West Memphis: 2 officers, 2 suspects killed after traffic stop

[Speedlace]

Where there some bystanders helping? Couldn't tell if they were officers in plain clothes or not.

No bystanders; all were LEO.

 

[VeedUp]

i hope that kid got every round the officers had pumped into his face!

That kid only knew what his father taught him.

 

[CloudStrife]

That kid only knew what his father taught him.

Ehhh... he was 16. While his father contributed, 16yos are capable of independent thought, unless I was some special teenager.

How old were the Columbine guys? I don't cut them any slack.

 

[oleheat]

Screw the kid. He got what he deserved; IMHO he may have even gotten off lightly....

 

[VeedUp]

Ehhh... he was 16. While his father contributed, 16yos are capable of independent thought, unless I was some special teenager.

How old were the Columbine guys? I don't cut them any slack.

I said that because he was home schooled and brainwashed at an early age. And I didn't say he didn't get what he deserved, anyone who did what they did deserved the same fate, his father taught him how to play stupid games at an early age. As we all know children make mistakes and are given many chances, I just don't believe he was given much of a chance with what he was dealt with from birth. I believe in given teenagers a second chance in most cases, not saying this kid deserved a second chance after killing two cops and wounding others, they can learn from their mistakes and change. Not all of them do, but the ones that do become a productive member of society are worth the time and effort. I've worked with troubled and behavior disorder teens, and I have seen plenty of them make the rigt decision and move toward the road of being a productive young person.

Do you think the police chief who just lost his son to these savages would have sit there and shot this kid in the face until he was unreconizable? I seriously doubt it, he looked to be a better person than the animals he locks up.
Besides does shooting a 16 year old kid in the face over and over again really make you more human or less human? Stepping to the level of a phycopath really doesn't make you any better than the bad guys we lock up.

 

[Speedlace]

Please read the whole article before responding or drawing a conclusion; the title is a little deceptive IMO.

West Memphis Police Now Using Assault Rifles on Traffic Stops

WEST MEMPHIS, ARKANSAS - Police in West Memphis, Arkansas are packing serious heat these days. The department's new AR-15's, high-powered assault rifles, are locked and loaded and ready to be used during routine traffic stops.

Up until recently, West Memphis cops only carried 40-caliber Glocks on their hips and kept shotguns in their patrol cars. But now, many officers have an AR-15 in their arsenal.

After losing two of his men, including son Brandon, to a 16-year-old armed with an AK-47, Chief Bob Paudert says it's time to level the playing field.

"If Brandon had an AR-15 in his car in his trunk, he'd still be dead," says Chief Paudert. "If Brandon had an AR-15 locked in the seat, he'd still be dead. You have to get out with it, because you never know when the shooting is going to start."

Six months after Sgt. Brandon Paudert and Officer Bill Evans were outgunned by two anti-government cop killers, Chief Paudert wants all of his officers armed and ready for anything.

With Paudert's endorsement and the approval of the West Memphis City Council, the department purchased 30 AR-15's to use out in the field.

"Every officer will stand back when he backs up a fellow officer," Paudert tells abc24.com, "with an AR-15 at the ready. Period. There's going to be some squawk in the community that we're getting machine guns. That's just too bad. That's just the way it is. We're going to protect our officers."

West Memphis resident Robert McKinney is leery of the plan, even though the officers have to get specialized training, and be on the force for at least one year, before using their AR-15.

"Training or not," says McKinney, "that's very intimidating. I wouldn't be comfortable with it pointed at me or anywhere near me. They could accidentally discharge it or whatever."

Joy Harrell knows the family of Officer Evans. She understands the WMPD's desire for more protection.

"I'm sure there will some who will be upset," says Harrell, "but I believe in our police force. I know one of the officers who got shot. I go to church with his sisters. I'm for it, really."

Whether it's on city streets or on the interstate, Chief Paudert wants his officers to be able to match the fire power available to the bad guys.

The AR-15's, he says, won't be pointed directly at motorists. The backup officer will stand behind his or her police car, rifle in hand, at their ready.

And ready or not, Chief Paudert says drive through his town and get pulled over, you might just see one of their new guns.

"That's just the way it is," he says. "I mean, our times have changed. And we've got to change with our times. We cannot allow our officers to continue to be killed."

Assistant Chief Donald Oakes says it's up to each officer's discretion whether to call for backup on a traffic stop. He could not confirm if any of his officers have pulled out their AR-15 in the line of duty yet. But so far, he says, no complaints have come into the department from any citizens.

It cost $35,000 to buy the 30 new assault rifles. Mayor Bill Johnson got the West Memphis Utility Commission to fund the purchase. 15 of the guns are assigned to the uniform patrol division. The others are being used by the SWAT team.

http://www.abc24.com/news/local/sto...Assault-Rifles-on/BwzDmSvZIU66SmmSrbj_fw.cspx

 

[Kraut]

Please read the whole article before responding or drawing a conclusion; the title is a little deceptive IMO.

http://www.abc24.com/news/local/sto...Assault-Rifles-on/BwzDmSvZIU66SmmSrbj_fw.cspx

We've had people complain just because a back-up officer arrived and stood back watching, I can only imagine where this will go.

 

[sraiford]

Don't get pulled over and you won't see one of these evil black rifles. I'm for it, because it would also mean that these same officers that get called to a breakin or robbery would have a fighting chance if they're the first on scene.

 

[cheese]

That kid only knew what his father taught him.

Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind....

 

[FishingBack]

I'm sure this is a training video now. I can see how that funny fat man would make you take down your guard. I guess the lesson to take home here is to not turn your back on the other guy in the van and also be suspicious when the passenger is jumping around from the front to the back.

 

[Gus McCrae]

Ehhh... he was 16. While his father contributed, 16yos are capable of independent thought, unless I was some special teenager.

How old were the Columbine guys? I don't cut them any slack.

You're just special in general.

 

[42]

Don't get pulled over and you won't see one of these evil black rifles. I'm for it, because it would also mean that these same officers that get called to a breakin or robbery would have a fighting chance if they're the first on scene.

+1

RIP

 

[oleheat]

I understand (as best I possibly can) the Chief's point of view. This man has the worst of both worlds- both as police chief & a grieving father. His loss is unimaginable.....

But as Kraut mentioned, you know this will not go over well with many in the citizenry.....

 

[Vanilla Gorilla]

Screw'em. Have you ever been to West Memphis? The people that live there should A: Move and B: Be glad the Cops aren't driving MRAPS. West Memphis makes Memphis Memphis look upscale.

 

[steverM9]

That was shocking to say the least. Those officers didn't deserve that.

 

[McMedic]

Screw'em. Have you ever been to West Memphis? The people that live there should A: Move and B: Be glad the Cops aren't driving MRAPS. West Memphis makes Memphis Memphis look upscale.

I've heard it referred to as "Mogadishu on the Mississippi."

 

[posse comatosis]

Have you ever been to West Memphis?

An extremely violent hood. In the mid-eighties, the cops controlled drug trafficking and prostitution at a major truck stop in I-10 there. Once you got inside the hurricane fence, you were safe. But oh,sh^t if you stopped at one of the other places.

I remember stopping t a little gas station in West Memphis one night around 10 p.m in the spring of 1973 while on a motorcycle. This was a place out of the American mainstream. A strange cross between Easy Rider and Deliverance.

 

[VeedUp]

I'm sure this is a training video now. I can see how that funny fat man would make you take down your guard. I guess the lesson to take home here is to not turn your back on the other guy in the van and also be suspicious when the passenger is jumping around from the front to the back.

That's what happend, even if they had an ar15 the result most likely would have been the same. No plate on the van meant no background on the driver, that whole situation should have been handled differently. But I would have a problem with a Leo drawing down on me with an assault rifle for a traffic stop. Sorry but does seem a bit overkill. Yeah I think they should have one with them in case the situation calls for it, but making it sop. Starting to really sound like we live in another country. Next thing you know we'll have checkpoints everywhere.

 

[Vanilla Gorilla]

I'm sorry but if you choose to live in Beruit on the Bluff you get what you get. Believe it or not some other places; El Paso TX, Fresno CA, and Stockton CA have similar policies. You are not the target of the policies but the high density of Traffickers, Tweakers, and Violent Armed Felons in those areas are. Its a sign of the times in some parts of the country. A Rifle Armed Officer providing overwatch at a discreet distance would have been a difference in this situation. In my opinion anyway.

 

[Hardballing]

I'm sorry but if you choose to live in Beruit on the Bluff you get what you get. Believe it or not some other places; El Paso TX, Fresno CA, and Stockton CA have similar policies. You are not the target of the policies but the high density of Traffickers, Tweakers, and Violent Armed Felons in those areas are. Its a sign of the times in some parts of the country. A Rifle Armed Officer providing overwatch at a discreet distance would have been a difference in this situation. In my opinion anyway.

So would have either of these officers providing overwatch with their handguns and immediately killing "Young Kane" when he attempted to exit his vehicle with an AK.

Just saying.

Having Officer Notsofriendly standing by ready to kill any motorist at a moments notice with a longarm IS going to cause problems with the public that they are allegedly there to serve. Realize that I'm probably in the minority here on this issue but don't really care. This is overkill waiting to happen, regardless of where's it's employed/deployed.

Just my .02. God Bless for the officers and their families.