SNAKE vs NOBLE POLICE

Let us look at the latest in the ongoing saga of the story of three Noble, OK. police against a snake. If you recall from my last entry, a Noble citizen called the police to come and eliminate a snake in a tree by the birdhouse. Three police officers answered this call. One of the three shot at the snake missing at first, nailing the slimy perpetrator with the second attempt. Unknown to the officers, the first bullet traveled though the wooded area and killed a small boy fishing with his grandpa.


Cleveland County where Noble is located called for an investigation. Noble police department looked at the policies involving guns in non criminal situations. A couple weeks later, a 100 page report was generated on this particular situation. What could possibly be said in 100 pages that cannot be covered in a couple of paragraphs? How many words can one put around this incident. The officers answered a call en masse, shot at a snake in a tree and inadvertently killed a child in the process. Why three officers? We don't know. Why were the police involved in the first place when in the very town of Noble is a wildlife rescue and rehab preservation ready and willing to deal with situations like this? We don't know. Why was a firearm involved at all? We don't know. Why 100 pages? We don't know.


The District attorney for the County of Cleveland decided after reading this material that charges were in order so two of the three officers, a sergeant and a rookie were charged with involuntary manslaughter. His thinking, he said , was to be fair in looking at the case. If anyone else were shooting at a snake in a tree and accidentally killed someone, that person would be charged with manslaughter. As the story goes, the sergeant, a five year veteran of the department, encouraged the rookie to shoot which he did. You know what happened.


The family stated that they did not care if the officers received any jail time but just wanted to be sure that neither one of them would be law enforcers or carry a gun any time in the future. Seems like a justifiable sentiment. The remaining fact is that while this gun toting pair did complete the assignment and got the snake out of the tree, in so doing killed an innocent. Now the consequences follow. Apparently, the third officer was not directly involved in the solution for the snake and hence is not named in the warrant.


Sentencing has not taken place yet as the officers involved are expected to report to the courts in a couple of days. If nothing else, this case has brought to light the wisdom of wielding a gun in public places such as shooting in the air on the Fourth of July, or after a particularly wild celebration. Guns belong in holsters at best or better, locked away.