Off-duty cop shoots, kills son after mistaking him for intruder

Off-duty cop shoots, kills son after mistaking him for intruder

www.foxnews.com

Troopers say Parry Police Department Officer Michael Leach called 911 to report the shooting early Saturday. He was staying at the Clark Beach Motel and shot someone he believed to be an intruder. But the man turned out to be his 37-year-old son, Matthew Leach, according to the Syracuse Post-Standard.

Read more: www.foxnews.com...

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Yet another sad, stupid cop story. And they say we need more strict gun control among private citizens. I think it is time to consider changing the training program for police officers across the board. This whole philosophy of shoot first, then ask questions, is wearing thin in the public eye.

There is not much information about this incident yet; it is a developing story.

www.foxnews.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Now he knows how it feels to shoot first before saying tell your name and show yourself with pistol pointed.

He will probably never shoot at someone again.

Its a tragedy...

It illustrates it can happen to anyone, even someone trained in the proper use and application of force.

All cops are not bad, and reveling in the death of this mans son as an example of "stupid cops" is shameful.

I hope this man and his family end up okay after this, but I can't imagine how hard it would be to shoot your own son.

reply to post by supertrot


Let's use this to take the guns away from cops.
The average Joe would be safer.

Originally posted by supertrot

Off-duty cop shoots, kills son after mistaking him for intruder Read more: www.foxnews.com...

www.foxnews.com

Troopers say Parry Police Department Officer Michael Leach called 911 to report the shooting early Saturday. He was staying at the Clark Beach Motel and shot someone he believed to be an intruder. But the man turned out to be his 37-year-old son, Matthew Leach, according to the Syracuse Post-Standard.

Read more: www.foxnews.com...

(visit the link for the full news article)

If he had not shot first and asked questions later, he would have know it was his son. Oh, I know it doesn't mention that he shot first and then checked to see who it was he shot. I only say that because one, that's how they are and two, I don't think he would have had to take a shot at anyone had he announced he was a cop and that he was armed. The person would have ran off. So, it's more typical of today's cops, that they shoot first and then write their reports to match. Only this time, it was the cops own son. See, that's what makes this actually News. Think about it.

reply to post by VforVendettea


Them and the government. They seem to wage war all the time, so we take their ability too start them.

reply to post by benrl


I do not discount the tragedy of this situation. I have four children; I cannot imagine this man's loss. I also have a deep respect for RESPECTFUL law enforcement, having many as friends. I also believe that a good third of cops are not smart enough, or have the wrong attitude, to carry a gun.

My point is that the criminal justice system is full of commando want-to-be's who believe that they are above the law. They believe that by wearing a badge, they have the right to abuse the freedoms of lesser citizens. I believe that this is something that many departments train their officers to do, or are failing to recognize and control.

Last December I confronted an intruder in my home with a gun. They ended up running out my door and stealing my vehicle to get away. I had ample opportunity to shoot them; but, I used common sense and compassion to guide my actions. All I could see was a dark figure; my first thought was that the intruder was one of my children sneaking in from a party or something. Even when I realized what was happening, I chose not to shoot a person who was running away--even though it was in my car. Breaking and entering, robbery, and theft are terrible crimes; but, they do not warrant death.

A person hired to protect and serve citizens should have the common sense to use a gun properly and judiciously.

reply to post by supertrot


I am glad you didint have to use force, as opposed to what I had, same situation 8 years ago.

He didn't run, he came at me armed with a knife.

in my situation though I lived alone with my wife, and it was dark, if I had hesitated he would of been on me.

It was down to dumb luck I fired in time and hit what I aimed at.

I didn't get the choice to not shoot at a human being...

NO one should ever have to.

The guy already got his punishment. He shot his own son, something I believe he can never forgive himself for.
There is no further punishment needed, he will never touch a firearm again. Too bad a life had to be lost.

Just a quick question, what is the retirement age for the police in America? I just ask because this cops son was 37, so this cop had to be in his very late 50's early 60's. He couldn't of been just some beat cop as some people are inferring on here.

While it is obvious there is excessive force being used by some police, it is not all, the police and all LEO's are made up of people and whenever you get a group of people you will get decent people and bad people, just as you get good dentists and bad dentist, good doctors and bad doctors etc etc, trying to blame all of them is pointless in fact it is counter productive. All you do is make even the good cops feel it is a situation of us against them and drive them into a siege mentality.

This is a tragic accident, but obviously one that could of been avoided if this guy had used even a modicum of common sense and only re-enforce the argument for gun control. if people did not have guns at home these sort of tragedies would not happen. I am not saying gun control is right, just that these incidents play into their hands.

I feel very sorry for the son that died and his family, I don't really feel any sympathy for cop, he fired without identifying himself, without any thought to capturing or chasing the intruder away, he did not even check to see if the intruder was armed (otherwise he would of seen it was his son) All he did was think to shoot the person, and that is a very poor mentality to have. I have to say though this sort of sentiment runs deep in the American psyche, if you don't like something kill it and ask questions later, very sad

Maybe THIS is what it will take to teach a lesson to those trigger-happy cops. You killed one of "your own" due to your quickness to shoot.

Idea: let's fire a whole lot of cops, so that fewer people die. Let's ban cops at protests. Take away their mace. They cannot be trusted to use it for protection only.

Don't feel sorry at all for the cop. Too bad for the son.

This is heartbreaking.

As a Parent I cant imagine the pain and anguish that the father feels. He'll have to live for the rest of his life with knowing his is the hand that ended a precious life.

Originally posted by Ilovecatbinlady

I love it when the pigs get it. Hopefully that's one less cop who will organise stalk an innocent civilian. No doubt he will not go to jail because he "thought" it was an intruder.

edit on 22-7-2012 by Ilovecatbinlady because: (no reason given)

This is the sort of mindset that has cops being overly defensive, and thus maybe getting a little too trigger happy when they suspect a break in, or feel their life is in danger.

Grow up, all cops are not like you say. They have better things to do than organize stalking against innocent civilians. They have a job to do, and I don't envy the job, whether its policing angry demonstrators, or tracking and prosecuting serious crime.

This is a tragic thing to happen to this family, and my heart and prayers go out to all of them.

This is very sad.

Since I wasnt there I cant judge him for what he did or say if he was wrong. It doesnt say if the son was staying with him in the hotel or not.

I can sorta see why he might have shot him. Maybe the father took a vacation to visit his son so he is staying in a shady hotel(unfamiliar surroundings) maybe in a high crime area, the son maybe want to visit him in the hotel. He knocks on the door but no answer since his father is asleep. The son goes to the desk tells the clerk I want to check on my father he wont answer the door, gets a room key. before he opens the door he bangs on it again which kinda wakes him up. as the son is trying to open the door the father drifts back to sleep. The son ooens the door and makes his way over to the bed in a dark room. The father then opens his eyes to see a dark figure in his room coming towards him, not knowing his son was coming to the hotel to see him. Since police and military are trained that if someone has a knife or any weapon 16ft or closer you wont have time to react. So the father panicked and fired.

Im not saying thats what happend, just my thought on what possibly could have happend. I couldnt imagine what hes going through. I wouldnt be surprised if he decides to take his own life

reply to post by PrinceDreamer

I feel very sorry for the son that died and his family, I don't really feel any sympathy for cop, he fired without identifying himself, without any thought to capturing or chasing the intruder away, he did not even check to see if the intruder was armed (otherwise he would of seen it was his son) All he did was think to shoot the person, and that is a very poor mentality to have. I have to say though this sort of sentiment runs deep in the American psyche, if you don't like something kill it and ask questions later, very sad

I understand what you are saying.

Sadly though, in today's worlds there are many who hate cops, as well as we don't know the private situation of this man. Perhaps he had a hit placed on him, for some reason we are not aware of.

The fact that he shot without asking questions, only shows that he felt his life threatened, and asking questions, would only give this person more time to kill him.

I'm sure he deeply regrets a choice made for reasons we may not understand.

Wow! I live in Syracuse and I will follow this story to the end. In light of the Colorado shooting I have been involved in several gun control debates. As someone who has firearms, making the decision to draw my weapon is one that I think of everyday. My philosophy has always been one of defense. The best home defense is an alert dog. Statistics show that an encounter is going to be at less than ten feet and in low-light. If I'm lucky enough to be alerted to someone's presence down stairs my plan is to secure all my loved ones in my room. Barricade the door and arm myself, phone 911 and tell them I have an intruder in my home and I'm armed. They better get someone over here quick. I have no intention of engaging anyone unless I absolutely have to. If that person insists on breaking down that door than have at it. A good offense is a good defense. Get a dog. Buy generic ADT signs and put them up in the yard or stickers on your door. They'll never know they're fake. Leave lights on. There are an assortment of things you can do to help mitigate a situation like this.

God bless this family and good luck

On a side note...Fox quoted a Syracuse Newspaper, which is kinda misleading, since the Cop and son were from Rochester, NY. He was an officer in Wyoming county, quite a ways away from Syracuse, NY. He was staying up north in Old Forge, which is famous for camping, and located north of Utica.

Originally posted by Ilovecatbinlady

I love it when the pigs get it.

It was a child. Not a pig!

You know, sometimes you're a real asset to the posting quality here at ATS