I think the state police need to ease up on atv riders a little bit....it just seems that they want somebody to pick on..not sure it's their fault or a few loosers who have nothing better to do than bicker about those who chose to ride

as for the kid gittin shot.... drag me for a mile with my pistol in my hand and we'll see what happens.... LOL [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

Well, they weren't "going after" him. What had happened is there was an ATV reported stolen, tied to a guy who shot a Trooper and they were just out questioning this guy, it was in the same area the ATV was stolen. They were talking to him and the guy took off and dragged the Trooper for a mile.

 

How do you drag the trooper for a mile? What did he get hooked on?

 

I dunno. When some of my Trooper friends are back in town from looking for Phillips, I'll ask.

 

based on the news articles, it's simply amazing how people make the ATV rider look like a victim here. He was a grown adult for crying out loud. Whatever happened to personal responsibility/accountability. The guy broke the law. He should have been stopped. And Grandma says he wasn't armed? When you use a car, truck, or even an ATV to drag a cop for a mile, that vehicle has become a weapon in what turned out to be a mile long assault on a public servant.

As mentioned above, try dragging me behind any vehicle with a pistol in my hand and I guarantee the results will be the same. I Sure hope the State Trooper is ok.

 

While the family has my condolences, I don't know what they expect on officer to do.

He's 25 and that's not a kid anymore. It's 12:40 am and he's out riding on the street (regardless of how he got there). And then takes off, and you'd have to notice you've got something attached that wasn't there when you stopped.

I'll give the trooper credit. Drag me more than 10 feet and I'll start shooting.

 

While I feel for the family, this guy was a moron plain, pure, and simple. It sounds like he was probably out drinking, jumped on a friends quad, went for a joy ride on the roads, with no helmet, and then tried to run from the cops. There are 4 pretty major "momentary lapses in judgement." I'm not sure just what kind of trouble this guy was looking at when he was stopped, but I am pretty sure he wouldn't have gotten a death sentence. Of course, I don't blame the trooper for defending himself after being dragged. Heck, I'm even going to go on record here stating that if it is after dark, and you are riding down the road, a cop is not being overzealous by pulling you over to check your story. I don't believe there are any legal roads to ride out that way anyhow.

 

The trooper might have been able to let go ... it's not as cut and dry as you make it sound.

Perhaps the trooper was holding on hoping to be able to grapple the guy driving .. details are sketchy in this.

If the ATV operator was firing at the trooper while dragging him, then ya .. for sure .. if he was caught up somehow and couldn't get away from the ATV, perhaps again then ... I dunno .. too many details left out of it for it to be clear ..

No doubt, the fellow was in the wrong, but to get shot over? Several times??

And just for the record I certainly hope the trooper is doing ok. Can't be nice getting dragged down the road (unless you could have let go ??)

 

I'll have to get details from my friends who are Troopers, but I did ask one of them to articulate why one would shoot in that situation and he merely said the ATV rider was using his vehicle as a weapon, which would be capable of lethal force and the Trooper reacted accordingly, he says the State Police policy in lethal force is "One must use lethal force when they are shown lethal force or the intent to use lethal force".

 

No, we don't know the details in all of this, and I'm sure the family is going to try and put this on the troopers no matter what actually went down. What we do know is this, there is an escaped cop killer on the loose in that area, considered armed and very dangerous. There are several stolen cars and possibly an ATV, any of which he may be using for transportation. Troopers spot an atv and a dirtbike out near or on the road well after midnight, in the area the cop killer is thought to be and pull the OHVers over. At some point, the quad takes off, it, the rider, and a trooper are all found roughly a mile away(the trooper was near, but not with the atv when found.) The rider has been shot and critically wounded, the Trooper likewise needs medical attention. Bottom line, don't screw with NYS Troopers!