Potential Darwin award nominee of the day from Cape Cod, MA - I hope I don't goof this link up:
http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/policeshoot1.htm
HARWICH PORT - A 40-year-old Harwich man was in critical condition last night after being shot in a skirmish with two Harwich police officers yesterday.
Glenn Bates was taken to Cape Cod Hospital, where he was rushed into surgery upon arrival.
Detective Lt. Barry Mitchell, 45, and Sgt. Christopher Kender, 36, were also taken to Cape Cod Hospital for treatment of injuries suffered when Bates allegedly attacked them with a hockey stick.
Although described as serious, the injuries to the two police officers were not considered life-threatening, according to investigators.
The two officers were treated and released from the emergency room. One of them had a head injury, investigators said.
Police are not yet releasing the name of the officer who fired the gun.
"At this point we have only a preliminary report," said Cape and Islands First Assistant District Attorney Michael O'Keefe.
He said initial reports indicate two rounds were fired by one officer. Both guns were taken by state police investigators.
The two officers went to 621 Main St. around 10 a.m. yesterday to serve a warrant of apprehension on Bates, according to Cape and Islands District Attorney Philip A. Rollins.
Bates, a longtime Harwich resident, has a lengthy record of police contact and twice has served county jail sentences, according to court records. In many of the cases he was charged with assault and battery.
A warrant of apprehension is a civil procedure by which individuals are brought before a judge for a hearing on an involuntary commitment to a medical of psychiatric facility.
Typically these warrants are sought by family, friend or treating physician. Occasionally police will seek a warrant for a commitment hearing, however, in this case, police were there only to serve the warrant and take Bates into custody, O'Keefe said.
O'Keefe declined to specify who first applied for the warrant, but did say Bates has some family in the area.
He added that "the history leading up to this warrant is part of the ongoing investigation."
"Whether that emerges as a central feature of this incident remains to be seen," he said.
The incident
At approximately 9:45 a.m., Mitchell and Kender arrived at the Blueberry Inn, where Bates was staying in a first-floor unit. The reports of the shooting did not come into the police department until about 10 a.m.
O'Keefe said the preliminary state police report indicates Mitchell and Kender spoke with someone at the house and were invited in. Investigators believe it was Bates who invited the two officers into the inn.
As one officer crossed the threshold, a hockey stick crashed down on his head, according to investigators.
That officer collapsed to the floor as the hockey stick was then turned on the other officer, said O'Keefe.
The shots were fired by the officer who fell to the floor.
After the shooting, state police began an investigation. In cases where police have shot someone, it is standard procedure for another law enforcement agency to step in and investigate, O'Keefe said.
State police are continuing to interview residents of the neighborhood as well as people who might know Bates.
http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/policeshoot1.htm
BTW, I can hear the Mass. liberal crowd already - "He was turning his life around," "His childhood was horrible," "He wasn't breast-fed," etc.
http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/policeshoot1.htm
HARWICH PORT - A 40-year-old Harwich man was in critical condition last night after being shot in a skirmish with two Harwich police officers yesterday.
Glenn Bates was taken to Cape Cod Hospital, where he was rushed into surgery upon arrival.
Detective Lt. Barry Mitchell, 45, and Sgt. Christopher Kender, 36, were also taken to Cape Cod Hospital for treatment of injuries suffered when Bates allegedly attacked them with a hockey stick.
Although described as serious, the injuries to the two police officers were not considered life-threatening, according to investigators.
The two officers were treated and released from the emergency room. One of them had a head injury, investigators said.
Police are not yet releasing the name of the officer who fired the gun.
"At this point we have only a preliminary report," said Cape and Islands First Assistant District Attorney Michael O'Keefe.
He said initial reports indicate two rounds were fired by one officer. Both guns were taken by state police investigators.
The two officers went to 621 Main St. around 10 a.m. yesterday to serve a warrant of apprehension on Bates, according to Cape and Islands District Attorney Philip A. Rollins.
Bates, a longtime Harwich resident, has a lengthy record of police contact and twice has served county jail sentences, according to court records. In many of the cases he was charged with assault and battery.
A warrant of apprehension is a civil procedure by which individuals are brought before a judge for a hearing on an involuntary commitment to a medical of psychiatric facility.
Typically these warrants are sought by family, friend or treating physician. Occasionally police will seek a warrant for a commitment hearing, however, in this case, police were there only to serve the warrant and take Bates into custody, O'Keefe said.
O'Keefe declined to specify who first applied for the warrant, but did say Bates has some family in the area.
He added that "the history leading up to this warrant is part of the ongoing investigation."
"Whether that emerges as a central feature of this incident remains to be seen," he said.
The incident
At approximately 9:45 a.m., Mitchell and Kender arrived at the Blueberry Inn, where Bates was staying in a first-floor unit. The reports of the shooting did not come into the police department until about 10 a.m.
O'Keefe said the preliminary state police report indicates Mitchell and Kender spoke with someone at the house and were invited in. Investigators believe it was Bates who invited the two officers into the inn.
As one officer crossed the threshold, a hockey stick crashed down on his head, according to investigators.
That officer collapsed to the floor as the hockey stick was then turned on the other officer, said O'Keefe.
The shots were fired by the officer who fell to the floor.
After the shooting, state police began an investigation. In cases where police have shot someone, it is standard procedure for another law enforcement agency to step in and investigate, O'Keefe said.
State police are continuing to interview residents of the neighborhood as well as people who might know Bates.
http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/policeshoot1.htm
BTW, I can hear the Mass. liberal crowd already - "He was turning his life around," "His childhood was horrible," "He wasn't breast-fed," etc.