Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This is so sad for so many reasons...why would you try to kill a snake in a tree? Why would you just start discharging a firearm in such a reckless manner? etc...

NOBLE, Okla. (Aug. 4) - A stray bullet fired by a police officer trying to shoot a snake hit and killed a 5-year-old boy fishing at a nearby pond, officials said. Austin Haley was fishing with his grandfather, Jack Tracy, Friday evening when Tracy said he heard a shot and saw a bullet hit the water just a few feet in front of the boat dock where he was standing.

Moments later, a second shot was fired that hit Austin in the head.

A Noble police officer who had responded to a report of a snake in a tree apparently fired the deadly shot while trying to kill the snake, according to City Manager Bob Wade.

Tracy said he initially thought he and his grandson were under attack by someone trying to kill them, so he put the boy into the back of a 4-wheeler and drove to his daughter's house about 200 yards away.

"Then two officers came out of the brush over there," he told The Oklahoman. "They didn't tell us they were the ones who had been shooting or that they had shot him. They didn't admit a doggone thing."

The boy was taken to an Oklahoma City hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

A resident of the Crest Lane neighborhood called police after discovering a large snake in a tree, Wade said.

"I was told that they tried several ways to get the snake down, but it was still hissing at them and firmly lodged," Wade said. "What I was told is that the owner of the home either suggested or agreed that they should go ahead and shoot the snake, and then everything happened from there."

Wade refused to identify the officer suspected of firing the shots but said the officer has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

"This is so bizarre it has to be fully investigated. ... We're pretty sure circumstantially that it is the bullet from the police officer's gun, but it might be a bullet from someone else," Wade said.

A state investigation has been launched into the shooting, and it appears the fatal shot was fired by the officer, said Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jessica Brown.

"We have no reason to believe it's not," Brown said. "But there certainly will be an investigation."

Tracy has little doubt about what happened.

"I'm not saying the cop shot him on purpose," Tracy said. "It was an accident. But let me tell you - if I had a kid and put him in this car and didn't put him in a car seat and he got killed on the way to town, they'd charge me with murder ... and what this cop did is a lot worse than that."

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/cops-shots-at-snake-may-have-killed-boy/20070805154109990001

It is always better to leave the animal alone than to just kill it on principal... I hope that he is held accountable in the investigation for using his firearm in such a irresponsable manner, nothing will bring that life back.

Lance

I read this sad story early yesterday when it popped up on AOL news.. I have been thinking about it and i just cannot come up with one good reason for a "trained professional" to discharge a firearm into the air for any reason.. Much less to try to kill a snake in a tree??

~ Mike

But you are absolutely correct, there is no good reason to discharge a firearm up into the air. As far as I know the only thing that is any exception to that is a shotgun with birdshot that does not have killing power when it comes back to earth. That is why it is used to hunt birds and fowl, but even that should not be used near any urban or residential setting.

I very much hope this guy is understanding the pain he caused this family and that is ready to accept the consequences of those actions.

Lance

>>I read this sad story early yesterday when it popped up on AOL news.. I have been thinking about it and i just cannot come up with one good reason for a "trained professional" to discharge a firearm into the air for any reason.. Much less to try to kill a snake in a tree??
>>
>>~ Mike

I'll bet a dollar to a dime that this dangerous "hissing" snake up in a tree was the famous Black rat snake, known to rednecks and under-educated mankind everywhere as the number one threat to human existence. More dangerous than Al-Queda, global warming, cancer, anthrax and Hillary Clinton combined! Whats one life of a 5 year old compared to "saving the world" from a snake up in a tree just looking for a meal? The cop that fired that deadly bullet and the the homeowner that even called the cops are true American heroes! Makes me fricken sick.

...having to demonstrate that one has an IQ above 60 before being able to obtain and use any kind of firearms. Idiots guns = bad outcomes.

Might also have been a Texas Rat, but I know one thing for sure: IT WAS A COMPLETELY HARMLESS ANIMAL. Its a good thing for the officer that he wasn't firing at a kitten or a koala, at least with the snake he has an excuse that people can get behind.

no post

This is a great opportunity to offer your knowledge in the form of a class to the local police in your area and to teach them about the local snakes. Bringing live snakes for them to handle would be huge. It would also be a good idea to make local news agencies aware of the class to get the word out that local reptile enthusiast are offering help to the officers of the local PD to help prevent a future tragedy.

It would be both good P.I. but also good for the snakes. You could also offer to be on-call to answer snakes calls or to receive camera phone pictures on your phone or PC to help ID snakes that are unknown to the officers. I am sure that there are many other things that could be done by motivated individuals but the time is now!! With this in the news you stand your best chance at being heard and welcomed at you local LE stations, and you will be looked at as a helpful individual instead of somebody they need to figure out how to get like we all seem to be now.

Good public perception of us is needed in Texas right now for sure!!

Jason

Very true.

But I can't help noticing the irony...something like this happens right after they pass a law banning roadside herping in the name of public safety.
Those officers should have known better! You don't ever fire a gun without knowing where that bullet is going.

It was discharge of a firearm.. By a trained law enforcement professional no less...

Lance

Yeah, kinda my point. Politicians are always passing and trying to pass laws in the name of protecting the public but fail to realize that you can't legislate common sense.

You just can'g fix stupid

I agree with this Jason, and was looking into it for our area. I think it is a great idea to teach and help quell fears about reptiles. I hope every herp org. puts out a call to there local p.d. and offers such assistance.
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Todd Hughes

One would think that cops are better trained these days. Number one rule of shooting is knowing your backstop, and you NEVER shoot across the surface of water and chance a ricochet.

Both cops need to be jailed for this one.........the one that did the shooting, and his dumbass partner that should have prevented it. Most likely, they will get a pass on criminal charges. It will be chalked up to another split second decision made by LE in the "heat of battle". The citizens of that town will be ponying up some serious bucks to settle the civil case that will come from this stupid act.