Gunfire exchanged at car dealership in Sulphur

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

LAKE CHARLES, LA (KPLC) - It's a miracle no one was killed or injured last night at Billy Navarre Chevrolet in Sulphur. That's where shots were exchanged between a police officer and an employee.. It was a miscommunication that could have been deadly.

It all started after a burglar alarm at the car dealership on East Napoleon. An employee arrived ahead of police and went inside to check the business. He had a flashlight and a gun. When police saw the employee inside they thought he was an armed burglar and fired shots, while the employee thought he was being fired at by a burglar. General Manager Ryan Navarre says the employee was crouched behind a desk. "I get the most horrific phone call I have ever gotten in my life. An employee is telling me that he's being shot at and he had already called 911 and he still was trying to get help. He was hunkered down in the service department telling me somebody was shooting at him and he returned fire. It was just a horrible situation.

Windows on the northeast corner of the building were shot out. And there are bullet holes on various objects inside and out. Navarre says they were trying to call off police when the shots were exchanged."Thank God that he didn't get killed or that they didn't get killed. And it looks like somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty rounds were shot outside and six from the inside. And it was just a failure of communication because I was on the phone with 911 telling them that my employee's in the building."

While a Sulphur police officer fired first Assistant Chief Glenn Berry says he had good reason to do what he did. "There's no doubt in my mind the officer was justified. He felt that this man was about to shoot his partner in the back. He felt that with every fiber of his being. And he fired in defense of his fellow officer."


http://www.kplctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=10004311&nav=menu66_2


I'll try and do the Christian thing and post Gun stories in the Gungeon on Sundays. Although I'm sure some of the people in General Discussion would like this story as it is a cautionary tale about gun use, I'm glad no one was injured. Maybe it's a good thing the police don't practice more.

David

[lapfog_1]

1. Sounds to me like the officers could use some time at the range.

If he thought his partners life was in danger and he had to shoot in defense... how come he missed so badly
that a fire fight with one scared shitless employee broke out? And why didn't he call out to the "burglar"
to throw down his weapon and come out with his hands up, after identifying himself as the police?

Sigh.

[spin]

4. Time at the range doesn't always make a good shooter...

when the shit hits the fan.

I once asked a retired officer if he had any stories about how being an excellent shot works in real life.

He told me about two incidents:

The first involved an officer who was a competitive target shooter. Confronted by an armed individual, he drew his weapon and fired. He hit a tree and a front porch and the bad guy got away.

The second story was about the Barney Fife of the department who always had a hard time qualifying. He encountered a man with a female hostage and a knife against her throat. Being certain that the man intended to kill her, he dropped the bad guy with one clean head shot.

Some people handle the stress of a real life shooting better than others. Training helps but is no guarantee of performance.

[lapfog_1]

6. I'll tell you what...

if *my* life depended on a good shot, I want the guy that puts in more time shooting his weapon.

Sure, it's not a guarantee, but that would be my bet.

[pipoman]

8. I agree with spin

range time alone is better than none, but high stress qualification and training are what makes a difference in these incidents. Some departments qualify their officers using a set of guidelines such as, 5 shots prone, 5 shots lateral movement, etc. Other departments have a drill instructor standing 2 feet behind you with a bull horn yelling at you, you are required to know how many shots, what position to shoot from and complete your shooting in a very short time. The high stress qualification and training forces you to concentrate on your breathing and what is happening. This type of training is more likely to come back to you when in a high stress situation on the job. Too many departments place too little effort in preparing officers for high stress shooting situations opting for qualifying their officers based on a list of required shooting then annual requalification which is usually a donut session followed by the same list of slow paced shooting exercises.

[spin]

2. When the alarm goes off, it might be a good idea to wait for the police...

The last time the alarm tripped at the auto parts store across the street we called 911 and waited on our porch.

About three minutes later a police cruiser pulled up. The officer got out with his shotgun and chambered a round. (He was a good 20 yards away, and it's amazing how loud it was.)

I definitely wouldn't have wanted to be around the store or inside, especially with a firearm in my hand. If I was the owner and had arrived before the police, I would have probably waited. If however I would have decided to enter and reset the alarm, I would have called 911 and made damn sure they knew and approved of my actions and had informed the dispatched officer.

As an employee, the chances of me risking my life to play Wyatt Earp are slim to none.

Homey don't play dat game.

[greenkal]

3. Yet another reason one shouldn't have a gun

He shot at the damn police. What a moron. He should be dead now.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

5. You think he should be executed?

[RC]

9. Yeah but.. He did not know they were police because they did not identify themselves.

And the police fired the first shot.

[Hoopla Phil]

12. No, this is THE reason that cops are supposed to identify themselves BEFORE shooting.

[Caliman73]

7. The employee is lucky.

It was a dumb move for him to play Rambo and try to confront the burglar himself. I could understand if he was actually inside the store and someone came in and he was defending himself, but he responded to the alarm and decided to go in and check things out himself? He should have waited outside for the police to come. What inside a dealership is worth enough to run in and risk you life for? It's not your home where your family is, it is a car dealership where the merchandise is insured.

I don't see it as a cautionary tale about gun use. I see it as a cautionary tale about knowing your role in society. If a criminal is directly threatening your life, the lives of your loved ones, or if you can intervene to prevent harm to innocent bystanders then by all means defend them with any force necessary. If it is about the choice to play police at your place of business, that is what police are for. It isn't about guns it is about judgment.

[jefflrrp]

10. Kudos.

I actually agree with you 100%.

[Hoopla Phil]

11. Oops? Sounds like the cops failed to I.D. themselves before shooting.

MAJOR NO NO!!!!!

[rrneck]

13. Don't the vast majority

of these tragedies, (and near tragedies) happen after a string of mistakes and bad judgments? The employee screwed up, the cops screwed up, and hell, for all I know someone at the alarm company screwed up.

Compound screwups = tragedies.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

15. I responded to a building fire one night.

The building owner arrived just after we did from 45 minutes away. It seems the alarm company was from out of state and called 911 in Cleveland, OH (not where I live) and reported the building fire and then called the owner in my city. We got the call when people in a liquor store across the street saw the fire, our response time was less than a minute when we actually got the call. $500,000 in damage that probably would have been $5,000 if the alarm company had called 911 in the right city.

David

[rrneck]

16. Don't get me started on corporations.

Before long some asshat in Bangalore will be calling in emergency responses in Miami. Whatever happened to the cop on the beat?

[jody]

14. "shoot his [LEO] partner in the back", employee had a flashlight so light may have been minimal. n/t