Posted on 02/03/2014 5:17:31 AM PST by marktwain
A grand jury in Tarrant County, Texas has decided not to indict the rookie police officer who shot dead a homeowner while investigating a burglary at the wrong address.
Last May, R.A. 'Alex' Hoeppner and his partner Benjamin Hanlon accidentally started searching 72-year-old Jerry Waller's property, confusing it in the dark for a house across the street.
Waller was in bed with his wife Kathy at the time, and was stirred by the police officer's flashlights. Fearing a prowler was outside, he grabbed his .35-caliber-pistol and went to investigate.
According to a search warrant affidavit released by the Star-Telegram in July, the two officers encountered an armed Waller near the corner of his home, told them they were police and to drop his gun.
Waller didn't drop his gun and instead raised it at Hoeppner who proceeded to fatally shoot the senior citizen seven times.
According to the autopsy report, Waller suffered three hits to his chest as well as single shots to his abdomen and hand. Two other bullets grazed his wrist and forearm.
Radio transmissions after the shooting record Hanlon telling dispatchers 'shots fired' and to send for an ambulance.
'I don't know who the guy is,' Hanlon says. 'The guy came out with a gun. He wouldn't put the gun down. He pointed it at Hoeppner. Hoeppner fired.'
Waller was found in his garage and pronounced dead at the scene.
The jury heard 25 hours of testimony over four days. Hoeppner testified twice and so did his partner Hanlon, who was fired last year from the department for filing a false sworn statement in an unrelated August arrest.
But in the end they decided there wasn't enough evidence to bring up criminal charges
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Under Texas law, the homeowner would have been justified in shooting the intruders on his property, if he had believed they were involved in theft.
This shows how planning and tactics could have been used to the homeowners advantage. The same result might have happened if the police were criminals. Cover, concealment, a good light, a tactical plan might have made the difference. I feel for Mr. Waller's family. I also wonder if Mr. Waller, at his age, might have been a bit hard of hearing. I do not think the rookie officers have much of a career ahead. There may be a civil lawsuit as well.
I suspect the police shot without a warning as soon as they saw the gun.
Tragic
One of the cops present is a proven liar. There’s more here we’ll never know.
They’re murderers and they were given a free pass.
There is a lot more about this than posted by the Guardian. The explanation by the cop doesn’t hold water, and the second officer responding and supporting the cop’s statement was fired for falsifying other reports. Look for a civil lawsuit coming.
Are we to believe that seven shots came from one gun in such a short period and that it took seven to subdue the suspect?
The police WERE criminals. They entered the man's house without a warrant and shot him to death. If you or I had done this we'd be looking at felony murder. They got away with it because they were police. Different standard for government thugs.
Looks like a very nice house. IMO the cops should be charged with negligent manslaughter at the least. They killed an innocent man by failing to make sure they were at the right address. The homeowner’s death is completely their fault so failure to indict is an outrage. I hope his widow sues the dept for a bundle. This incident also shows why it may be better to not go searching for a criminal on your property. Inside the home you have the advantage, outside you are vulnerable to an ambush or to trigger happy cops trained to shoot anyone with a gun who is not a cop.
Never heard of a .35 caliber pistol. Looked it up and .35 caliber is a rifle round, the .35 Remington.
An Article from the Fort Worth Star Telegram with multiple links to
articles they have written on the topic.
http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/01/29/5524097/grand-jury-declines-to-indict.html#
A thread from Yesterday:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3118026/posts
Two different locations at the house .
.35 caliber,what pistol fires this round ? duh
At least get the facts correct. read the story...the man went outside his house and encountered the police there. The police were NOT inside the house.
The man was shot outside the house, the police did not enter the home. If what the police say is true, than a horrible accident. If not, then the incident is one of a least gross negligence if not criminality.
The .35 Smith & Wesson (S&W) is a centerfire pistol cartridge developed in 1912 for the newly designed Model 1913 self-loading pocket pistol intended to compete with the Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless .32 ACP and Model 1908 .380 ACP pistols. The .35 caliber name implied a cartridge of diameter directly between those two popular calibers. Actual bullet diameters were .31 for the .32 ACP, .32 for the .35 S&W, and .36 for the .380 ACP. The advanced features of the Model 1913 failed to compensate for the earlier availability of the Colt pistols. Gun purchasers were skeptical about a non-standard cartridge when .32 ACP ammunition was widely available.[2] Approximately 8350 Model 1913 had been made when production stopped about 1921. Smith & Wesson shifted production to their Model 32 self-loading pistol chambered for the .32 ACP from 1924 to 1937. No other firearms were chambered for the .35 S&W, and the cartridge is considered obsolete.[3] The bullets are rather unusual with a full diameter un-jacketed lead-alloy surface enclosed within the case, and a sub-caliber jacket encasing the exposed nose with a rounded form for reliable loading.
It was probably a .25ACP pistol. Don’t expect a journalist to know a musket from pump shotgun.
38 Special = 0.357”
357 Sig = 0.357”
You’d be harder pressed to find one that is actually 38 caliber instead of 35.
That's the bottom line of any cop that goes free after an oops killing and imo, he should face at least the same penalties WE do.
Yeah, I know, sometimes we get off ... but a uniform and license to kill should carry with it extra and added reponsibilities and penalties.
If I was the cop, I'd have disappeared immediately after exiting the courtroom ... and if I was a family member, neighbor, friend or citizen in reach ....
It would seem that this round has not been produced since the 1920’s, before the guy was born.
I consider my garage to be part of my home. Am I in error?
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