Prof. Johnathan Turley has a great blog. This story is not only seasonal, but, instructive as well!
Maryland police Sgt. Eric Janik, 37, may not get the thrust of trick of treat traditions. The Baltimore police office went to a haunted house called the House of Screams with friends and when confronted by a character dressed as Leatherface with a chainsaw (sans the chain, of course), Janik pulled out his service weapon and pointed it at the man, who immediately dropped character, dropped the chainsaw, and ran like a bat out of Halloween Hell.
HEADLINE: Cop scares ghoul on Halloween!
Ok… here’s the analysis…
First, almost every single off-duty officer carries his/her weapon. You simply don’t know when you will stumble upon a crime, or, someone you imprisoned gets out and tries to kill you. So, his off-duty carrying of a weapon is fine.
Yes, it’s Halloween. You want to go to a haunted house with your buddies and kid. But, you’d expect him to be able to curb his reflex to draw his weapon. You would, that is, if he wasn’t drunk.
Witnesses said that Janik smelled of alcohol. A security officer had actually followed Janik because he appeared drunk and had a nine-year-old child with him. Janik also reportedly gave conflicting accounts to the police, including a denial that he pulled out his weapon.
Now, I don’t know every department’s policies, nor, every state’s laws. But, in MOST places, handling a weapon while inebriated is against the law, even for police officers.
The officer was arrested and faces charges of assault and reckless endangerment. In addition, he has the possibility of losing his child.
Note to cops: If you plan to get drunk, or even drink, leave the piece in the car.
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live where a cop went into a butcher shop and was evidently dissatisfied with the customer service. So he pulled his gun on the butcher and it escalated into a near fatal situation. This was during daytime and the cop was not drunk. He was downgraded to a meter maid and now sings Beatles songs all day.