Man Shot by Trooper Was Unarmed

[Car Knocker]

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=176067

Man Shot by Trooper Was Unarmed
March 14th, 2006 @ 5:00pm
Sam Penrod Reporting

Eyewitness News has uncovered new details about the shooting in Carbon County Sunday night. The man who was shot by a Highway Patrol trooper was not armed.

The Carbon County sheriff is investigating the officer involved shooting. KSL's Sam Penrod spoke with him today, after he spent a second day investigating. He says that both the suspects were complying with officers' commands at the time and had their hands up.

However, it is believed that the one shot that was fired, was fired accidentally. The suspect was hit in the stomach.


The two suspects are accused of holding up a motel in Green River at gunpoint Sunday night.

An employee was outside the hotel talking on her cell phone. When she went back inside, a man from the car followed her, Emery County Sheriff Lamar Guymon said. The man showed a gun and told the clerk it was a robbery, Guymon said.

The man took some cash, met his partner in front of the hotel and they drove off on I-70 headed east. A car matching the description was spotted by a Utah Highway Patrol trooper turning onto U.S. 6 toward Salt Lake City, Guymon said. The car was later determined to have been stolen a couple of days earlier in Indiana. The chase reached speeds of more than 100 mph and lasted about 40 miles, Guymon said.



In the process of making the arrests, the unidentified suspect was shot once by a UHP trooper, who was using an M-14 rifle. The suspect is under guard at a Salt Lake hospital and will also face armed robbery charges.

The Emery County Sheriff's Office obtained a warrant to search the car Monday and found the money stolen in Green River, Guymon said. He added that authorities had not located the handgun allegedly used in the robbery.

The other suspect arrested is Audie Barnes. It turns out he is from Ohio and apparently does have a criminal history.

Both suspects face armed robbery charges. Detectives are also checking to see if the two were involved in any other crimes between Indiana and Utah.

The sheriff will turn the evidence over to the Carbon County attorney who will review it, including dash camera video. So it may be some time before we learn if the trooper will be cleared in the shooting.

(The Associated Press Contributed to this story)

**********************************
I'll do a follow-up when the County Attorney makes his decision public and more information is available..

 

[Standing Wolf]

The chase reached speeds of more than 100 mph and lasted about 40 miles, Guymon said.

That must have been when I lost my sympathy for the criminals.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

A state tropper was using an M-14 rifle?

 

[orangeninja]

Frequently the M-4 is mistakenly called an M14. I seriously doubt it was an M14 as many police agencies are going to .223 to replace the scattergun and sub machine gun, NONE have gone .308 that I know of.

 

[asknight]

or a Mini-14...

 

[Optical Serenity]

There are plenty of police agencies here in GA that use M-14s (Mostly the SOCOM II)

 

[orangeninja]

I would think a .308 in an urban enviroment would be a civil liability nightmare.

 

[Crosshair]

OK, even though the criminals diserve to be punished, the cop needs to be punished as well. Time for a personal story.

I was being picked on by one kid in middle school. One day in middle school he came up behind me and tackled me for no reason. He gets up and is laughing. I get up and swing my arm to slap him. He tries to avoid me and turns his head, I miss and instead of harmlessly bopping him upside the head I wack him in the face and break his nose. Blood everywhere and all the girls are freaking out. He was wrong for tackling me and I did not mean to hurt him like I did. However, both of us where punished with a 3 day suspension. We both apologized to each other and got along OK after that. I was genuinely sorry for what I did and even though it was an accident, it did not excuse the outcome of my actions.

So regardless of how sorry the cop is, he still should be punished. Not have his life ruined, but be punished in a significant way.

 

[Jeff White]

DOD is currently transferring M14s to police departments through the 1033 program. There are a lot of them out there in police hands.

Jeff

 

[gunsmith]

sounds like

somebody had their figer on the trigger,....M14 eh? ...lucky cops!


what was that line from that clint eastwood movie, unforgiven??
one guy says "you shot that man, he was un armed! and clint says "he should have armed himself"

 

[Car Knocker]

More:

http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_3603214

Unarmed suspect shot in back; UHP actions reviewed
By Justin Hill
The Salt Lake Tribune



A Utah Highway Patrol trooper shot an unarmed Ohio man in the back after a robbery and high-speed chase, an investigation by the Carbon County Sheriff's Office has found.
It appears Trooper Ed Bentley accidentally fired his M-14 rifle Sunday night and struck John Gourno, 29, about 10 miles from Wellington in east-central Utah, Carbon County Sheriff James Cordova said Tuesday. The bullet exited through Gourno's abdomen.
"Trooper Bentley did pull the trigger," Cordova said.
Gourno - dubbed a career criminal by authorities - was taken to a hospital in Price and then transported to Salt Lake City's University Hospital, where he remained Tuesday.
Cordova said Gourno will be interviewed again before the investigation wraps up. The sheriff then will hand the case off to the Carbon County attorney, who will determine whether charges are filed against the trooper.
"We support their findings," said UHP Lt. Doug McCleve.
He said the UHP's Internal Affairs Section also was conducting an investigation and noted Bentley was on paid administrative leave pending that review.
"We want to be extremely thorough and careful," McCleve said.
He added that investigators want to ensure all circumstances are considered, including the fact that some of the troopers at the scene had responded earlier this month when a man was killed by law enforcement officers in a shoot-out in neighboring Duchesne County.

According to the Emery County Sheriff's Office, Gourno entered the Comfort Inn on Green River's main drag Sunday about 6:25 p.m. He allegedly pulled a gun on a clerk and demanded cash. Gourno didn't point it at the clerk and kept saying he didn't want any trouble, according to the sheriff's office.
The clerk handed over $245, and Gourno fled in a vehicle, according to the sheriff's office. The clerk then called authorities.
Three UHP troopers began looking for the getaway vehicle. A trooper spotted it as it turned onto U.S. Highway 6 from Interstate 70. He discovered the vehicle was stolen from Indiana and tried to pull it over. The vehicle allegedly raced off, topping 100 mph.
Two roadblocks were set up about 10 miles from Wellington and near the East Carbon junction. The suspect vehicle approached the first roadblock and pulled behind a trooper's cruiser.
"I can't think of a more dangerous and critical circumstance that these guys would find themselves in," McCleve said, noting that it was a desolate stretch of road.

Five troopers and two Adult Probation and Parole officers were on scene, all with guns drawn, Cordova said.
They ordered the driver, Audie Barnes, 29, of Ohio out of the vehicle and he complied, the sheriff said. Barnes, who is in the Emery County jail, walked backward toward the officers with his hands in the air.
Officers then ordered Gourno out of the vehicle. He, too, complied and was walking backward with his hands in the air when he was shot, Cordova said.
[email protected]

 

[GTSteve03]

Is it really that hard to keep your booger hook off the bang switch?

Or at least point the gun somewhere other than the back of the guy that's surrendering to you?

 

[Henry Bowman]

"Trooper Bentley did pull the trigger," Cordova said.

Indicates a heck of a lot more personal responsibility than "it went off."

 

[Powderman]

I was being picked on by one kid in middle school. One day in middle school he came up behind me and tackled me for no reason. He gets up and is laughing. I get up and swing my arm to slap him. He tries to avoid me and turns his head, I miss and instead of harmlessly bopping him upside the head I wack him in the face and break his nose. Blood everywhere and all the girls are freaking out. He was wrong for tackling me and I did not mean to hurt him like I did. However, both of us where punished with a 3 day suspension. We both apologized to each other and got along OK after that. I was genuinely sorry for what I did and even though it was an accident, it did not excuse the outcome of my actions.

Excuse the temporary thread jack, but I must have missed the part where you did anything wrong here.

You had a bully that was picking on you. You finally got fed up and whacked the idiot in the face. So he got his nose bloodied. Big deal. Serves him right.

Your actions were proper, and you should not have received any punishment for your actions.

Signed,

Powderman

(former professional victim and bully magnet while in grade school--until I grew over 6 feet tall, that is... )

 

[TheEgg]

Sounds like an accident composed of equal parts of poor training and adrenalin. Not sure what should be done to the officer, but I don't think he should face severe charges (maybe negligence of some kind?), unless something else was going on that we don't know about yet.

Civil penalties are another story.

 

[WinchesterAA]

My friend is a state trooper, he carries a mini-14 in his trunk.

 

[tellner]

I would think a .308 in an urban enviroment would be a civil liability nightmare.

"Dispatch, I need an ambulance on 1st and Main, 2nd and Main, 3rd and Main..."

A Godly man and his rifle deprive sleep from the wicked. A Christian man who prays is the defeater of evil. A praying man who will fight is the conqueror of nations and the hope of the oppressed.

Do you have any idea just how terrifying that quote is to anyone who isn't a Xtian and doesn't want to be conquered?

 

[twoblink]

It would be so cool for cops to tote an M14 or Garand!!



That said, I guess going on a 100mph chase makes cops think you have something to hide, gee.. I wonder why that's so..

I'm low on sympathies as of late..

 

[ABTOMAT]

Something like this happened here in MA a few days ago. Police were arresting a guy in an apartment and one of them accidentally shot through the floor. Went right through the middle of a little girl's bed on the floor below. Good thing she wasn't in it.

 

[MechAg94]

I don't approve of the officers actions and think he should face some form of punishment and training as well. BUT, whenever I see these things happen AFTER a long high speed chase I just can't give much sympathy to the perps and think the officer's punishment should be downgraded a notch because of it. As Chris Rock said on a video that was going around on email "If you make the cops chase you, they're gonne bring an @$$ whippin' with them."

Sometimes I think we should mount guns on choppers and anyone running from the cops like that should be taken out from the air (assuming it wouldn't kill a bunch of bystanders).

 

[orangeninja]

Well...I guess they do have M14s floating around. Hopefully frangible ammo is used.


tellner...."Do you have any idea just how terrifying that quote is to anyone who isn't a Xtian and doesn't want to be conquered?"

It's...um....CHRISTIAN....and, sweet.

 

[Car Knocker]

I would think a .308 in an urban enviroment would be a civil liability nightmare.

Hopefully frangible ammo is used.

"Dispatch, I need an ambulance on 1st and Main, 2nd and Main, 3rd and Main..."

In this particular instance, there's a whole lot of nothing in Carbon County. Population about 20,500 and 1,500 square miles area. Only about 6,000 people live in the unincorporated areas of the county like where this incident occured and those folks tend to cluster rather than be evenly spread out. Lots of nice rock formations to stop bullets, too. As a historic note, this is only a few miles from the San Rafael Swell (badlands) where Butch Cassidy and his gang hid out for a while.

One thing to think about: It could well have been a fellow deputy that got shot as he handcuffed the prisoner if this had occured only a minute later.

 

[orangeninja]

I was thinking it had to be in a rural area. I just can't see an urban or large city issuing .308 semi-autos. Those things are friggin' scary with penetration.

 

[Crosshair]

Powderman

Yes, even though this guy "diserved it" I was still wrong for my actions. Just as this cops was wrong for shooting the perp. Even though he probably "diserved it" it was still wrong do do so, even if it was a genuine accident. The situation I was in is almost exactly as this one is, just in a smaller scale.

 

['Card]

*shrug*

when you get right down to it, shooting an unarmed man is a lot safer than shooting one who's holding a gun. Those armed citizens shoot back, darnit.