MY GIST of the article:
Mr. Agapito Rodriguez using a pellet gun (which appears to be a real gun) tries to
rob an inebriated Mr. Manuel Dominguez. Undercover Dallas police officer
Genaro Hernandez witnesses the attempted robbery and calls for uniformed
backup.
Mrs. Rodriguez positions the car for a quick getaway. She parks their Explorer
right next to Officer Hernandez’s parked car. Mr. Rodriguez gets into the
Explorer, initiates contact with the officer by asking something to the effect, “Are
you following me?” then Rodriguez suddenly points the (pellet) gun at the Officer
and demands money. Rodriguez gets out of the car (gun in hand). The Officer,
seeing the gun, perceiving it to be a semi-auto firearm (as Mr. Rodriguez obviously
intended) has no time to identify himself and shoots Mr. Rodriguez who, goes
down, but again waves the (pellet) gun at the Officer who shoots Mr. Rodriguez
some more - ending the situation and killing Mr. Rodriguez.
Mrs. Rodriguez says:
1) her husband was unarmed (not true).
-- Her husband obviously was using the pellet gun as a weapon and wanted it
perceived as such.
2) her husband and Dominguez knew each other (not true)
-- Dominguez said he didn’t know Rodriguez;
-- Even Mrs. Rodriguez said, at first, the two men did not know each other.
3) the officer was unprovoked (not true)
-- He was looking down the barrel of Rodriguez’s gun.
4) Rodriguez would never rob anybody (not true)
-- He just tried a moment earlier to rob Dominguez, according to Dominguez.
-- He tried to rob the police officer, according to the officer.
5) her husband would never put his family in harm’s way (not true)
-- Robbing should not be a “family affair”.
6) a police car arrived before the second volley of shots (not true)
-- Police investigators say the opposite.
7) Her husband had been convicted of crimes, but non recently (probably true)
-- And he won’t be convicted again).
A preliminary investigation showed that Officer Genaro Hernandez did not violate
the department's deadly force policy when he fired 11 shots at Agapito Rodriguez.
My take: Mr. Rodriguez robbed drunks, Mrs. Rodriguez drove (or maneuvered)
the getaway car. Note the couple's 1- and 4-year-old daughters were in the vehicle
when Mr. Rodriguez was shot.
There is a moral here: “If you’re using a toy gun to rob people, don’t get into a
gunfight.”
The press commented: “Officer Hernandez, on the force for seven years, has 37
commendations on his personnel record. He received a written reprimand for
failure to follow established procedures, a decision later overruled by the city
manager in 1995.”
Note they printed his time in service first (typical), his 37 commendations second,
and when they noted the reprimand they immediately indicated it had been
overruled. That eliminates surprises later and defangs any later accusations. I
think the press did a good job - as did the cop.
(for the whole story, see
http://www.dallasmorningnews.com/metro/0608met10copshoot.htm
Police say shooting justified;
Widow disputes account, says husband unarmed
06/08/99; By Dave Michaels / The Dallas Morning News
Mr. Agapito Rodriguez using a pellet gun (which appears to be a real gun) tries to
rob an inebriated Mr. Manuel Dominguez. Undercover Dallas police officer
Genaro Hernandez witnesses the attempted robbery and calls for uniformed
backup.
Mrs. Rodriguez positions the car for a quick getaway. She parks their Explorer
right next to Officer Hernandez’s parked car. Mr. Rodriguez gets into the
Explorer, initiates contact with the officer by asking something to the effect, “Are
you following me?” then Rodriguez suddenly points the (pellet) gun at the Officer
and demands money. Rodriguez gets out of the car (gun in hand). The Officer,
seeing the gun, perceiving it to be a semi-auto firearm (as Mr. Rodriguez obviously
intended) has no time to identify himself and shoots Mr. Rodriguez who, goes
down, but again waves the (pellet) gun at the Officer who shoots Mr. Rodriguez
some more - ending the situation and killing Mr. Rodriguez.
Mrs. Rodriguez says:
1) her husband was unarmed (not true).
-- Her husband obviously was using the pellet gun as a weapon and wanted it
perceived as such.
2) her husband and Dominguez knew each other (not true)
-- Dominguez said he didn’t know Rodriguez;
-- Even Mrs. Rodriguez said, at first, the two men did not know each other.
3) the officer was unprovoked (not true)
-- He was looking down the barrel of Rodriguez’s gun.
4) Rodriguez would never rob anybody (not true)
-- He just tried a moment earlier to rob Dominguez, according to Dominguez.
-- He tried to rob the police officer, according to the officer.
5) her husband would never put his family in harm’s way (not true)
-- Robbing should not be a “family affair”.
6) a police car arrived before the second volley of shots (not true)
-- Police investigators say the opposite.
7) Her husband had been convicted of crimes, but non recently (probably true)
-- And he won’t be convicted again).
A preliminary investigation showed that Officer Genaro Hernandez did not violate
the department's deadly force policy when he fired 11 shots at Agapito Rodriguez.
My take: Mr. Rodriguez robbed drunks, Mrs. Rodriguez drove (or maneuvered)
the getaway car. Note the couple's 1- and 4-year-old daughters were in the vehicle
when Mr. Rodriguez was shot.
There is a moral here: “If you’re using a toy gun to rob people, don’t get into a
gunfight.”
The press commented: “Officer Hernandez, on the force for seven years, has 37
commendations on his personnel record. He received a written reprimand for
failure to follow established procedures, a decision later overruled by the city
manager in 1995.”
Note they printed his time in service first (typical), his 37 commendations second,
and when they noted the reprimand they immediately indicated it had been
overruled. That eliminates surprises later and defangs any later accusations. I
think the press did a good job - as did the cop.
(for the whole story, see
http://www.dallasmorningnews.com/metro/0608met10copshoot.htm
Police say shooting justified;
Widow disputes account, says husband unarmed
06/08/99; By Dave Michaels / The Dallas Morning News
