Posted on 05/05/2009 5:48:09 AM PDT by arbooz
Two off-duty Atlanta Police Department officers were arrested early Monday morning in Cherokee County, charged with reckless conduct for shooting dozens of bullets into Lake Allatoona.
At around 1 a.m. Cherokee 911 received several calls complaining about the gunfire. Deputies were dispatched to the Allatoona shoreline, and one reported a bullet landed just 15 feet away from where he stood, said Cherokee Sheriff’s Office spokesman Jay Baker.
“There were people fishing in the area at the time,” he said.
The shots were traced to the Cedar Drive home of Atlanta police officer Dan Rasmussen, 43. Fellow cop Chad Armstrong, 31, was also charged, as was Rasmussen’s wife, Toni Rasmussen, 43. Baker said she was charged with obstruction after failing to comply with Cherokee deputies. A fourth man, Robert Terza, 22, was also charged with reckless conduct.
Deputies seized 10 firearms from the Rasmussen home.
Rasmussen and Armstrong have been suspended with pay by the Atlanta Police Department. Internal affairs officers were dispatched to the scene Monday afternoon, Baker said.
All of the suspects were released on bond.
Holy crap, and they’re running around with badges. Yikes.
I look at those mug shots and I don’t see cops.
I see meth addicts/tweekers.
Oh, and only cops should have gun.
/s
* Mainturd Jackasson the late and unlamented former mayor of Atlanta whose two crowning achievments were to fully implement affirmative action in city government and secure a restaurant franchise for his family at the world's busiest airport (Hartsfield)
No Foul, carry on boys and keep your ammo dry.
Radio report I heard last evening indicated copious amounts of alcohol. It was not known they were cops at the time of the report. I heard the cops walked through the woods to find the source and bullets were hitting the water near them.
So why were all the weapons confiscated and what were the reckless charges on the other people?
Only well-trained police and the military need guns.
Dunno - probably all high or drunk and like most cops everywhere thought they had some sort of special immunity to breaking laws (which for the most part they do)
Just a reflection of what our society has become.
lol
This sure as heck inspires confidence in the authorities...
Surely no one could think higher of them than I do.
What’s the problem. They were just fishing...
The practice reinforces the sick police subculture. They all only hang around other cops because they view civilians as the enemy for negative court rulings, lawsuits and being a general pain in the butt. The distrust the motives of civilians who want to be "friends" thinking they want something: A ticket "fixed" or just to be able to brag to friends about their buddy, the cop. This is reinforced, too by the way a cop is introduced to the friends of a civilian: This is my buddy JOHN LAW. He's a cop. Why not simply: "This is my buddy, John Law?" That's because subconsciously or not the civilian is telling his friends: This man is a police officer. Don't do anything illegal in front of him like buy or possess drugs or he might arrest you. OR This man is a police officer. He carries a gun and a badge and he has POWER. Because he is my friend, I also have power, too.
So cops don't trust civilians at all and the US v THEM mentality continues both on and off duty. Which brings us back to Choir Practice. A police officer may encounter so many stressors during a single shift, it would and has driven those folks to suicide. The highest divorce rates and the highest rates of alcoholism and drug abuse of most careers.
How many of you face the possibility that you might have to shoot somebody or get shot or watch one of your companions die and you're not serving in Iraq? How many of you will face the ugly reality of seeing the seamy underbelly of humanity every single day. People at their very worst usually interact with the police uniforms. I was a state parole officer and I got my BA degree in Criminal Justice so I know all of this. But many folks are very quick to judge who have no idea. I'm not excusing their behavior, but I do recognize that the police community is very sick and needs reformation. They need mental health counselling and they need to not be so isolated.
Believe it or not, one of the best ways to get them to stop the US v THEM mentality is to engage in friendly shooting competition with civilians. My IDPA club has several cops who bring friends to the matches for a fun day of safe competition and mutual respect and with firearms the lawful focus of the activities. They begin to realize that civilians with guns are a GOOD thing. That is how real and vital change begins.
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