LEO Shoots High School Thug in Self Defense

[BigEFan]

Note: Mods I wasn't sure if this belongs in this category or the LE cat. Please move if necessary. /note

My colleagues and I have been watching the details of the incident below come out over the last couple of hours or so.

Of course I became irate when one of my co-workers suggested that if the officer had time to draw a back up gun then why couldn't they deescalate the situation without shooting. I went off on a tirade to which this person decided to ignore. My final comment to her was, "You go after a cop with a bat you should expect to get shot!" I really don't even see this shooting as a grey area. The officer had already been injured by the BG and this thug had now respect for an honorable officers life.

Anyway, here is the story:

Officer kills young attacker at Roosevelt High
By Pablo Lopez / The Fresno Bee
04/16/08 12:13:13

2:13 p.m.: Adriana Sanchez, 19, said her sister, Angelica, a freshman at Roosevelt, was with the teenage attacker when the incident occurred.

"It was her best friend," Adriana Sanchez said.

Adriana said her sister was safe in the school gynmasium.

Police said the attacker was 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds.

The resource officer, identified by students as Junus Perry, is 38 and has been at the school for three years.
___________________________________
1:55 p.m.: Five students saw all or part of the attack and shooting, Dyer said. They are being questioned by police.

The officer sustained a two-inch gash on his head. He was taken to Community Medical Center for treatment.

Dyer said no students appeared to be in danger.

___________________________________
1:48 p.m.: The attacker, identified as a 17-year-old sophomore at Roosevelt High, was shot once by the officer, Police Chief Jerry Dyer said at a news conference outside the school.

The officer, described as a 10-year veteran of the Fresno force, was struck on the side of the head with a baseball bat, Dyer said. The bat was broken off at the handle, and the exposed end was covered with electrician's tape.

"It was obvious this bat had been modified to be a club or a weapon," Dyer said.

Dyer said the attack occurred just outside the resource officer's office. The officer fell backward from the blow, and the magazine of his primary handgun fell out as he hit the ground.

The student attacker approached the dazed officer, who then pulled out another weapon, attached to his ankle, and fired.

"Fortunately, this officer has a secondary weapon, and in this case, the weapon probably saved his life," Dyer said.
_______________________________________________
1:22 p.m.: A Fresno police officer who works at Roosevelt High School shot and killed a boy today who struck him in the back of the head with a baseball bat.

The incident occurred at 11:54 a.m. on the east side of Roosevelt High School campus near the basketball courts.

The school remained on lockdown until further notice as of 1:10 p.m., said a message over the school's intercom.

The officer, who was identified by students as Junus Perry, is employed by the police department as the school's resource officer, students said. Gardy Zuniga, 18, a senior at Roosevelt High, said her mother, resource teacher Adela Haro, watched the scene unfold from 10 feet away.

"She was walking her students back to class when she saw a boy push the officer and the officer shot the boy and the boy died at the scene," Zuniga said, retelling her mother's story. Zuniga said the boy had been in trouble recently. She said the boy was also armed with a gun.

Darius Bigby, 17, a Roosevelt senior, said a girl accompanying the boy had a baseball bat.

"When I heard the shooting I ran," Bigby said while waiting off campus.

Parents began arriving at the school shortly after noon.

One mother, Helen Mata, said her daughter, Racquel, said she did not see the shooting but called her mother.

"She said 'I'm OK, but come and get me," Helen Mata said.
___________________________________________
1:15 p.m.: A news conference with Police Chief Jerry Dyer is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
____________________________________________
1:08 p.m.: A Fresno police officer who works at Roosevelt High School shot and killed a boy Wednesday who struck him in the back of the head with a baseball bat.

The incident occurred at 11:54 a.m. at the Roosevelt High School campus.

The boy with the baseball bat, identified as a student, was shot and killed by the Fresno officer.

The officer, who was identified by the last name of Perry, is employed by the police department as the school's resource officer, students said.
__________________________________________________
12:10 p.m.: Fresno police and fire departments are responding to a report of a shooting at Roosevelt High School in southeast Fresno.

Details are sketchy, but Ken Shockley, public information officer for the Fire Department, said the initial report indicates there are two shooting victims at the school at Cedar and Tulare avenues.

The report came in shortly before noon.

Link

The link has some videos.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[mojust]

Well done. I'm sorry he got bonked with the bat.

[ccw9mm]

Some folks say they witnessed the officer being struck by a bat, others merely say he was pushed, and still others that a girl accompanying the attacker had the bat. Of course, without a timeline and knowing who saw which piece of the puzzle, such claims are only that, at this point. Once the facts get straightened out, I'm sure we'll hear more. The officer indicates a shorty bat was used, and I'm sure the recovered bat has his DNA tattoed into the surface.

Regardless, the truth remains: if someone does step up to adult actions such as clopping someone upside the head with a baseball bat in an attempted murder, then one shouldn't be surprised by receiving an adult response to that ... which very well might include getting shot and killed to stop the attack.

[cdwolf]

Well done. I'm sorry he got bonked with the bat.

My thoughts exactly!

[deadeye72]

Well done. I'm sorry he got bonked with the bat.

I agree. He was lucky it did not completely knock him out.

[GBS]

Update - 5:26pm

FRESNO, Calif. — A police officer shot and killed a 17-year-old high school student Wednesday after authorities said the teenager clubbed the officer with a baseball bat on the crowded, urban campus.

The officer fired at the student shortly before noon, after the Roosevelt High School sophomore allegedly came from behind and struck the officer in the head with a wooden baseball bat, Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said.

The officer fell down dazed, and reached for the gun in his hip holster, but the clip fell out.

As the student came at him a second time, the officer grabbed a secondary weapon — a semiautomatic handgun — from his ankle holster and fired one or two rounds, Dyer said. The student reportedly died within a few minutes.

"The officer was fortunate that he was able to defend himself," the chief said.

The cause of the attack was not immediately known, and the officer did not know the student, Dyer said. There was no history of prior run-ins between the teen and the officer, who has been assigned to the school by the police department for the last three years, he said.

Police did not immediately release the identities of the officer or student, who was described as a Fresno resident who recently transferred to the school. The teenager was 6 feet tall and 250 pounds — larger than the officer, authorities said.

The officer was released from a local hospital Wednesday afternoon after being treated for a two-inch gash on the right side of his head, police said. He will be placed on administrative leave while the department reviews his conduct, Dyer said.

At least five students and a probation officer on campus witnessed the incident directly, but no one else was injured in the shooting, police said.

The campus was locked down for several hours as detectives combed the white school buildings and interviewed witnesses.

"The school district obviously is very saddened by this tragedy on campus, however our students on campus are safe," said Ruth Quinto, acting superintendent of Fresno Unified School District. "There certainly will continue to be support provided to all of our students here on the campus and, in particular, any witnesses to this tragedy."

By 2 p.m., students were allowed to leave the campus gates, where they found a crowd of anxious parents and family members waiting.

Dana Vasquez, a 14-year-old freshman, was on her way to physical education class when the situation erupted in an outdoor hallway between two classrooms.

"I just saw a bat swinging in the air and heard a gunshot and then I just started running," Vasquez said. She was visibly shaken when she left the school holding her mother's arm.

Ray Mendez, a volunteer at the school, said he was speaking to a remedial English class when he heard a loud popping sound outside the classroom.

"That's went I went down and saw the young man lying there and the officer was bleeding from his head. This was a real shocker. We try to prevent these kind of events at all costs," Mendez said.

Silvia Carrillo, whose daughter is a sophomore at Roosevelt High, said the shooting did not seem justified.

"My son and my brother went to school here too, and nothing like this ever happened. I think this wasn't enough for him to kill the kid," she said.

____________________

If not this, what would be a justification for self defense????

[Pitmaster]

Silvia Carrillo, whose daughter is a sophomore at Roosevelt High, said the shooting did not seem justified.

"My son and my brother went to school here too, and nothing like this ever happened. I think this wasn't enough for him to kill the kid," she said.

What a moron. Too bad she bred.

[flagflyfish]

Silvia Carrillo, whose daughter is a sophomore at Roosevelt High, said the shooting did not seem justified.

"My son and my brother went to school here too, and nothing like this ever happened. I think this wasn't enough for him to kill the kid," she said.

NOT JUSTIFIED??? What the is wrong with these people???
If some punk decides to use my head for batting practice I will guarentee a complete perforation of his worthless hide.

What a sad world we live in today.....

[retsupt99]

Scumbag parenting...just an apple from the same kind of tree. You attack a LEO with a bat and you deserve to be shot...
This kid got EXACTLY what he 'earned'...PERIOD!

I support this cop's actions...completely!

[MilitaryPower]

Scumbag parenting...just an apple from the same kind of tree. You attack a LEO with a bat and you deserve to be shot...
This kid got EXACTLY what he 'earned'...PERIOD!

I support this cop's actions...completely!

What he said.

[dukalmighty]

I guess since a bat don't go bang it isn't considered to be a deadly instrument by the morons who think the officer used excessive force,I'm surprised he only fired one shot,I woulda swiss cheesed the punks COM

[SleepingZ]

I will sleep just fine tonight.

[Janq]

The officer didn't kill the kid, the kid killed himself committing suicide by cop when he made the choice to take a bite of the peace officer.
Further the peace officer fired in self preservation defense and stopped his attacker. The attacker as a result of his actions of aggression, positioning above the downed officer, and decision to attack the officer in the first place died of the injury he sustained.

This boy wasn't sleep walking.
He knew he was making a step over the line and for that he paid a price that he very well knew might would be applied.

His family should be required to cover the costs of damages and healthcare as incurred by the officer to which no doubt the city will be expected to absorb.

- Janq

[swiftyjuan]

I wouldn't be surprised if Silvia Carrillo has gang connections; sounds like all gang parents when one of their very own gets what he/she/it deserves....

[Fmr18z]

This student had to have sought out the RSO, these guys are always on the move around their assigned campus, usually helping in some way by stepping in to teach a class while a substitute teacher is located, chatting with the students between classes or during lunch, outside on the curb when the bus's come to pick up or drop off students, most students respect and are friends of their respective RSO. I can't say enough good about these guys, but they can't be everywhere all the time and can't always watch their 6 o'clock in an extremely crowded environment such as there is between classes...that's why more and more school administrators and teachers are now CCW. Hope he recovers soon, he will be missed at his school by the majority.