Law Enforcement
Another ATF gun used in a murder
CBS News has confirmed that ATF Fast and Furious “walked” guns have been linked to the terrorist torture and murder of the brother of a Mexican state attorney general last fall.
Murdoc continues to be flabbergasted by all this. He generally expects the worst from the ATF and such, but they didn’t even manage to reach that rung on the ladder with this.
What’s worse than “the worst”?
Law and Disorder
Report: gun law poorly enforced
Grand Rapids Press, June 26, 2011
A story Sunday in Booth newspapers says that more than half of the 83 counties have failed to comply with annual reporting rules at least once, and many criminals have been allowed to keep their weapons.
The law’s sponsor was state Sen. Mike Green, and he says that many county prosecutors are falling down on the job. Green says prosecutors who oppose the law have simply decided to ignore their responsibility to enforce it.
Emphasis Murdoc’s.
This is the front page story in today’s Grand Rapids Press (which doesn’t exaclty have a real strong pro-gun reputation) but I haven’t been able to read it yet. As far as I can tell from glancing it over, it admits that there has been no huge wave of gun violence following the passage of shall-issue CCW a decade ago…but that OMG some counties aren’t keeping up with all the reporting requirements and that sometimes people that should have their licenses revoked aren’t contacted.
Yes, those are issues that should be addressed. But all the crime and violence predicted has NOT come to pass, even with those issues. Murdoc’s got no doubt that many will claim this somehow demonstrates that concealed carry or shall-issue or just guns in general are just plain wrong. What it really demonstrates, if anything, is that some of those responsible for overseeing the process are just plain wrong.
When Toyota had issues with some parts on some of its cars, those issues did nothing to call into question the validity of car ownership, car driving, or the whole premise of cars in general.
And when Murdoc says “front page story in today’s Grand Rapids Press,” he means the WHOLE FRONT PAGE.
Barrell of ATF
In an Arizona drug bust last month the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration confiscated more than drugs. Federal agents accidentally came upon two giant garbage cans filled with assault rifle.
The kicker: Some of those guns possessed by drug runners once belonged to the DEA’s sister agency, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
The federal drug agents discovered the AK-47-type assault rifles wrapped in cellophane and hidden inside two giant trash barrels. Agents believe the confiscated weapons were heading to drug cartels in Mexico. Problem is, a serial number on at least one of the weapons traces back to the ATF.
The DEA is not giving the gunwalked rifles back to the ATF.
OC Contacts
At PoliceOne.com: 8 tips on contacts with ‘open carry’ citizens
Here’s a nugget:
As with concealed carry, there seems to be a lot of hypothetical rhetoric in regards to threat situations of “what could happen?” versus “what does history show us has happened?” Is there a heightened state of criminal activity associated with open carry versus concealed carry versus no carry (other than the obvious firearms violation for school zone or whatnot)?
The answer appears to be “not really.” Regardless of opinions or beliefs, there is not a spike in criminal activity associated with merely carrying a firearm. The same is true of concealed carry. It is always the intent of the person, not the firearm, that matters.
And the writer then goes on to list eight practical tips and strategies to use when officers encounter individuals who are open carrying. Followed by a sensible side-note to citizens who OC.
One thing I take issue with is tip #2:
Understand that — as with any belief that people feel strongly about — open carry is a form of political protest.
Well, it MIGHT be a form of political protest. But it might just be someone doing what he or she is allowed to do. Black voters going to the polls in Alabama are not people making a political protest.
All in all, though, a good article.
Tear Gas BBQ
A veteran Houston police officer participating with a cooking team at the Houston rodeo’s Bar-B-Que cook-off has been relieved of duty for reportedly tossing a tear gas canister at booth opponents during the popular event, apparently sickening several patrons.
Seems the guy has a bit of a track record with trouble.
To give more time for ATF guns to run to Mexico?
White House delays gun reporting requirement along Mexican border
The decision delays for at least two months a proposed requirement that gun dealers along the Mexican border report anyone who buys two or more assault weapons in five days. White House officials said the delay will give the public more time – until Feb. 14 – to comment on the proposal.
No-Go Zone
Police in the UK have been banned from patrolling a playground at night because, get this, “it is considered dark and dangerous.”
A senior police officer tried to defend the decision by describing the park as “a building site”, an unlit area fraught with danger for the unwary PC who might be injured at any moment!
Of course, locals then pointed out that it’s not a building site at all- it’s actually a fully functioning playground where children are free to play during the day and that there is only minor work left to be completed.
The fact that most police officers in the UK don’t carry guns is often pointed out as supporting evidence that Britain’s harsh gun control laws have made the streets so much safer. But now the bobbies can’t go into a scary playground after dark because it might be too risky?
This story keeps picking up steam
Drug Gang Used ATF-Enabled Rifles to Kill Agent Terry
At The Truth About Guns:
The Los Angeles Times confirms it: the rifles used to murder U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry were “allowed” to slip into Mexican hands by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
In the LA Times:
The whistleblowers have complained that Project Gunrunner has focused on gathering intelligence on suspicious weapons sales, but has put less attention on actually stopping those weapons from moving south…
As the allegations have come to light, gun dealers across the southwest border have said the ATF has for years been quietly gathering information about questionable multiple purchases and even asking gun dealers to gather information, including descriptions and license plate numbers of suspicious buyers.
Dick DeGuerin, who represents Houston gun dealer Bill Carter, owner of Carter Country, said the company is now being threatened with a federal indictment as a result of multiple sales to purported straw purchasers — sales he said were not only reported to the ATF, but which federal agents encouraged Carter Country employees to complete.
It’s almost like they’re more concerned with busting US gun shops and owners than they are stopping illegal guns from going to Mexico. Next thing you know, politicians are going to start claiming that illegal guns flowing to Mexico are a reason to bust down on US gun shops and owners.
Lovely little circle.
Hold on, folks…get a grip
There’s a lot of outrage going around about this story:
Cops Charge 7-Year-Old for Bringing Toy Gun to Class
Kid charged with possession of a fake firearm after shooting Nerf-style gun
However, before everyone goes nuts, remember that this happened in New Jersey. The Nerf-style gun that shoots ping-pong balls probably violates their Assault Weapon Ban.
Plastic Pellet Incident
(Murdoc wants to start by noting that this story is running in the Washington Post and not The Onion.)
Plastic pellet incident at Va. school ends in expulsion, assault charges
Add the name Andrew Mikel to the long list of those who have terrorized our schools:
In December, bored and craving attention, the 14-year-old used a plastic tube to blow small plastic pellets at fellow students in Spotsylvania High School. In one lunch period, he scored three hits. “They flinched. They looked annoyed,” Mikel said.
He was immediately expelled from school for “possession and use of a weapon” and then turned over to the county sheriff’s department, where he was apparently charged with three counts of misdemeanor assault. Even if Russell Davis, principal of Spotsylvania High, was insistent on being an idiot, why did the sheriff’s department charge a kid with misdemeanor assault over this?
He is was a freshman honor student and member of the Junior ROTC.
The plastic pellets in question appear to be airsoft BBs. The plastic tube was from a pen.
Mikel’s family appealed the expulsion but it was upheld by the school board. This is a strong indication that the problem is not one idiot who made a bad decision, but a system of idiots who are more than willing to double down on stupid.
Via Neptunus Lex.
Taking a Look at the ATF Gun Running Story
Senator examines claim that 2 guns from ATF-sanctioned sales were used in border shootout
A U.S. senator is examining a claim that two guns sold in purchases sanctioned by federal firearms agents were later used in a December shootout that left a Border Patrol agent dead near the Arizona-Mexico border.
Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa said in a letter provided Monday to The Associated Press he had received information that appears to partially corroborate the claim received by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee about the guns.
Murdoc’s got to admit that he’s been pretty skeptical of this story since it surfaced. Sadly, though, Murdoc also admits that he won’t be totally shocked if it turns out to be true.
Via Instapundit.
Oregon Police or US Army?
Images from the search for David Anthony Durham, the suspect in the shooting of a police officer last weekend:
A member of the Oregon State Police SWAT team searches a wooded area in the Bayshore community Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011, in Waldport , Ore
A member of the Oregon State Police SWAT team searches near a home in the Bayshore community Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011, in Waldport , Ore
Oregon State Police SWAT team members search a clearing in the Bayview community Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011, in Waldport , Ore. Police are searching for 43-year-old David Anthony Durham suspected of shooting and critically wounding an officer on the Oregon coast. The gunman fled into the wilderness surrounding Waldport's peninsula, about five miles from Siuslaw National Forest. The search for him entered its third night early Wednesday as 25-member SWAT teams armed with assault rifles searched the area.
One of the very few times the media uses the term “assault rifles” and it’s actually correct.
That is some serious tactical gear and weaponry. More photos at MilitaryPhotos.net. More here.
