Bartholomew Roberts
Moderator
We often discuss about whether it is wise to intervene in a third-party conflict. Over at THR, I came across this real-world example of how that can go wrong:
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/...cle_024ef037-5cd6-5d72-bba5-c82f98f01edf.html
As a nightclub in Missouri was closing, shots rang out. Asif Blake, an Iraq veteran with the Missorui National Guard was firing a weapon outside in the parking lot. Officer Daryl Hall, an off-duty police officer who frequented the clun, rushed outside and confronted Blake, ordering him to drop his weapon. When Blake refused, Hall began firing.
At this point, the club's bouncer, Will Spencer, a sergeant with the 375th Civil Engineer Squadron working a second job, arrived at the parking lot and saw Hall shooting Blake. Not recognizing Hall, who was an acquaintance, Spencer fired two shots*, killing Hall. Both the police officer and Blake died at the scene.
*Spencer was apparently not licensed to work as a bouncer in Missouri. According to the news article, bouncers must be licensed and are not authorized to carry firearms.
I thought the story was interesting because it demonstrated a number of factors we discuss here often.
1. Looks can be deceiving. Spencer apparently was acquainted with Hall. However, in the early morning light, he didn't recognize Hall and didn't hear Hall announce himself as a police officer. What looked like a case of one man shooting another down in cold blood in a bar parking lot, turned out to be more complex.
2. Unless you saw the whole scenario from beginning to end and were close enough to hear everything that transpired, it would be very easy to get the wrong idea about what was happening here.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/...cle_024ef037-5cd6-5d72-bba5-c82f98f01edf.html
As a nightclub in Missouri was closing, shots rang out. Asif Blake, an Iraq veteran with the Missorui National Guard was firing a weapon outside in the parking lot. Officer Daryl Hall, an off-duty police officer who frequented the clun, rushed outside and confronted Blake, ordering him to drop his weapon. When Blake refused, Hall began firing.
At this point, the club's bouncer, Will Spencer, a sergeant with the 375th Civil Engineer Squadron working a second job, arrived at the parking lot and saw Hall shooting Blake. Not recognizing Hall, who was an acquaintance, Spencer fired two shots*, killing Hall. Both the police officer and Blake died at the scene.
*Spencer was apparently not licensed to work as a bouncer in Missouri. According to the news article, bouncers must be licensed and are not authorized to carry firearms.
I thought the story was interesting because it demonstrated a number of factors we discuss here often.
1. Looks can be deceiving. Spencer apparently was acquainted with Hall. However, in the early morning light, he didn't recognize Hall and didn't hear Hall announce himself as a police officer. What looked like a case of one man shooting another down in cold blood in a bar parking lot, turned out to be more complex.
2. Unless you saw the whole scenario from beginning to end and were close enough to hear everything that transpired, it would be very easy to get the wrong idea about what was happening here.