns before they start. Some just aren't as intelligent as others, I am afraid. <sigh>
 
Why was he trying to kill the snake?.......what a senseless and tragic act that cost a little boy his life.
 
Doesn't the town have an Animal Control Officer?
What about Pest Control in the Yellow pages?
Why were 2 Officers dispatched for a snake?
There are polices for Officers discharging weapons. With 2 shots discharged in the air, where did they think that the bullets were going to land.


Respectfully,
dark_shadows
 
Because someone called in and asked them to come kill a snake in their yard!
 
Dont they try to remove the snake rather than kill it?
 
Not if you are raised in Oklahoma. We don't care for snakes much here. Most aren't the garden variety....ok some are, but we are scared of em anyway. We have copperheads, rattlesnakes, etc. as the majority of our snake population here. OK I don't know about majority as far as their county...only where I was raised. OK maybe I was the only one who was scared to death of em...and would want them dead. or not.
 
We have a few nasty ones down here as well...the difference here is that all our snakes are protected and it is illegal to kill them.......if a snake comes into your yard its usually the ranger or police who came to catch it and take it away.
Im no snake lover either SS.....I get scared just looking at one on the telly:p
 
dingo said:
Dont they try to remove the snake rather than kill it?
Click to expand...
Dear sweet Dingo,:blowkiss:
That is what I was wondering, Animal Control should have been called.

All of my Love and Respect to you,
dark_shadows
 
Exactly my thoughts, dark_shadows! Anyone should have had better sense than the reckless action taken by that LEO. ::shaking head::

I wonder if he will be charged with manslaughter?
 
dark_shadows said:
Dear sweet Dingo,:blowkiss:
That is what I was wondering, Animal Control should have been called.

All of my Love and Respect to you,
dark_shadows
Click to expand...
Dark! Long time no see!! Nice to hear from you...and I agree! Animal Control SHOULD have been called!!!

The truth of the matter is tho...they probably had one guy who is considered "animal control" for that small town and he would have done the same thing. <sigh> It is rural Oklahoma for Gosh sakes. Snakes in trees are pretty common, but we still don't like them. I grew up in a rural area where I had to call LE because goats had surrounded my house outside my fence and were ON my cars because they got out of their pen and decided my yard was where they wanted to go! The male would not allow me outside the gate and the rest were chewing up my car!!! They had to invite in the town's best cowboys to "round them up" and finally got in touch with the man who owned them...took them over 4 hours to control them!
THIS is what you deal with in Oklahoma!
 
SeriouslySearching said:
Dark! Long time no see!! Nice to hear from you...and I agree! Animal Control SHOULD have been called!!!

The truth of the matter is tho...they probably had one guy who is considered "animal control" for that small town and he would have done the same thing. <sigh> It is rural Oklahoma for Gosh sakes. Snakes in trees are pretty common, but we still don't like them. I grew up in a rural area where I had to call LE because goats had surrounded my house outside my fence and were ON my cars because they got out of their pen and decided my yard was where they wanted to go! The male would not allow me outside the gate and the rest were chewing up my car!!! They had to invite in the town's best cowboys to "round them up" and finally got in touch with the man who owned them...took them over 4 hours to control them!
THIS is what you deal with in Oklahoma!
Click to expand...
Very dear Seriously Searching,:blowkiss: :blowkiss:
It is always a pleasure to see you. I was about to click on your post about rattlesnakes and copperheads! I feel so bad for you and anyone else living with snakes like that. We have garden snakes and little midget snakes, that is about it. None are poisonous that I know of. Your Animal Control Officers must have top of the line training on dealing with those snakes.
(I was an Animal Control Officer years ago.)
P.S. That was a nasty ordeal you encountered with the goats!


All of my Love and Respect to you my friend,
dark_shadows
 
Liz said:
Exactly my thoughts, dark_shadows! Anyone should have had better sense than the reckless action taken by that LEO. ::shaking head::

I wonder if he will be charged with manslaughter?
Click to expand...
Dear sweet Liz,:blowkiss:
I always enjoy seeing you.

All of my Respect and Love to you,
dark_shadows
 
Flame away, but this "officer" doesn't have much going on upstairs. What an idiot!!!

AND he had professional firearm training!!! Being a police officer, there's no doubt he knew there was a pond/lake/fishing hole that was frequented by people that was very close by....yet he chose to fire the gun anyway, into a damn TREE no less!!! Not exactly a solid target!!! The chances of a bullet straying beyond a TREE are astronomical!!

A police officer who so wantaningly fires off his gun without regard to those around him, (which is OBVIOUSLY what he did) should never be carrying a gun in the first place! It's a damn shame that a little boy had to be shot in the head for anyone to realize this.
 
dark_shadows said:
Very dear Seriously Searching,:blowkiss: :blowkiss:
It is always a pleasure to see you. I was about to click on your post about rattlesnakes and copperheads! I feel so bad for you and anyone else living with snakes like that. We have garden snakes and little midget snakes, that is about it. None are poisonous that I know of. Your Animal Control Officers must have top of the line training on dealing with those snakes.
(I was an Animal Control Officer years ago.)
P.S. That was a nasty ordeal you encountered with the goats!


All of my Love and Respect to you my friend,
dark_shadows
Click to expand...

DS, what on earth is a midget snake? Is this the correct terminology or just what you and/or others nicknamed them?
 
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