Retired Policeman shoots and kills a man at a movie theater in Florida over texting / noise

reply to post by HandyDandy


Actions speak louder than words. As both found out. There is more to this story than is being let on I'm sure, but ABC is playing it out for the emotional content since that equals ratings.

As for the me, me, me comment...damn skippy. I don't want to be interrupted for the entertainment that I paid for because of some narcisitic SOB satisfying their craving. I actually turn my cell phone off when I'm in a public place. I don't text and walk nor do I text and drive.

IT'S A PHONE! If a person can't go to the lobby and use it as such...they really have no business having one to prop up what little self esteem they have.

reply to post by TDawgRex


Yeah, maybe I was being a little too harsh. I can agree with not being rude with your cell phone.

I do believe that the retired cop was the rude one here though. From all evidence so far, it appears he got angry with the man for texting his daughter's daycare during the previews. So he had words with him, got up and went somewhere, came back, had more words, had popcorn thrown at him (because being an ex-cop I'm sure he was politely asking him to stop and all......and I have some swampland not too far from where this happened for anyone who buys that story) and then proceeded to kill the man.

Not even the judge is buying the self defense farce. Should say a lot.

reply to post by butcherguy


I was under the impression he left to get "authorities" of some kind, but returned with his .38 pistol instead. If that's the case, then he had enough time to contemplate and premeditate his actions.

I am still unclear about this though, as I have not read all of the most recent articles. I also heard they were arguing and throwing popcorn at each other beforehand.

reply to post by Urantia1111


Well, the next time you decide to harass someone because you think you have the right to tell them what to do, they may turn out to the be cop, and shoot you in the chest.

And according to you, that will be alright.

reply to post by HandyDandy


Thank you. I agree that the retiree went over the top. As said before, he must have been a real SOB to work for. But I would also bet even odds that he is suffering from some type of dementia at his age. Not that, that forgives him of his crimes.

Some one had to know that he was a bit off. Why didn't anyone come forward before this? Were they that afraid of this man or his connections?

On the other hand, if I am doing something that offends someone else, I often leave the scene so as to not cause a ruckus.

There really is so much more here than we are seeing. People get pissed off at the littlest of things these days (I stand accused as well).

What are the odds that this horrible old jerk, found a manager, and the manager told him the guy had a right to text in the moving theater during previews, as long as he wasn't making noise, and the old bugger decided to harass the guy, and then shoot him for daring to disobey an ex police officer?

People text in the theater all the time, big deal, they aren't making noise. Who uses sounds anymore? And it is certainly not a problem during previews. Join the 21st century people. If you are that intolerant of others, do us all a favor and stay home.

And what if the young guy had been quick enough to push the gun aside, and the old kook had shot someone else in the theater.

I hope the widow sues the old man's estate, and takes him for everything he owns, including his fat pension plan, as he spends the rest of his life in jail.

I wonder how many people he killed while on active duty.

I did several searches to try and find the numbers and percentages of people killed by the police each year, and apparently, those numbers are not put out, even though by law, they are supposed to publish those numbers. This link is as close as I got.

www.washingtontimes.com...

Many police shootings involve self-defense against violent criminals or help protect people against dangerous culprits in the act of wreaking havoc. However, police killings are not a negligible proportion of the nation’s firearms death toll. Shootings by police accounted for almost 10 percent of the homicides in Los Angeles County in 2010, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Jim Fisher, a former FBI agent and criminal law professor, compiled a database of police shootings and estimated that police in the United States in 2011 shot more than 1,100 people, killing 607. Mr. Fisher relied on the Internet to track the casualties, and the actual toll may be significantly higher. (Many police departments are very secretive about their shootings and succeed in withholding either numbers or key details from the public.) Mr. Fisher’s numbers do not include cases of off-duty police who shot acquaintances, such as the recent case of the veteran, married D.C. policeman convicted of murdering his girlfriend and leaving their 11-month-old baby to die in an overheated SUV to avoid paying child support.

But the PTB include those police fatalities by gun in the numbers to try and limit or eliminate gun ownership.

reply to post by roadgravel


I'm not even so sure his ex cop status has a lot to do with this. Maybe some would insist but I think any control freak with a conceiled carry permit could have pulled it off. Some old dude picks a fight regarding use of a cellphone in the theatre, it escalates slightly and when grandpa finally gets grabbed or pushed, out comes the pistol. It'll be interesting to hear his version of what happened.

The background of the person I mentioned was the texting person. I felt the media is trying to make the older man look worse.

But all that should matter is the investigation and what a jury decides based on it. We are getting the MSM agenda version at this point.

Urantia1111
Must we pretend that the guy was shot BECAUSE he was texting? Its not like the shooter crept up behind and executed him. He was asked to put the phone away because it disturbs moviegoers. He chose instead to get into a physical conflict with an (armed) old man and got himself shot. I'm guessing the excop was carrying legally and waited until he was physically attacked to exercise his right to defend himself. Sad about the daughter, but her dad screwed up.

The movie theater has a no guns allowed policy. It doesn't matter if he is a excop he had no reason to shoot the guy.



They should strap grandpa to a chair and let him ride the lighting.

reply to post by buster2010


I'm not sure you can post a sign and legally ban guns where a conceiled carry permit would ordinarily allow them. You may well have a point there. And I agree the old coot's reaction was extreme, but it may well have been within his rights. If he was being physically assaulted at the time the state will have a much tougher case ahead.

reply to post by Urantia1111

I'm not sure you can post a sign and legally ban guns where a conceiled carry permit would ordinarily allow them.

Actually in my state (not the one in play here) a company can. But it requires a sign lettered in a specific manner to be valid.

I seen the Facebook pictures of the man that was killed. I have read what he was doing there with his wife, trying to upkeep his marriage to a women he loved and to keep his family strong. I seen the love that he had for that 3 year old girl and I know how strong it was because I have a girl who is 4 who is my entire world.

All of that said, Personally, for me, I would like to see that son of a.......... Dragged out into the street and put to the first tree available but........... I believe in the Constitution and in due process and because of that, I hope he gets what he really deserves in prison and in hell.

Urantia1111
reply to post by buster2010

 

I'm not sure you can post a sign and legally ban guns where a conceiled carry permit would ordinarily allow them. You may well have a point there. And I agree the old coot's reaction was extreme, but it may well have been within his rights. If he was being physically assaulted at the time the state will have a much tougher case ahead.

If you own the business you have the right to ban weapons in their business. A concealed carry permit doesn't override that. Did you watch the video? He wasn't being assaulted unless you consider being assaulted by popcorn to be a reason for killing a man.

double post.

buster2010
He wasn't being assaulted unless you consider being assaulted by popcorn to be a reason for killing a man.

I wonder how many cops would think otherwise?

To a cop, just a "furtive move" is enough to blow you away.

A few weeks before a texting dispute turned deadly at a Florida theater, the suspect had a run-in with another moviegoer, prosecutors say.

Woman: He glared at me for texting

Authorities said a preliminary investigation determined that there was no physical contact during the incident. It was popcorn, thrown by Oulson, that struck Reeves.

Link

I think guns should be banned from all cinemas, theaters, sports grounds, shopping malls. People should be searched before entering such places. They do this in the Philippines.

reply to post by ispyed


Surely that is just common sense?

Guns do not belong in those places! Why would you need a gun if you're going to watch a film?

Oh yeah, in case you get popcorn thrown at you so you can respond in a totally over the top fashion - silly me...

And for any Yank eager to dive in at a Brit over guns, I'm not against them at all, but like everything there is a time and a place.

stumason
reply to post by ispyed

 

Surely that is just common sense?

Guns do not belong in those places! Why would you need a gun if you're going to watch a film?

Oh yeah, in case you get popcorn thrown at you so you can respond in a totally over the top fashion - silly me...

And for any Yank eager to dive in at a Brit over guns, I'm not against them at all, but like everything there is a time and a place.

Guns were banned in the theater...look at all of the good a ban does.

The shooter was a police captain (retired)--you know, one of those people that we are told are the only people responsible enough to be trusted with a gun.