FL Retired cop, shoots texting wanker

[scottmandue]

Wow, this thread has a life of its own!

A lot going on in this thread we have.

Ageism (young Vs old) although that doesn't really pan out because the opinions don't seem to polarize with a particular age group.

Sexism (man Vs woman) I like your posts foxy and agree with you, but I can also see male logic Vs female logic working in this argument.

Pro gun Vs anti gun, although many gun owners here have condemned the shooter so that doesn't pan out either.

I don't think anyone thinks anyone should get shot for texting in a theater... I also think pointing out that the poor guy who got shot could have made better decisions is in any way vindicating the old guy who was doing the shooting.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by foxpaws

See - this is what I mean - you consistently draw out things the texter could have done to avoid the situation, however, you don't give 'equal' time to ways the older guy could have avoided the situation. It appears that you always 'blame' the texter when you do this. "The texter could have done this or that or maybe something else", while never using this same reasoning for the older man. However, you now have stated that you believe that it wasn't 'equal' but you still just use the texter as the 'only if he had done this' example.

Correct - I have mentioned on several occasions that the texter could have avoided a confrontation in the first place had he extended the shooter a little common courtesy.

There I said it again.

I think it's important to stress how not extending common courtesy to fellow humans - is all too often the cause of deaths in our society

Aside from this situation - how about all the road rage incidents....resulted in a deaths.

Mostly because of the "me first" personality.

Does not the common courtesy portion of this story deserve mention?

If we do not discuss it.....what does that say about preventing future deaths due to certain personalities who are prone to violence?

Can anyone disagree with anything I just wrote above?

[70SATMan]

Guess this is now a felony:




Further evidence of the destructive PC path the country is taking.

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by HHI944

.......decision to charge murder 2 is a blunder....

Yea, that seems like a stretch based on what we know so far.

Maybe they expect him to plea down to 3rd?

[intakexhaust]

Originally Posted by foxpaws

Reading all these posts I am struck with something - age 'vision'.

It appears that most people who are under 35 or so feel that the older gentlemen 'went too far' in killing someone for texting. Most of those older than 55 or so seem more often to side with the older gentleman, he was somehow 'justified' in killing this 'azzhat' for throwing popcorn (protecting himself and his wife from some perceived deadly assault).

Who do you think will determine the fate of gun ownership/the 2nd amendment in the future?

Drifting from the topic here but this one raises another question. What does the next generation do with all of our guns? You as a gun owner, what are your plans for the your guns once gone? Seriously.

Scenario - While here, what's one conscience thinking if an heir of a gun goes nutz? If so concerned about responsible gun ownership, how can a current gun owner predict if an heir OR next owner by sale is sane enough? Why not turn your guns in now to protect the future generation?

I know of a few in their 30's and one in his 20's that have inherited from a few gun's to rather nice collections. One in particular never had interest in guns, contemplated selling but going on four years has kept all of them.

I might suggest visiting a gun show or range and observe. I'm not sure if the NRA might have a better idea on age stats but I've seen a wide age range of both men and woman, guessing a majority are in the 30 to 40 year old. Guns, illegal or not are here forever.

Back to the topic......

[URY914]

This should be closed......

[intakexhaust]

Originally Posted by URY914

This should be closed......

3 days old, 588 replies, 9541 views earns 4 stars ----

[70SATMan]

Murder 2 seems correct to me...He certainly didn't kill him accidently.

"a killing that resulted from the intent to do serious bodily injury"

Doubtful that he pulled the gun to just brandish and intimidate. As an ex cop he knew that the likelihood of the texters death would be the result of shooting him.

I think he fully intended to shoot him.

[EMJ]

Originally Posted by Baz

Correct - I have mentioned on several occasions that the texter could have avoided a confrontation in the first place had he extended the shooter a little common courtesy.

There I said it again.

I think it's important to stress how not extending common courtesy to fellow humans - is all too often the cause of deaths in our society

Aside from this situation - how about all the road rage incidents....resulted in a deaths.

Mostly because of the "me first" personality.

Does not the common courtesy portion of this story deserve mention?

If we do not discuss it.....what does that say about preventing future deaths due to certain personalities who are prone to violence?

Can anyone disagree with anything I just wrote above?

Seems this has been mentioned throughout - the texter was inconsiderate, even a jerk. Okay. The discussion is whether or not this lack of courtesy, for whatever reason he decided he would would be discourteous, should have resulted in his death? Again, why was it that he was to do what the old man said to do when he said to do it? Previews were on and we don't know the situation with the kid (his daughter). We can make a very short leap in thinking that the old man wasn't kind or pleasant when he repeatedly told the texter to stop texting. His actions afterwards prove this. Most people when approached rudely respond in kind. This said, the texter's reaction when he found out the old man ratted him out to the theater police was uncalled for, yes. Should he have been killed over it? Absolutely not.

[foxpaws]

Originally Posted by Baz

Correct - I have mentioned on several occasions that the texter could have avoided a confrontation in the first place had he extended the shooter a little common courtesy.

There I said it again.

I think it's important to stress how not extending common courtesy to fellow humans - is all too often the cause of deaths in our society

Aside from this situation - how about all the road rage incidents....resulted in a deaths.

Mostly because of the "me first" personality.

Does not the common courtesy portion of this story deserve mention?

If we do not discuss it.....what does that say about preventing future deaths due to certain personalities who are prone to violence?

Can anyone disagree with anything I just wrote above?

Oh, Baz you make it too easy.

You are assuming that the older gentleman asked the texter in a nice way to stop texting or that the texter responded impolitely in the first 'round'.

I don't think we know what that particular exchange was.

The ex-cop could have easily said 'Shut off the phone jackass', and the texter could have replied with - 'Sorry, I'll be done in a second, heck the movie won't even start for another 10 minutes'. Again - people texting before the movie starts is pretty much standard procedure anymore, it isn't any different than patrons talking before the movie starts, and, in fact, is probably less disruptive.

Sorry - you don't know the entirety of the situation, yet you continue to imply that this could have all been avoided if the texter had been 'more polite'. Perhaps it is the case of - if the old guy had been more polite all of this could have been avoided.

edit - wow EMJ - we responded at the same time with a similar tone - it is odd that that those who continue to play the 'if only the texter had' card doesn't understand the overall problem here.

[EMJ]

Originally Posted by foxpaws

Oh, Baz you make it too easy.

You are assuming that the older gentleman asked the texter in a nice way to stop texting or that the texter responded impolitely in the first 'round'.

I don't think we know what that particular exchange was.

The ex-cop could have easily said 'Shut off the phone jackass', and the texter could have replied with - 'Sorry, I'll be done in a second, heck the movie won't even start for another 10 minutes'. Again - people texting before the movie starts is pretty much standard procedure anymore, it isn't any different than patrons talking before the movie starts, and, in fact, is probably less disruptive.

Sorry - you don't know the entirety of the situation, yet you continue to imply that this could have all been avoided if the texter had been 'more polite'. Perhaps it is the case of - if the old guy had been more polite all of this could have been avoided.

+1. Almost exactly what I wrote above.

[Rick Lee]

I think this is a pretty clear case of murder two. But I can see it getting pleaded down or an acquital if the DA sticks with murder two. Either way, Reeves will die in some form of gov't housing.

[AFC-911]

Originally Posted by foxpaws

You are assuming that the older gentleman asked the texter in a nice way to stop texting or that the texter responded impolitely in the first 'round'.

I don't think we know what that particular exchange was.

We know how the older gentleman has said in the past.

"Could you please, please turn off your phone? It's bothering me."

Your assumption that he didn't ask politely is a bit more of a stretch.

[70SATMan]

Originally Posted by AFC-911

We know how the older gentleman has said in the past.

"Could you please, please turn off your phone? It's bothering me."

Your assumption that he didn't ask politely is a bit more of a stretch.

So what do you assume his state of mind was like when he went back into the theater after being ignored by management???

[foxpaws]

Originally Posted by AFC-911

We know how the older gentleman has said in the past.

"Could you please, please turn off your phone? It's bothering me."

Your assumption that he didn't ask politely is a bit more of a stretch.

source? (I believe it will indicate he 'snarled' those words... inflection is everything isn't it?)

[RWebb]

Florida theater shooting: Couple had tense run-in with Curtis Reeves - CNN.com



and in related news...

State to spend $2.8 million on 'Welcome to Florida' signs - Orlando Sentinel

[fintstone]

People who assault others do so at their own risk. The silly prattle about texting and changing seats is just misdirection.

[70SATMan]

Originally Posted by foxpaws

source? (I believe it will indicate he 'snarled' those words... inflection is everything isn't it?)

Fox, there's a link to a story from another couple that had a run in with him. The quote was from that incident.

I work with a guy that has one of those ON/OFF switches. 0-100 in 1.2 secs. You don't get much warning from him when he gets irritated and the intensity hits a peak.

All speculation I know but, the escalation could have been equally quick from both guys. Old Cop is already pissed when he heads back into the theater. This I can see clearly. Dead Guy calls him out for tattling like a bitc! and the cop throws some choice words back as well.

I know guys that are fully ready to throw down if they're called a pussy and they know it wasn't said as a joke.

What it comes down to is whether as a society we accept that having a bag of popcorn thrown at us is justification for responding with lethal force.

I dont, regardless of who started what..

His status as an ex cop will go against him at trial for murder 2 if it goes that far. His fearing for his life is a tissue thin defense. I'm sure he knows this from experience. It'll be interesting to see what his ego allows. Will he take a plea?

[HHI944]

Originally Posted by kach22i

Yea, that seems like a stretch based on what we know so far.

Maybe they expect him to plea down to 3rd?

Maybe, but the DA seems pretty intent to me. I could see a 3rd degree charge gaining traction, but I think the average jury would be more inclined to go manslaughter since 3rd w/firearm is a mandatory minimum 25yrs. The judge can still hammer him with what would effectively be a life sentence, but the jurors could push some of that weight off their shoulders.

[AFC-911]

Originally Posted by foxpaws

source? (I believe it will indicate he 'snarled' those words... inflection is everything isn't it?)

And if you were an annoyed patron, you could take is as "snarled" where it could merely be a firm request.

It also depends on the state of mind of the listener.

Would you really use the words "please, please" if you were going to snarl at someone?