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Fla. shooting case is theater of the absurd
Pittsburgh Post Gazette ^ | January 17, 2014 | Tony Norman

Posted on 01/19/2014 2:31:52 PM PST by Uncle Chip

On Monday, Curtis Reeves, a 71-year-old former police captain, ignored the signs posted at a Florida movie theater forbidding weapons on the premises....

Sitting a row in front of him, 43-year-old Chad Oulson, a former U.S. Navy petty officer, and his wife .....

According to reports, Mr. Oulson exchanged texts with the baby-sitter before the movie started to make sure all was well....

Mr. Reeves reportedly glowered at the couple before asking Mr. Oulson to stop texting. Mr. Oulson ignored him.

Mr. Reeves tried to find the theater manager, but he was busy with another customer.

Words were eventually exchanged while Mr. Reeves' son [a police officer] was in the lobby on a refreshment run.

The dispute quickly escalated. A bag of popcorn was angrily flung. It isn't clear who threw the first kernel. Witnesses insisted it was Mr. Reeves, who, in turn, blamed Mr. Oulson.

Allegedly fearing for his life, Mr. Reeves pulled a .380 semi-automatic handgun and shot Mr. Oulson. The bullet passed through Mrs. Oulson's hand as she tried to shield her husband.....

Mr. Reeves was put behind bars and charged with second degree murder ....

The theory his lawyer spun about his fearing for his life didn't begin to jibe with reality and was widely ridiculed, even by Second Amendment absolutists.

Mr. Reeves helped start Tampa's tactical response team in the 1990s, so his attempts to portray himself as some kind of scaredy cat added an element of absurdity....

Only the most irrational gun enthusiasts are defending Mr. Reeves on newspaper comment boards and blogs. There is a class of very scared gun owners out there who claim they would have done the same thing as Mr. Reeves did under the circumstances. Flicked popcorn kernels constitute assault if Mr. Oulson threw it first....

(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Local News
KEYWORDS: banglist; curtisreeves
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To: meatloaf
Here:

" He’s being charged with second degree murder. Curtis maintains that he was attacked, but in court, an attorney called Curtis’ claims “weak” due to the fact that other people in the movie theater saw him throw popcorn first".

http://hollywoodlife.com/2014/01/14/curtis-reeves-movie-theater-shooter-five-things-to-know/

21 posted on 01/19/2014 3:33:52 PM PST by Uncle Chip
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To: Uncle Chip

What I read was that the court stated being hit by popcorn didn’t justify the killing. Got a link?

“Authorities said a preliminary investigation had determined that there was no physical contact during the incident Monday afternoon at a theater in the Tampa suburb of Wesley Chapel. It was popcorn, thrown by Oulson, 43, that struck Reeves.”

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/14/justice/florida-movie-theater-shooting/


22 posted on 01/19/2014 3:36:18 PM PST by meatloaf (Impeach Obama. That's my New Year's resolution.)
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To: Hugin

Yeah, but he sure has that whole, “feeling threatened” thing down pat.

Popcorn probly had butter on it.


23 posted on 01/19/2014 3:36:28 PM PST by Delta 21 (If you like your freedom, you can keep your freedom. Period.)
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To: driftdiver
"So if I walk into a dark theater I can shoot anyone who ‘scares’ me?"

Well if you are a former or current LEO apparently you get that right. Or so some would have us believe...

24 posted on 01/19/2014 3:40:14 PM PST by Mad Dawgg (If you're going to deny my 1st Amendment rights then I must proceed to the 2nd one...)
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To: Uncle Chip

Andrew Branca at Legal Insurrection took the SYG defense apart last week.

The Media was salivating at the thought of mis-characterizing the law again and calling for it’s repeal.

http://legalinsurrection.com/2014/01/florida-theater-shooting-induces-another-round-of-stand-your-ground-mania/


25 posted on 01/19/2014 3:41:36 PM PST by digger48
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To: Uncle Chip

There’s a”Bad Apple”in EVERY Barrel!


26 posted on 01/19/2014 3:41:46 PM PST by bandleader
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To: meatloaf

shooting someone for throwing popcorn is Self-Defense?


27 posted on 01/19/2014 3:43:24 PM PST by digger48
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To: meatloaf
In what regard? The man wasn’t a retired cop? His eyesight hadn’t recovered after entering the dark theater? The text dude didn’t ask if the retired cop had reported him to management? The text dude wasn’t the one that threw the popcorn?

In the regard that what the cop's training REALLY was, was to provoke a response and then use it to justify beating, tazing, arresting or killing people.

Grow up - cops carry throwdown pieces too. It's called the real world.

Witnesses said the perp threw the popcorn first. Know why? It's that training you're invoking. He DECIDED to shoot this guy, and hide behind self-defense. Maybe he didn't think his 380 would accomplish an immediate kill, but he decided to shoot. All he needed was a plausible reason. Hmmm, after being a cop for so long, it took him one second flat to come up with one.

And so he threw the popcorn.

28 posted on 01/19/2014 4:00:45 PM PST by Talisker (One who commands, must obey.)
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To: meatloaf

yhe dude was texting the daycare center

A bag of popcorn was angrily flung. It isn’t clear who threw the first kernel. Witnesses insisted it was Mr. Reeves

when the old guy returns, he wasn’t able to talk to the manager, text dude starts a confrontation

<><><>

He was texting his daughter who was at home with a babysitter

According to this article, witnesses say the shooter threw the popcorn.

and the article does not say that the murdered one started it back up when the shooter returned

having a little trouble with your conclusions when you get the basic facts a) wrong, and b) make your own facts up when none are available


29 posted on 01/19/2014 4:00:45 PM PST by dmz
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To: Uncle Chip

I would not put any faith in the Hollywood Life version, it has severe problems with literacy. Most other reports quote Reeves’ attorney Escobar as saying the probable cause document was “quite weak”.

I tend to think the HL Intern responsible for this particular version is confused on the facts, if for no other reason than they seem unclear as to which part of Curtis Reeves name is his surname.


30 posted on 01/19/2014 4:09:05 PM PST by Valpal1 (If the police can t solve a problem with violence, they ll find a way to fix it with brute force)
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To: Valpal1

The sheriff doesn’t think the case is weak. He’s been pretty clear it was a clear case.


31 posted on 01/19/2014 4:19:54 PM PST by driftdiver (I could eat it raw, but why do that when I have a fire.)
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To: Uncle Chip

From a previous article this wasn’t the first time he got upset with someone in a movie theater and acted weird about it. I wonder if he’s in the early stages of Alzheimer’s? A typical symptom is irrational fits of anger.


32 posted on 01/19/2014 4:31:39 PM PST by TigersEye (Stupid is a Progressive disease.)
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To: Valpal1
Most other reports quote Reeves’ attorney Escobar as saying the probable cause document was “quite weak”.

What do you expect him to say. He's his attorney. I would rather trust Hollywood Life than him.

33 posted on 01/19/2014 4:35:19 PM PST by Uncle Chip
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To: driftdiver

And I agree with the sheriff, actually.

I was merely pointing out what a poor source HL is, with what appears to be an anonymous attribution of the “weak” quote that also turns it on its head, where multiple other sources definitely attribute the quote to a specific defense lawyer by name in a completely different context.

I think men behaving badly results in tragedy.

The texter should have been more placating when called on the minor rule infraction. “I’m sorry sir, I’m checking on baby, I’ll be done before the movie comes on”. When you’re on a date with the wife, you shouldn’t start sh!t and ruin the date.

But nobody should die over something this petty. The shooter was completely wrong to escalate to deadly force. I expect in a month or so, there will be a finding of diminish capacity from Alzheimer’s. If not, this guy will waste what health and life he has left behind bars for being an anal retentive control freak.

It’s just stupid sad.


34 posted on 01/19/2014 4:41:53 PM PST by Valpal1 (If the police can t solve a problem with violence, they ll find a way to fix it with brute force)
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To: Uncle Chip

HL is misquoting the defense lawyer completely out of context. Trusting their reporting diminishes your credibility and judgement. Grasping at the bad reportage of an online gossip rag makes your point of view look weak.

Build your argument with bricks, not straw.


35 posted on 01/19/2014 4:45:09 PM PST by Valpal1 (If the police can t solve a problem with violence, they ll find a way to fix it with brute force)
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To: FateAmenableToChange

No, LEOSA does not allow him to carry anywhere. However, in FL, the “no gun” sign does not have the force of law. The sign does however have the force of a property owner’s rights, and if asked to leave due to carrying a gun, he must leave.

“Although LEOSA preempts state and local laws, there are two notable exceptions: “the laws of any State that (1) permit private persons or entities to prohibit or restrict the possession of concealed firearms on their property” (such as a bars, private clubs, amusement parks, etc.), or “(2) prohibit or restrict the possession of firearms on any State or local government property, installation, building, base, or park” “


36 posted on 01/19/2014 5:08:52 PM PST by ltc8k6
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To: TigersEye

That’s called “being a cop.”

The shooter was pissed off that the victim wouldn’t “respect his authoratah!” and shot him. It’s that simple.

The retired cop is guilty. This is an open and shut case. Popcorn being thrown does not, in any state of the US, constitute a “reasonable threat of death or great bodily harm.”

The cop should fry.


37 posted on 01/19/2014 5:10:28 PM PST by NVDave
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To: mkleesma

It was buttered popcorn.


38 posted on 01/19/2014 5:12:04 PM PST by gitmo (If your theology doesn't become your biography, what good is it?)
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To: Valpal1
"He’s being charged with second degree murder. Curtis maintains that he was attacked, but in court, an attorney called Curtis’ claims “weak” due to the fact that other people in the movie theater saw him throw popcorn first".

HL is misquoting the defense lawyer completely out of context.

Show Me -- I don't see any defense lawyer quote in the above statement.

Do you have any reason to believe that this statement is untrue: "other people in the movie theater saw him throw popcorn first" or that this statement from the article above is untrue: "Witnesses insisted it was Mr. Reeves".

39 posted on 01/19/2014 5:12:18 PM PST by Uncle Chip
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To: NVDave
The retired cop is guilty. This is an open and shut case.

No shi'ite!?!

40 posted on 01/19/2014 5:14:14 PM PST by TigersEye (Stupid is a Progressive disease.)
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