Hunter killed by Wildlife officer

Vince

Pumpkinslinger wrote:

I have a friend that lives up that way but I haven't talked to him yet. I did see something that said that NC law allows WRC officers to enter private property if conducting an investigation.

A link to another website that was discussing this incident:

www.northcarolinapha.c...amp;t=1507

Some interesting posts on that Forum Punkin.

The Warden gets a bit of a caning about his attitude and modus operandi, and the old fella maybe got a bit snarly as well...but don't we all if we are spoken to in a nasty officious manner.

I agree with everyone that says, we will never know the full story, there is only one guy left to tell it and he will only tell his side of it, and definitely nothing that will incriminate himself.

I feel for the families concerned...both sides will be suffering. I offer prayers for all concerned.

Cheers, Vince

d_hoffman

There has to be "probable cause" before an officer can act on his own, ie, going onto private property, or acting on a complaint. Let alone the right to use deadly force. Even if the officer did receive a complaint on the hunter, the officer has to follow protocol. What did the hunter do to justify the use of deadly force? Was it the fact that he had a firearm? That does not justify the use of deadly force. The man was hunting, of course he's going to have a shotgun, still does not justify deadly force. The only justification for the use of deadly force would be if the hunter directly threatened the officers life, highly unlikely.

glockman55

Crackshot wrote:

In my county in michigan, the game warden can not enter your property unless their has been a call placed by the owner or anyone else for that matter.........So they pretty much do what they want to. Sad

It doesn't take much to go on your property here in Mich. If they suspect any wrong doing they can. The GW have more rights to do what they want than our State Police. I hope we get the whole story on this, what a tragity.

SwampFox

If you own property and especially if you hunt on that property you best know the trespass laws and those that have a legal right to be on your property. In Florida one of the very few persons that can come and go on your property, without permission and without a warrant, is an officer from F&G. They are armed and frequently sneak around in the woods. I suspect that this shooting was a very tragic accident involving an aged hunter and a new to the area officer. Note no mention of this area being his regular area and the statement that no one had seen a F&G officer in the immediate area for 25 years.

How it should be done, as illustrated by our F&G officer was that he saw me and the wife out working on the farm, so he stopped, introduced himself and gave us his card. Now we know him and he knows us. That sure would have helped in this instance, F&G officers need to know their land owners. I would think the land owner would rarely be the law breaker.
Best,
Ed

Vince

Swampy wrote:

I suspect that this shooting was a very tragic accident involving an aged hunter and a new to the area officer. Note no mention of this area being his regular area and the statement that no one had seen a F&G officer in the immediate area for 25 years.

Have a look at the second link posted by Punkin Swampy...on that Forum it actually mentions that the GW allegedly has a bad reputation and is known for being a less that nice person.

I agree...a tragic "accident". Unfortunately, I doubt that anybody will ever know exactly what happened...only one is left to tell the story, and at the risk of sounding cynical...he will only air HIS side of the story and will not incriminate himself in any way. He would be an unusually honest human being if he did.

Cheers, Vince

whittling

All I'd like to hear is if the officer claims he fired in self defense then what did the man do that caused him to fire ? He claims self defense but has no valid reason why he fired ! The man didn't shoot at him ,and if he was hard of hearing , then how could he properly understand the officer ?

lesterg3

The whole thing stinks. I think a cover up is brewing.

I am on my own land, even if I am baiting that is a ticket-able offense, not a death warrant.

I am obviously old, and in a tree, how much of a defensive position can I take.

I did not fire on anyone, and I am killed.

We will never hear the truth on this one, unless one of grandpa's grandsons was near enough to hear what was going on. Which I pray to God will turn out to be the case.

I've run into a couple hard-ass wardens, once upon a time. Long story so I won't bore you, but in court I won, THEY LOST because of their stupidity.