Coming at you shouting obscenities - holding .....
Man coming at you in the dark shouting obscenities and carrying a chair leg like a club; What might you do?
Happened to a local LEO in my area. Here's the link \ story.
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http://blog.al.com/live/2007/11/depu...in_wilmer.html
A Mobile County Sheriff's deputy shot and killed 31-year-old Channing Riordan in Wilmer on Sunday night after Riordan ran screaming toward the deputy in the dark, wielding a wooden chair leg, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff's Office said Monday.
It was the second time in four days that a Mobile County resident had been killed by a sheriff's deputy. On Thursday, Sgt. Paul Burch shot 18-year-old Robert Lucas in the Happy Hill community in north Mobile. Sheriff Sam Cochran said Lucas aimed a loaded gun at Burch, who was responding to a call about drug-related activity in Lucas' neighborhood.
Sheriff's Office representatives did not name the deputy involved in Sunday's shooting. The deputy has been placed on administrative assignment pending an investigation into the incident, spokeswoman Kate Johnson said.
At 9:26 p.m. Sunday, Riordan's wife, Regina, called authorities to their Wilmer residence. She said her husband had been drinking and doing drugs and was carrying a rifle and trying to put the couple's 7-year-old son, Zachary, in their truck and drive away, Johnson said.
Regina Riordan also said her husband had already damaged their property and a vehicle, Johnson said.
Talked to boy
Johnson said the deputy arrived at the Riordan's Waltman Road home at 9:32 p.m. The deputy saw Zachary in the driveway and started talking to the boy, Johnson said.
Channing Riordan then emerged from behind the house, Johnson said. He charged toward the deputy while shouting obscenities and holding the chair leg, she said.
The deputy fired two shots, she said. Riordan was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics, Johnson said.
The deputy acted to defend both himself and the boy, Johnson said.
Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson Jr. visited the scene shortly after the shooting. The area was so dark that investigators had to turn on their car lights to see the scene, he said.
Tyson said the piece of wood was green, about 2 feet long and ½ inch thick.
He said that given the poor lighting and the fact that Riordan's wife had said her husband was carrying a rifle, the deputy could have mistaken the piece of wood for a firearm.
"It's in the dark, this guy is charging at the officer, shouting as he's coming toward the officer," Tyson said. "Yeah, you can bet your life that's a possibility."
Riordan's record
Riordan pleaded guilty in 1996 to carrying a pistol without a permit, according to court records. In 1998, he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol.
He also was charged in 1996 with second degree assault and second degree receiving stolen property, but both charges were later dropped, according court records.
Cochran said Monday that the fact that two deputy-involved shootings occurred within a week of each other was a coincidence.
"Our deputies are trained for these types of incidents, and though no deputy wants to fire a deadly weapon, deputies in the field must react to the actions of those they encounter,"
