Off-Duty Calif. Cop Charged With Murder After Allegedly Shooting Bar Patron Over Darts Comments

An off-duty cop in California has been charged with murder after he reportedly shot a fellow bar patron during a game of darts.

Reports indicate that Dayle William Long, a 10-year department veteran of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, yelled "I'm a cop, I can do whatever I want to" before pulling the trigger.

The Daily Mail has more:

An altercation allegedly broke out after the police officer told one of the friends 'I’m better at darts than you are', Chris Hull, 39, told Patch.com.

'My buddy says, "Aw, you suck at darts". (The man) says, "That’s why I’m a cop, I can do whatever I want to do".'

Hull said his friend asked; 'Really, you can do anything?'

The police officer then pulled out his gun, Hull claimed and after the group repeatedly asked him to put it away he 'pops three rounds into my friend Sam'.

The victim is Samuel Vanettes, 36, who was pronounced dead at the scene. According to the the L.A. Times, he was a gas station attendant who happened to be drinking at the same time as Long, and things took a turn for the worse when Long started drinking whiskey:

Long had been sitting alone and drinking, according to a Vanettes family member, who asked not to be identified. Vanettes introduced himself and they began playing darts, said the relative, who added that he received a firsthand account from the sister and boyfriend.

"They were getting along good," he said. "When the cop started having more whiskey, he started getting belligerent.

"He lifted his shirt up and showed his gun. Sam was standing by the dartboard. He said, 'You don't want to do this; you're a nice guy.' And he shot him. That's what I'm told."

Some reports Long then called police to report the shooting. However, he wasn't so much turning himself, a family member told the Times.

“He was calling dispatch and telling them shots were fired, like he was a cop,” the relative said. He was eventually arrested.

If convicted, Long faces 50 years in prison.