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Houston Police Officer Fatally Shoots Unarmed Double Amputee in a Wheelchair

Sep. 22, 2012 7:51pm Erica Ritz

Houston Police Officer Shoots, Kills Double Amputee in Wheelchair

(Photo: KPRC-TV)

(TheBlaze/AP) — A Houston police officer shot and killed a one-armed, one-legged man in a wheelchair Saturday inside a group home after police say the double amputee threatened the officer and aggressively waved a metal object that turned out to be a pen.

Police spokeswoman Jodi Silva said the man cornered the officer in his wheelchair and was making threats while trying to stab the officer with the pen. At the time, the officer did not know what the metal object was that the man was waving, Silva said.

She said the man came “within inches to a foot” of the officer and did not follow instructions to calm down and remain still.

“Fearing for his partner’s safety and his own safety, he discharged his weapon,” Silva told The Associated Press.

Police did not immediately release the name of the man who was killed. They had been called to the home after a caretaker there called and reported that the man in wheelchair was causing a disturbance.

(Photo: KPRC-TV)

The owner of the group home, John Garcia, told the Houston Chronicle that the man had a history of mental illness and had been living at the house about 18 months. Garcia said the man had told him that he lost a leg above the knee and all of one arm when he was hit by a train.

“He sometimes would go off a bit, but you just ignore it,” Garcia told the newspaper.

Silva identified the officer as Matthew Jacob Marin, a five-year veteran of the department. He was immediately placed on three-day administrative leave, which is standard in all shootings involving officers.

Houston police records indicate that Marin also fatally shot a suspect in 2009. Investigators at the time said Marin came upon a man stabbing his neighbor to death at an apartment complex and opened fired when the suspect refused to drop the knife.

On Saturday, Marin and his partner arrived at the group home around 2:30 a.m. Silva said there were several people at the house at the time. The caretaker who called police waited on the porch while the officers went inside, she said.

“It was close quarters in the area of the house,” Silva said. “The officer was forced into an area where he had no way to get out.”

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Comments (186)

Kelly Henderson
Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:54pm
If a police officer is that afraid of a disabled person then he should be working at a drive-thru window at Hardee`s.Unarmed.If this shooting is justified then none of us are safe.If this is a justified shooting then the victim is a crazy *******.Anyone want to bet?

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- freeberty
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 9:59pm
  What makes you think a government union parasite would have the work ethic to make in as a drive-thru cashier?
  
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- The_Jerk
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 10:01pm
  Got what he deserved if this story is true.
  
  Report this comment
- freeberty
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 10:07pm
  Jerk
  
  I must have missed that part in this story by the blaze, do you have the link where the cop was arrested and charged with murder?
  
  Report this comment
- Zer0
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 10:56pm
  Bloody NAZI’s….hopefully America will grow tired of the police state and demand government (federal, state, and local) respect their sovereignty and their rights.
  
  Report this comment
- Walkabout
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 11:12pm
  Look at the picture. It shows a house. This was a domestic disturbance call. Those are the worst.
  
  Yes it is a pen, It looks like a pen & those have been made into zip guns & zip guns have killed people.
  
  I’ll side with the officer on this one.
  
  Report this comment
- freeberty
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 11:25pm
  Walkabout
  
  With your uncanny deductive reasoning ability and obvious superior intelligence it’s no wonder your in the fast lane to become chief of parasites.
  
  Thanks for making it so clear what the freedom loving taxpayers are actually paying for.
  
  Report this comment
- RANGER1965
  Posted on September 23, 2012 at 12:34am
  I’m not happy at what seems to be a national plague of police brutality, incompetence, and arrogance either. More and more stories seem to be coming out of policemen acting like little armed rulers, or just plain stupid.
  
  But this story doesn’t fall into this category. There’s no evidence that this officer was an arrogant little prig looking to make someone suffer, nor did he empty multiple clips into the guy and hit 20 bystanders like those New York police officers did recently.
  
  This looks to me like one of those Oh crap! moments that sneak up on you, rather than incompetence or worse.
  
  Report this comment
- BlazingPatriot
  Posted on September 23, 2012 at 12:41am
  Freeberty
  
  One has to question why you have such contempt and disdain for the police. Or is it a feeble mind that causes you to feel this way?
  
  Report this comment
- BryanB
  Posted on September 23, 2012 at 2:20am
  What you have here is a Police Officer that is terrified of people.
  
  I’m not making excuses for him, he shot and killed someone that didn’t need to die. But it’s obvious to me, that no one helped him through the first shooting (counseling), and this is the results of having no one to talk too.
  
  In the old days the Police Officer would sit down with Chaplain and other Police Officers that had been involved in shootings, and work through it. Now days it’s you and a Psychiatrist, and a lot of Cops have a problem with what is knowen as The Rubber Gun Squad. So they usually will not talk to the Psychiatrist.
  
  You can’t just shoot and kill people, and not have it bother you. Even if you kill really really bad people, it’s still going to trouble your heart……..
  
  Report this comment
- DTOM_Jericho (Creator vindicator)
  Posted on September 23, 2012 at 8:11am
  What we have here is an unconstitutional permanent standing army. No cop has ever kept an oath because their mere existence violates that oath. Support ELECTED sheriffs and their deputies only. True LEOs should be afraid of losing their job if the do it poorly. The should also face a citizenry that is armed AT LEAST as well as they are.
  
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- lordjosh
  Posted on September 23, 2012 at 8:54am
  This is a case where the people need to know and exercise their right to justice. The victim’s(suspect to the compliant media)family needs to know that they can bring this cop to a court of Law, out of his protections afforded to revenue agents in his civil capacity, where the facts can be vetted for a jury to decide.
  
  Report this comment
- Individualism
  Posted on September 23, 2012 at 10:12am
  your more likely to be killed by a cop than a terrorist o wait there behind 99 percent of those attacks in this country.
  
  Report this comment
- kenboo1
  Posted on September 23, 2012 at 3:27pm
  BlazingPatriot : One has to question why you have such contempt and disdain for the police. Or is it a feeble mind that causes you to feel this way?
  
  The police have earned the disdain we feel for them. there are multiple videos on youtube that show police brutality and abuse of their arrest powers. The judiciary and legislative branches of government have given them more power to harass and intimidate and now it appears murder…
  
  Blazing Patriot your probably one of those police who think they are above the law and should be allowed to intimidate and make the life or death call that only a certified police officer can make especially concerning a pen…
  
  When police violate a person’s 4th amendment right to freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, much like the biker arrested in Dallas Texas because the police wanted to use his helmet cam for evidence, what sanctions does the police officer face? Let me give you a hint… NOTHING… Even though a person is arrested for no reason and detained (in this case 8 hours) nothing happens to police officer for abusing his authority… Until the police officer has something to lose for being wrong, there will not be a change in their arrogance and disdain for the 4th amendment.
  
  In the case of shooting a double amputee in a wheelchair, can’t wait to read the report on that one… Yeah, it could have been a zip gun… show me a zip gun that can be operated with one hand…
  
  This was just murder by co
  
  Report this comment
- Bluefish49
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 4:30am
  As a good union member he cannot be touched….crazy.
  
  Report this comment
SIXFRIGATES
Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:48pm
“Unarmed Double-Amputee”.. Really? omfg. Hilarious.

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burned at edges
Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:48pm
I guess the pen is not mightier than the gun? (sarc) Where is Obama stating the officers acted stupidly?

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- burned at edges
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 9:08pm
  Oh and the headline is obviously wrong. He was missing one leg and one arm so this double amputee was obviously armed.
  
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- blackyb
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 10:07pm
  Probably had the pen between his toes.
  
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piper60
Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:47pm
Geees,guys. Would it hurt anything for you to LOOK before you shoot?

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- Lord_Frostwind
  Posted on September 23, 2012 at 3:05am
  Well, you got about twenty seconds or less to identify the target, decide what he is carrying, draw your weapon, aim and shoot. Try one of those “shoot don’t shoot” scenarios sometime, they can be enlightening.
  
  Report this comment
- kenboo1
  Posted on September 23, 2012 at 3:40pm
  Yeah this scenario should be in the training… It would be the no brainer scenario… If your a cop with two arms and two legs with combat training, you should be able to take the pen away from a one armed, one legged man in a wheelchair… If you can’t do that, you have no business carrying a gun because a two armed two legged man could take it from you…
  
  There is no excuse for this shooting, there is no way they can justify it… He should be arrested for murder by the officer who witnessed it…
  
  Report this comment
- Cavy from VA
  Posted on September 23, 2012 at 8:41pm
  I was going to be a cop … I found out that there were too many “cowboys” in there for my taste … We had an officer shoot a dog while on a domestic call … turns out it was a very small terrier who was just doing the dogs job … protecting his home from a stranger … the cop was wearing boots!! The poor dog was about 6 inches tall!!! He is no longer a cop … not in our town at least … seems that some of them just live for the opportunity to use their “power” … now we have not seen the results of the “investigation” so I’ll reserve my final judgement … but this one smells bad from the start … especially with the previous history of this officer … You can’t claim “slipsies” when it comes to death. Was he really that scared??? … maybe he should be doing something else for a living!!
  
  TEA!!!
  
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pissantno.10
Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:47pm
im not going to commit to any side but i have worked in houstan alot . there are some people there that will scare the heck out of you they may have no legs or arms and they will still try and rob you

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capitalideals
Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:45pm
This time, the one armed man didn’t get away with it.

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- Exrepublisheep
  Posted on September 23, 2012 at 1:57am
  oof
  
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TJexcite
Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:44pm
The Truth has no agenda but this report is full of it as it does not say the whole truth but bits of it.

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kenboo1
Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:43pm
Most cops don’t have the sense God gave a tick. They all have egos bigger than any Presidential Candidate and that includes our own Imam in Chief Obama… They look at every citizen as a potential criminal, and if you look at them wrong your targeted… We are in a police state that is not going away anytime soon… Why are crimes against a police officer so much more egregious than a crime against a normal citizen??? When police abuse is evidenced and recorded nothing is done about it. Take the biker in Dallas TX, who was arrested just so the police could take his camera off his helmet. Has anything been done about that???

When police commit crimes it is generally swept under the rug… This cop should get the death penalty unless evidence points out that the now dead citizen had in his hand a gun pointed at the person he was choking with his one leg… WTF???

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- HoosierGal
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 10:11pm
  So agreed.
  
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TJexcite
Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:40pm
A lot missing in this report.

What type of group home is it. Was it one for people with diminished mental capacity and missed his meds or had no meds that would help. Why is and is it the standard procedure to call the police when a member of the group house is making a disturbance and not properly prepared and trained personal there to deal with this type of person and not be armed with anything but tasers or pepper spray with the cops there for backup to take him to jail if needed.

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/HPD-officer-fatally-shoots-man-in-wheelchair-3885848.php
This report has it that he was schizophrenic and coming at the officers. “He was approaching them aggressively,” one does not approach in a wheel chair and not with an artificial leg. Did he have artificial leg and could walk or just the sensational headline that he was shot in the wheelchair and push the agenda that cops are out of control.

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- drs1969
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 9:14pm
  Groups homes are the new ‘Insane Asylums’. I had a relative who was moved out of an asylum and put into a group home back in the 80′s. She was raped once, that we heard about, and robbed several times. The attackers, in these instances, were black and never charged. I’m sure this guy was probably black, too.
  
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- rawmilker
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 9:29pm
  Cops out of control. Since Obama has unleashed the police state, cops everywhere think they’ve been given a free pass to kill citizens for the most minor of disturbances. These unprofessional cops see the corruptness at the top Holder, Obama, Napolitano also getting a free pass so they think they can kill and beat the charges of cold blooded murder.
  
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- WarMunger_Al
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 11:20pm
  doesn’t matter how crazy the guy was. He was wheelchair bound, had one arm. Hpw do you get trapped by a guy like that? kinda hard to wheel the chair and assault with a pen at the same time. How could the officer not take the item from him? He is a P***y with a capital P. He should not be allowed to be a cop and he should go to jail. I am surprised he didn’t unload 40 rounds into this guy, just to make sure…
  
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hblarson
Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:40pm
It’s called “contempt of cop” for which immediate “street justice” is likely.

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olddog
Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:36pm
Sorry to say but check to internet over the last few months, police have killed Far More than criminal have, like 10 to 1. I’m more afraid of police than the criminals at this point..

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- GodFearingMama
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:52pm
  I guess I agree but with bit of sorrow.. Can’t say it’s a job I would want when I know there’s a target on my chest and I have kids at home… They have acted as if there on edge and overdoing lately.. My question is if they were ordered to enforce Marshall law how far would they they go before they jump to our side and defend citizens before government intrests
  
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- MDECKER
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 10:00pm
  I’d rather have more cops killing criminals than criminals killing cops. Just sayin.
  
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- GodFearingMama
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 10:17pm
  I do apologize for the spelling and grammar in the previous comment .. It’s been a rough week.. But all the comments on this page makes me wonder what the cop would say.. I’m sure it’s a tough job to have to live with killing anyone.. Especially after finding out the crippled man was unarmed.. Not exactly a criminal MDECKER just a guy having a bad day and obviously not such a great life to be an amputee
  
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- Lord_Frostwind
  Posted on September 23, 2012 at 3:03am
  Hmmh, I like that ratio, now if only criminals could learn to be afraid of them. By the way, internet statistics aren’t really the most trustworthy thing in the world, they’re only a tad more trustworthy than MSNBC stats.
  
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NO_MORE_OBAMA
Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:28pm
OMG you can’t make this stuff up. The PIGS kill another helpless person.

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- U.N.hater
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 9:06pm
  Upside down US flag as an avatar? And you call the police Pig’s? For the flag alone you can go F–K! yourself!
  
  Report this comment
- SidneyDave
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 9:46pm
  U.N.Hater – do you know the meaning of an upside down flag? I think not base on your comment.
  
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- U.N.hater
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 10:03pm
  Nope just look’s disrespectful to me and the pig comment didn’t help much either. Don’t beleive in useing our flag to make a point either. I just have alot of respect for our flag. Alot of people fought for the respect of that flag. Just touchy about it is all. If you like i could just change my comment to the Pig’s comment.
  
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- Eastinfection
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 10:24pm
  @ UN.. upside down U.S. flag is a distress signal- a call for help, nothing unpatriotic about it… in fact sometimes it’s quite the opposite.
  
  Report this comment
- U.N.hater
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 10:42pm
  @EAST: Thank You learn something everday on here. Still didn’t like the pig’s part thow. We may very well live in a police state but not all of them are bad. My grandfather was cheif of police in a small southeast missouri town for 20 years. Never met one person who didn’t have something nice to say about him.
  
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Jenny Lind
Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:23pm
I hate to say this, but insted of being in charge, police are afraid and over reacting. How many are afraid, hard to say, but as criminals are more out of control, expect more shoot first, question later. This man never should have died. Goin into a group home other controls should have been in place, including tasers. This is sad. it’s going to get worse.

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- Mil-Dot
  Posted on September 23, 2012 at 11:48am
  This is all part of an orchestrated process the cops are following to ATTEMPT to scare the public into obeying them on command, like dogs do. Cops pull up, you have a toothpick in your hand so “BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM!!!!!!!! There, that’ll make anybody think twice about trying to assault an LEO with a deadly weapon”.
  
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ChillOutPeople
Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:17pm
Taser, anyone? If you actually feel threatened (by a man in a wheel chair with one leg and one arm), why not use a taser instead of a gun?

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- grayling646
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:38pm
  Completely agree. However, why is it that all of you who question this shooting always leave out the part where the cop was cornered and being attacked with a deadly weapon. You laugh but I’ll bet you won’t let me stab you with an ink pen. Arm chair quarterbacking is the easiest thing in the world to do.
  
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- Anonymous T. Irrelevant
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 9:20pm
  Kinda sounds like suicide-by-cop. The suicide didn’t take when he tried it by train. He had a history of mental illness. You can play “Monday morning quarterback” all you want, but until you walk a mile in the shoes of a police officer, you really don’t understand. BTW, I am not, nor ever have been, in law enforcement, nor have any relatives in it.
  
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- mr.goodvibe
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 10:17pm
  There are daily reports here in Houston of officer involved shootings, I think theses guys are getting trigger happy, taser probably would have worked against a man in a wheelchair.
  
  Report this comment
- jumbles
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 10:37pm
  “Cornered by a guy in a wheelchair with two missing limbs armed with a pen” and you think that a healthy man trained to deal with “real” life threatening situations truly has an excuse for shooting him.You have either lived a very sheltered life or you are a little girl.
  
  Report this comment
- WarMunger_Al
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 11:25pm
  Gray-
  How do you get cornered by a one armed wheel chair riding maniac? Talk about zero situational awareness. Should not be on the police force.
  
  Report this comment
- kenboo1
  Posted on September 23, 2012 at 10:04pm
  Gray, Sit in a wheelchair with one arm and one leg tied up so it is equal (I’m assuming you have both your arms and legs) to the poor man who died and it wouldn’t take me one second to take that deadly pen out of your hand and in two seconds your hand would be cuffed to the chair. I don’t want to hear that Bull S___ from you or anyone about how this man was a danger to these cops (yes there were atleast 2 cops there) It was the second cop that shot the dangerous amputee…… WTF???
  
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grimmster
Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:16pm
Although it seems on the outside to be more than excessive force,i have to put into question and article that has more than one news scorce involved, especially the AP……..Makes me wonder how much of the information, was cherry picked…..

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DEMOCRATS.ARE.EVIL
Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:14pm
Oops…..

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LiberalAlways
Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:13pm
Absolutely outrageous. I’ve worked in group homes, yes people can get out of hand, but a one armed, one legged individual with a pen? This officer needs to be fired and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

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- subic
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:32pm
  Looks like Officer Marin is a blood thirsty authoritarian rouge cop. Any cop that cannot subdue an unarmed wheelchair bound double amputee without a taser or pepper spray needs to go be a mall cop without a weapon.
  
  Report this comment
- CHROME_PLATED_HEART
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 9:11pm
  Mall cop? I was thinking inmate.
  
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- Hiswill
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 9:15pm
  He could have been shot in the leg, had his wheelchair tipped over. I think there were other alternatives there that should have been explored before he was shot dead. I agree we don’t have all the facts. I don’t want to pull an Obama and say the cops acted supidly, but a double amputee, pleeeze.
  
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U.N.hater
Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:10pm
He has one arm one leg and in a wheelchair and you shoot him? The police is not your freind. They are nothing more than union thug’s above the law. Police in my city used to take people to a dead end road at the river and would beat them silly and leave them there. This is a police state.

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- grayling646
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:21pm
  You must’ve missed the part that talked about the suspect trying to stab (kill) him with a pen. You’re obviously not aware that a weapon such as an ink pen can kill you. I bet you dismiss this as silly/stupid but I’ll also bet you won’t let me stab you with an ink pen.
  
  Report this comment
- U.N.hater
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:37pm
  Why couldn’t the other officer just grab his arm when the other officer had him distracted. And why did you pick me out of everyone else to respond to? Because of my personal story about the police or that they are union thugs? Are you a police officer or a union thug? Or both?
  
  Report this comment
- subic
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:41pm
  GRAY, I’ll bet you I won’t let you stab me with an ink pen, especially if you’re an invilid in a wheel chair,,the cop is a puss!
  
  Report this comment
- grayling646
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:50pm
  @ Psy: I’ve always thought it funny when people play badass on the internet. Actually, it’s very stupid. Only idiots do silly crap like that. And just so you’ll know how skerd I am, I’m the one who turned you in.
  
  Report this comment
- Psychosis
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 9:01pm
  @ grey
  
  turned me in???
  
  to who?
  
  your mommy?????
  
  im old school, my word is my honor , i dont need to be an “internet tough guy” im not a metrosexual so i still know how to ball my fist up and as clint would say, MAKE YOUR DAY
  
  A PEN (held by a one armed one legged man in a wheel chair) VERSUS A TRAINED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER should have ended up with that one arm handcuffed to his one ankle and a great big busted nose
  
  Report this comment
- kenboo1
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 9:14pm
  Gray: Are you condoning this? You don’t have any sense if you are… This cop needs to hung at sun up tomorrow for murder and no common sense. He damn sure doesn’t ever need to strap on a gun again… You don’t think there was a better way??? Well i guess there’s an empty bed at the home now…
  
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- grayling646
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 9:45pm
  @ psy, there you go…being funny again. By the way, take it from someone who’s been there, done that. You’re the one who’ll pay for your hate and anger. Other people may suffer because of it but you will be the one who pays for it eventually.
  
  @ ken, my initial reply was to point out that u n hater had drawn his conclusion while ignoring certain aspects of the story. With many people whenever there’s a cop involved incident it’s always the cops fault and they’ll tell any lie, omit any evidence to prove that. That was my initial point as anyone with half a brain can see if they read the reply. Maybe you should go back and read it again, Ken.
  
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- chips1
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 9:49pm
  KEN:
  You just described Sheria Law. You must be a *******.
  
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- burningsodium
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 9:58pm
  grayling -you have the IQ of a fish. A person with the right training can kill you with his index finger. Assault by Ballpoint is ridiculous. He couldn’t out maneuver a wheelchair bound amputee? He couldn’t draw his stick and whack him – ? He has never had training for defense? His partner couldn’t run in and do anything but draw a gun and aim for a lethal area? You are defending stupidity and looking the same by doing so.
  
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- proliance
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 10:20pm
  Grayling, let’s make a deal. I put my .45 on my hip and you try to stab me with a pen. I bet my .45 never clears leather, I get a nasty scratch, and we both walk away. OK, maybe you have a broken jaw, but we still leave without calling the coroner.
  
  Report this comment
- grayling646
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 10:21pm
  Bottom line kids:
  Armchair quarterbacks are a dime a dozen. I’m willing to admit that I’m one of them. Anyone else willing to ‘fess up?
  
  Report this comment
- grayling646
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 10:27pm
  LOL prolance…another internet badass. So funny.
  
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- freeberty
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 10:36pm
  Why would you guys argue with these government union parasites?
  The reason they a defending such a ridiculous position is because you have been feeding, clothing, and housing them and their parasitic families for so long they would be as useful as a broodmare in section 8 if they had to make it on their own in the free market.
  
  Report this comment
- booger71
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 10:38pm
  All cops wear which will repel an ink pen and a knife for that manner. This officer should have learned in the academy how not to get backed into a corner “without an exit.”
  
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- Something is Wrong
  Posted on September 24, 2012 at 3:54am
  I am seeing a lot of “this cop must be guilty” on here and it makes me glad that none of you are our justice system. Innocent until proven guilty right? Now, granted there is a dead man who might have some sway in this but I think it’s at least worth it to look at things from the cop’s perspective as well. The story states that the cop has killed before and that it was somebody who was stabbing their neighbor to death and wouldn’t drop their knife. I guarantee you that experience left a permanent impression on the cop. Certainly the cop over-reacted but I wouldn’t find it surprising at all if as that cop found somebody swinging something he couldn’t identify at him he had a flashback to that stabbing and then over-reacted in fear/panic to the situation at hand. Did the stabbing victim die and the cop felt afterwards that if only he had reacted sooner he could have saved a life? I don’t know but it isn’t too far outside the realm of believability. Has this cop since then adopted a view that quicker more decisive reactions save lives? Again, I don’t know but if either one of those is true they would seriously affect this situation. I am certain though that he isn’t Beelzebub in a uniform. Innocent until proven guilty; let’s all stop jumping the gun here or we’re no better than a cop who can’t keep his head level and his reactions in check.
  
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pissantno.10
Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:10pm
i dont know if you people have every been to houston but it is either real nice people or some one from another planet and there are more people from another planet than nice people.

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- drs1969
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 9:21pm
  Last time I was there was ’95. Two things I remember. One was a weird acting guy, in Katy, who stared at me the whole time I was eating in a restarant. The other was a nut trying to run me off the road the last day I was there. I agree with your assessment.
  
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- mr.goodvibe
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 10:23pm
  Depends on what part you visit, Greenspointe used to be nice and away from the city center and noe it is overun with thug wannabes, you just have to stay away from the ” vunnables “
  
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pissantno.10
Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:04pm
only in houston man i hate that town

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- grimmster
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:12pm
  @pissantno.10 aka encinom.
  You have never been to Houston you idiot,now, back to moms basement with you moron……
  
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- The Gooch
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:13pm
  Nope. The entire state of TX is presenting with a rash of these stories lately. Can’t let the buffoons in L.A. have all the fun.
  
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SteamedinMichigan
Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:04pm
Are you freaking kidding me?!?!?!?!?

Honestly?

A guy in a wheel chair, with one arm and one leg “corners” an officer of the law and makes him fear for his life…..all by using a PEN?

Give me a FREAKING BREAK

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- whatthecrazy
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 11:40pm
  Ill drink to that……………………
  
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- RamonPreston
  Posted on September 23, 2012 at 1:48am
  Looks like he brought a pen to a gun fight. This whole thing is stupid on the part of the cops. Let’s drag a few more old ladies out of their cars. This country has gone nuts.
  
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Teufel Hunden
Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:02pm
They say a the “pen” is mightier than the “sword”. Maybe he’ll use that defense. Rotsa Ruck!

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N37BU6
Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:00pm
Could have been a needle…

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- The Gooch
  Posted on September 22, 2012 at 8:11pm
  Good grief. There is CLEARLY a problem with the mentality of cops in TX. You’re in a group home with a wheelchair bound man who is missing two of his limbs. Yeah, lighting him up seems reasonable.
  This is why if my hand is ever forced to defend my family, own life or property, I DARE any boy in blue to challenge my actions. I’ll quote N37BU6: “I thougth he had a needle.”
  “Oh, well. You did the right thing. We smoke people all the time when we think they have needles. Or pens. Good job, citizen.” Yeah, I’m sure that’ll be exactly how such a scenario would play out.
  
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- N37BU6
  Posted on September 23, 2012 at 5:28am
  I did security for 3 years. One summer of that job was patrolling the worst street in my city, on foot, with only cuffs and a 26″ baton. I worked alongside 2 beat cops and a mobile unit, but they were usually 2-3 minutes away at any given time.
  
  Let me tell you: I would have easily shot 2 people if I had had a gun. Our guards were routinely attacked with needles, and in my case, a machete brandished openly and an alleged gun in a pocket. The individual who stated he had a gun got his forearm broken by me, after 3 clear warnings. If I had had a gun, he would possibly be dead.
  
  These situations, no matter how innocuous they sound on paper, especially from reporters who sensationalize and demonize for ratings, are never that cut-and-dry. Have you ever been in a group home? Do you have any idea how violent and irrational some of the people in them can be? Ever been attacked with a dirty hypodermic needle? Things happen fast. The lighting is not always the best. When it’s your life or theirs, and you’re backed into a corner, what are you going to do?
  
  Attack a cop, or any other armed citizen, and you risk getting shot. It’s that simple.
  
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Gary_K
Posted on September 22, 2012 at 7:59pm
The police are getting out of control and it will not change until the criminal police are treated just like anyone else. Try, convict and jail.

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Psychosis
Posted on September 22, 2012 at 7:59pm
this is ridiculous

a one armed and one legged man?????

LOCK THE WHEELS ON HIS WHEELCHAIR AND TAKE A STEP BACK

there was absolutely no reason to shoot him all you had to do was take a step back

this happens because of whats called ” escalation risk” .cops want submission within seconds, anything longer than that and they start to panic

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- Lord_Frostwind
  Posted on September 23, 2012 at 3:10am
  Real question, why did they need to call the police to deal with this situation? Shouldn’t the personnel at the group home have been able to deal with it? It seems everybody and their dog can’t handle situations anymore and call the cops when the neighbor kid looks at them funny.
  
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- N37BU6
  Posted on September 23, 2012 at 5:33am
  “LOCK THE WHEELS ON HIS WHEELCHAIR”
  
  Sounds simple in writing. Now apply it in reality, with someone holding a (perceived) weapon.
  
  If this was the rule of thumb, do you have any idea how many cops would be getting stabbed trying to lock wheelchair wheels?
  
  People in wheelchairs are just that: PEOPLE in wheelchairs. People who are just as capable of killing you if you with edged weapons if you get close enough.
  
  You see, I actually do believe in equality. You dish out special treatment and consider certain people to be inferior.
  
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- Melvin Spittle
  Posted on September 23, 2012 at 2:58pm
  N37BU6, Did you know that as a combat soldier, our rules of engagement in Afghanistan do not allow us to shoot an AK-47 armed civilian unless he points the weapon at us? Why is it that citizens are not protected in the same way? If we used Houston law enforcement rules of engagement in Afghanistan, we would be charged and convicted of a war crime.
  
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