Texas officer who shot armed 93-year-old fired

[The Straight Story]

HEARNE, Texas (AP) -- Officials in a small Central Texas town voted Saturday to fire a police officer who shot and killed an armed 93-year-old woman during a confrontation at her home.

The city council's unanimous vote to dismiss Officer Stephen Stem came after a meeting that lasted less than 30 minutes, KBTX-TV reported ( http://bit.ly/1fXyWMQ ).

Mayor Ruben Gomez had said he would recommend the termination of Stem, who shot and killed Pearlie Golden on Tuesday night. Gomez promised that to demonstrators who marched to city hall protesting the shooting of "Miss Sulie," as many residents called Golden.

Hearne police have said in a statement that Golden "brandished a gun" when Stem arrived, but have declined to comment further. Stem was on administrative leave while Texas Rangers investigated the shooting.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_93_YEAR_OLD_SHOT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[Thinkingabout]

1. It is one time where poluce departments should be already trained to handle situations

Without the gun. The bad guy with a gun has killed another.

[awoke_in_2003]

2. I really hate to defend a cop...

but the woman first threatened to kill her nephew, then brandished a firearm at a cop. Waving a gun at a cop isn't the smartest thing in the world to do.

[McCamy Taylor]

4. Her family never should have called the police on her. But he still shouldn't have killed her.

There was no way she would have been able to shoot to kill him. She could not even pass a driver's license test. Police have to have sense. Would he have shot a toddler waving a gun around? No.

[raccoon]

6. She might have shot him, or somebody else, accidentally, waving that gun around.

Suppose he hadn't shot her, and she accidentally shot somebody else?

[awoke_in_2003]

7. do you know how incredibly easy

it is to shoot someone 15 feet away?

[Lurks Often]

9. You have absolutely no clue what you are talking about

I really have no clue where you see the relationship between failing a driver's license test, for reasons not mentioned in the reports I have read and the ability to pull a trigger.

[McCamy Taylor]

35. Pulling a trigger is easy. But you have to see to be able to aim.

Had the policeman backed up far enough he would not have been in the line of fire. Sometimes police are not the best people to handle situations---especially when dealing with people who are mentally ill, extremely elderly, extremely young.

And why on earth did a woman who could not pass a driving test have a gun?

[Lurks Often]

36. Still showing that you have not the slightest clue what you are talking about

Why she failed the driver's test has not been mentioned in any news report I have read, so without knowing why she failed the test, we don't know if it would have affected her ability to fire a gun.

You also might want to brush up on your law, you don't get to take a person's right without a trial or a judge determining you are mentally incompetent.

[LisaL]

41. Well, when somebody is shooting at you, you can decide that they won't hit you.

I wouldn't presume you can decide that for someone else.

[lib87]

3. He has Killed 2 People in 18 Months...

...in a town of only 4500 people.

Bye bye officer.

[JJChambers]

5. Both of whom were shooting off their guns in the conflicts

Bye bye common sense, hello knee jerk reactions.

[Beaverhausen]

14. He shot her 5 times

Is the penalty for shooting a gun a death penalty? If a police officer can't subdue a 93 year old without killing her he at the very least should be fired. I think he should be charged with murder.

[JJChambers]

15. Yes

Death is an unfortunate but foreseeable consequence of grabbing a gun and shooting it toward people in front of police. Should they have waited until she was out of bullets and simply hoped none of her shots hit the officers or any bystanders?

Can you post a link to the scientific study that a bullet fired from a gun held by a 93 year old woman is less deadly than a billet fired from a gun held by a 17 year old gang banger?

[Beaverhausen]

16. By the way she never actually shot her gun

I will never be convinced that this jerk had no other choice than to pump 5 bullets into this woman. Never.

[oneofthe99]

20. wrong

Nephew of 93-year-old Texas woman shot, killed by police officer says she fired 2 shots first

[Beaverhausen]

23. Not confirmed

According to the article in the OP

[oneofthe99]

24. In this one the nephew said she did

http://www.startribune.com/nation/258581311.html

The one that was there at the house and also took her for her driving test.

[oneofthe99]

27. again

But Golden's nephew, Roy Jones, told the TV station in the Bryan-College Station area that his aunt became upset when she was denied a driver's license renewal and armed herself when he refused to return her car keys. Jones said he called 911, and he said Golden fired two shots before the officer who responded shot her.

[Beaverhausen]

32. Sorry but I won't be convinced that shooting her was necessary

Never.

[JJChambers]

34. Facts are so mean sometimes. Let's bury our head in the sand and ignore them.

Besides everyone knows bullets fired by a 93 year old woman are less dangerous than bullets fired by a 17 year old gang banger.

[JJChambers]

25. According to her nephew she shot two rounds and then was shot twice and grazed once

I see that your statement basically says the facts don't matter.

[oneofthe99]

28. That would account for the 5 rounds fired

3 from officer two from her

[LisaL]

40. Were you there?

Her nephew, who was there, says she fired it twice.

[tabasco]

33. Cowards live in fear

Glad I'm not one of them.

[oneofthe99]

21. Maybe he should have just shot the gun out of her hand

like in western movies.

[LisaL]

37. The fact that she is 93 doesn't mean she can't pull the trigger.

In fact her nephew claims she fired that gun twice. Being 93 doesn't make her harmless, if she has a loaded gun.

[Lurks Often]

8. Expect the town to be paying the police officer a lot of money in the near future

Since the nephew is saying that she fired two shots

http://www.startribune.com/nation/258581311.html

and the Texas Ranger investigation isn't even complete yet, legally the town is on shaky grounds by firing the police officer.

It should be interesting to see what other facts come out.

[JJChambers]

12. Knee jerk, PC reactions often turn out to be expensive.

[TBF]

19. If it's true that she fired

Shots then it's his duty to intervene. Whether accidental or on purpose she was a threat to others.

The thing I have no knowledge on us whether cops are trained to kill or just bring someone down. Would it have been more prudent to shoot her arm to knock the gun away?

At any rate this looks like a much more complicated story than it might seem at first glance.

[oneofthe99]

22. They are trained to fire at center mass

You aim at the largest target on the body

[Lurks Often]

30. Police procedure is to shoot to stop the threat

Which means that they shoot at the torso until the person ceases to be a threat. Depending on where the bullet(s) hit, the time it takes to get medical treatment and the skill of the medical personnel, determines whether the person dies from the wound(s).

No police department or civilian instructor teaches officers to shoot at an arm or leg, partly because arms and legs are generally moving and hard to hit (and the average police officer isn't that good of a shot) and mostly because if a police officer isn't justified in using lethal force, he shouldn't be drawing the weapon in the first place.

Here is a link that explains things far better then I can: http://www.pfoa.co.uk/110/shooting-to-wound

[TBF]

31. That makes a lot of sense.

If she was waving a loaded gun around and would've shot at the cop then his family could've lost him. It's just a sad situation.

[LisaL]

38. I do agree.

He should sue to get his job back.
Apparently she was upset her driver's license was not renewed.

[Liberal_in_LA]

10. kick

[oneofthe99]

11. Mayor Ruben Gomez is a fucking coward

[Supersedeas]

13. exposing the lack of leadership is what citizenship is about

[DisgustipatedinCA]

26. Fuck the police.

And in case you missed it above, fuck the police.

[oneofthe99]

29. While I would usually say the same thing , in this case no

[MH1]

17. Why did the 93 year old have a gun to wave around and threaten others with?

Oh yeah, second amendment.

Seems everyone agrees she had a gun and was waving it around. Should the cop have shot her? I don't have enough information to know, that's what the investigation is for, but I will note that I don't know too many 93 year olds who have the physical capacity to handle a gun responsibly. (shakiness and eyesight, for two reasons) One hopes that everyone that age has someone else around to protect them if need be.

Just musing. Seems like a sad situation. As so often occurs when guns are present.

[oneofthe99]

18. She wasn't waving it around just in anger ,she had actually fired a couple of rounds already

before the police got there or when he arrived , article isn't really clear,

http://www.startribune.com/nation/258581311.html



Nephew of 93-year-old Texas woman shot, killed by police officer says she fired 2 shots first

[LisaL]

39. The same as with elderly driving.

I am sure she got that gun when she was younger. But as we all know certain problems could come with age.
She was upset she couldn't get her drivers' license renewed, and demanded her nephew gave her the keys anyway. When he wouldn't, she got the gun.