The local news said the man put the gun on a table beside the front door. A scuffle broke out when the man realized why the cops were there. The gun was knocked to the floor and discharged. On hearing the gun go off, one of the cops started shooting.
That leaves out a step. He put the gun down, then when he heard what they wanted, he picked it up again. Then the scuffle started.
I won't argue that the law is wrong and the whole thing should have never happened. But, he was an idiot to pull a gun on 2 cops. As soon as he did that, it became self defense for the cops and they had the right to defend themselves.
I generally support cops, but I disagree with them this time for several reasons.
- They were there well outside normal hours
- Report says the gun was dropped and went off when it hit the floor. Dropping a firearm is not a capital crime, even in front of a cop.
- The cops probably have to simply serve warrants they are given, but this case is a very bad way to start enforcing the new law and certainly they have plenty of cases better than his niece called him crazy!"
