IS THIS BULLSHIT OR APPROPRIATE?

[HairOfTheDog]

I say it's bullshit. He should rot in prison just for having those stupid tattoos alone, nevermind not being able to control himself .

Yeah, that cop struck me as a little too anxious to control and shoot someone. The fact that he had 'YOU'RE FUCKED' engraved on his AR15 is pretty messed up. It's not surprising he was fired for other policy violations shortly into the investigation.

I don't blame the cops for being aggressive and not taking any chances when all they knew was that someone had pointed what appeared to be a scoped rifle out the window of a hotel (especially after what went down in Las Vegas recently).

But, once they saw that he was just a buzzed dude in nothing but shorts and a t-shirt and they'd already secured his two drinking-buddy guests..........I don't get why the cops didn't cuff Shaver when he was crying for them not to shoot while lying flat on the ground and presenting no threat at all.

What the hell was the point of ordering him to crawl towards them with his legs crossed? I don't know if I could even do that sober.

[SIXFOOTERsez]

What the hell was the point of ordering him to crawl towards them with his legs crossed? I don't know if I could even do that sober.

Yea that part was fucked up. He should have had his partner just cuff him after the chick was cuffed and been done with it

[Duchess]

If I were to round a corner and come face to face with a guy pointing a gun like that at me I would have turned and ran. That sumbitch woulda killed me. Ugh. I've thought about that video more than once after seeing it and I realize I would have tried like hell to remove myself from the situation. I don't think I would have waited for the cop to identify himself, I would run and die. Wah.

[SIXFOOTERsez]

I think the cops rousted them out of the room, then all that went down so I don't think a cop in the hallway was a surprise.


Edit

Apparently that is untrue, watched another video that had the beginning of the encounter

[Love Child]

Where can I watch that video?
Duchess-I thought the same thing.

[HairOfTheDog]

I found the full video Love Child.



This case didn't get much attention before the trial because the judge ruled that the video could not be released to the public until after the verdict was rendered (Shaver's widow and attorney wanted it released right away).

Today I learned some new facts about the case.

1. Six officers showed up at the hotel to investigate the report of someone holding a gun near the hotel window. Six...........and they couldn't have cuffed him when he was down on the ground, on his stomach, arms forward, begging and scared shitless? Unbelievable.

2. The male hotel guest who'd been drinking with Shaver and the female guest had already returned to his own room when the cops showed up.

3. It isn't Officer Brailsford issuing the threatening and confusing commands to Shaver most of the time. It's his Sgt, Langley. He's since retired (thankfully).

Refs:
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...sm/546983/
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...sh/547868/

[SIXFOOTERsez]

Thanks HOTD, I was not clear at all who was giving the commands. Yea, there was no reason why they could not have cuffed the guy when he was flat out on the floor, it was useless to have him get up on his knees and all that.

[HairOfTheDog]

Thanks HOTD, I was not clear at all who was giving the commands. Yea, there was no reason why they could not have cuffed the guy when he was flat out on the floor, it was useless to have him get up on his knees and all that.

It wasn't clear to me either Six. I assumed it was Brailsford himself when I first watched the video.

Now that we know the whole story of what went down, I really feel that Sgt. Langley should have been charged right along with Brailsford.

Langley had more than enough manpower on the scene to control the situation without all the crawling, changing instructions, threats, and ultimately the killing of an innocent man.

It's so difficult to get a conviction of a cop (unless it's for corruption). The fact that this happened in Maricopa County (Sheriff Joe country) probably made it even more difficult for prosecutors to obtain a guilty verdict in my opinion, no matter how strong a case they presented.

[HairOfTheDog]

Bullshit or appropriate?



Robert Crosland is a science teacher at Preston Junior High in Idaho. Preston is rural dairy farmland with a population of about 5,000.

Crosland is reportedly an incredible teacher and very active in the community, assisting kids and rescuing animals. He also provides free consultation to local families who can't afford to take their pets to the vet.

Recently a resident found an abandoned puppy and took it to Crosland after school to have it put down. The puppy was very sick and deformed. It was unable to eat or drink. The puppy was dying and couldn't be saved, according to Crosland.

Rather than put the puppy down some other way, Crosland fed the puppy to the hungry snapping turtle he kept (along with many other animals) in the science room. The puppy was quickly drowned and consumed.

(continued)

[HairOfTheDog]

There were three male students in the classroom helping Crosland feed the animals at the time. Crosland's friend said they all lived on farms and understood the situation and Crosland's actions.

But, a school staffer saw what was going down and contacted an animal rights group. The Humane Society and PETA got involved and demanded that Crosland be fired. The story went viral and the local police were inundated with people from all over the country calling to complain and demand action.

Crosland was charged with animal cruelty. He's still teaching pending investigation, but Preston now has police guards at its schools due to receiving calls for violence in retaliation for the killing of the puppy.

The locals reportedly don't understand or appreciate the drama and interference. They support Crosland.

Story: https://www.sltrib.com/news/2018/03/15/p...-violence/
-----------------------------------------

So, is it appropriate for animal lovers to be coming down on Crosland and the Preston community (aside from the violent threats, of course).........or is it bullshit?

[Donovan]

Turtle's gotta eat.

Reminds me of a story someone told me about this little six year old girl who came into his pet store once and asked "excuthe me, mithter, do you thell wittle wabbits"? And he thought she was adorable with her lisp so he answered "Why YETH little thweetheart, we thell wabbits. Would you like a fluffy white wabbit, or a cute fuzzy wittle brown one?"
The little girl thought for a minute and answered, "I don't think my python really gives a thit."

[HairOfTheDog]

Turtle's gotta eat.

Well, that's true. Unfortunately, the dying puppy mighta been this particular snapping turtle's last meal. The snapper got the death penalty last month.

About two weeks after the puppy incident, state officials seized Crosland's snapping turtle and euthanized it.

Seems snapping turtles are considered an invasive species in Idaho, and a person who wants to keep one must obtain a permit, which Crosland apparently lacked.

A person found to have one without a permit may be charged with a misdemeanor. I don't think Crosland has been charged in that regard though. He reportedly loves all his animals, so he's already being punished.

[HairOfTheDog]

Reminds me of a story someone told me about this little six year old girl who came into his pet store once and asked "excuthe me, mithter, do you thell wittle wabbits"? And he thought she was adorable with her lisp so he answered "Why YETH little thweetheart, we thell wabbits. Would you like a fluffy white wabbit, or a cute fuzzy wittle brown one?"
The little girl thought for a minute and answered, "I don't think my python really gives a thit."

')

Along those lines.......in the reader comments, some people are contending that pet owners who feed their reptiles live mice and such should be charged with animal cruelty too because a rhodent's right to life shouldn't be less valued than a puppy's.

Anyway, if the incident went down as described in the linked article, I understand what Crosland did. It's sad to imagine a puppy being drowned and eaten, violent way to go. But, IF the poor puppy was close to death anyway and the death was a quick one, I can see why a science teacher would do it in a manner that fed the food chain.

[BigMark]

On a side note, a magical place just down from the only bridge in the USA you can legally base jump from 24/7. Pillar Falls Idaho

[Maggot]

I had 3 pet snapping turtles when I was a kid and fed them salamanders and worms. They grew to about 6" round and I let them go in the pond.

[sally]

“It was going to die, and either they could take it to the vet and pay to have it euthanized or they could feed his animals and let his animals live because theirs wasn’t going to,” McKay said.[i]

Um yeah, I think it would have been a better choice to take the puppy to the vet and have it sedated and euthanized. It doesn't cost that much. It may have went quick, but I'm sure the poor puppy was terrified.

[HairOfTheDog]

Yeah, professional euthanization would have been a more peaceful death for the puppy, that's true.

So, Crosland might well be found guilty of 'animal cruelty', even if his motives were not cruel. He faces 6 months behind bars and a $5,000 fine if he's convicted, and he could lose his job.

Crosland might be in as much or more trouble for illegally possessing the turtle outside its habitat than he is for feeding the terminally ill puppy to the turtle. But, it's unclear to me if he faces charges for that crime.

No winners in this one. The teacher may have helped extend the turtle's life by feeding it the puppy.

The animal activists may succeed in having the teacher criminally convicted in their pursuit of justice for the manner in which the puppy was put to death.

And, the turtle was peacefully and professionally killed by the Dept of Agriculture as a result of the investigation into the puppy's death, rather than being relocated (which the department said would have been expensive and complicated) -- I assume the same animal activists aren't too thrilled about that unintended consequence of their campaign against Crosland.

[sally]

It was an overall bad decision. If he didn't want to pay for the euthanasia he could have dropped the puppy off at a humane society and they would have euthanized it for free. Drowning the puppy and feeding it to the turtle would have not crossed my mind unless there were no vets for hundreds of miles and it was the only option to end the dogs suffering. Now his beloved dog-eating turtle is dead too because of his stupidity.

[sally]

Now I'm wondering if that sicko has been feeding dogs to his turtle all along and just never got caught until now.

[HairOfTheDog]

The turtle drowned the puppy before eating it. But yeah, Crosland put the puppy in the turtle's tank in the first place, in front of student witnesses. Is it a case of poor judgment, or is Crosland himself one sick puppy?

It crossed my mind that maybe it wasn't the first time that Snappy was offered similar prey too. I read a few different articles and didn't find any claims that it happened more than once, but it will be interesting to see what the investigation uncovers.

Franklin County sheriff’s deputies opened an investigation into the teacher for animal cruelty and relayed their findings to Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney Vic Pearson. Pearson, citing a conflict of interest, said he would pass the case on to another prosecutor in the region.

The Idaho Humane Society has offered to help in the investigation and said they shared the concerns of “all of our constituents who are deeply disturbed by the news from Preston, Idaho, regarding the allegations of the mistreatment of a puppy [in a] classroom setting.”

This piece has more details: http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local...30089.html