Brickbat: What a Rush

Claiborne County, Tenn., Deputy Cody Lankford said he was afraid fellow deputy Noah Arnwine had blown somebody's head off. The two were returning from an inmate transport with Lankford driving when Arnwine pointed a gun towards the windshield of their vehicle and fired a shot into rush-hour traffic on Interstate 75 last year. Lankford said he did not believe Arnwine meant to fire the gun but said Arnwine should not be in any job where he handles firearms. Then assistant-chief deputy Mark Ellis, who investigated the matter, recommended Arnwine be fired. Sheriff Bob Brooks disagreed and kept Arnwine on. Brooks told local media he did suspend Arnwine but refused to release details of the suspension.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Noah Arnwine, whose stepmother works as the sheriff's secretary...

There it is.

[Rat on a train]

Brooks told local media he did suspend Arnwine but refused to release details of the suspension.
With pay I'm sure.

[AlmightyJB]

Take away their Glocks and give them revolvers or DAO.

[Necron 99]

Glocks are DAO.

[Quo Usque Tandem]

with a much shorter, and lighter, trigger pull. I'll carry a snub nose in my front pocket any day; not so much a Glock.

[Necron 99]

What's funny, I picked up a used Kahr K9 cheap when the NYPD ended their contract and dumped thousands of K9s on the market due to Kahr not redesigning their guns to make the trigger pull 13 lbs. It is a DAO, 7.5 lbs. trigger pull, no external safety. Carry in a holster and keep the booger hook off the bang button until ready to shoot and you'll be fine. You know, the stuff NYPD should train their officers to do.

[Bubba Jones]

6# trigger. Vs 10# for a DA/SA like Sig or Beretta.

[Agammamon]

Just give them one bullet and make them carry it in their shirt pocket.

[Conchfritters]

East Tennessee - where the chop shops are run by the sheriff and his uncle.

[Conchfritters]

https://www.thepostemail.com/2012/01/21/eastern-tennessee-has-been-a-hotbed-of-corruption-for-decades/

[Quo Usque Tandem]

Reminds me of that scene in Pulp Fiction. Hit a bump in the road and BANG. All over the back seat.

1. Treat all guns as loaded, even when you are "certain" they are not.
2. Do not point them at anything or anyone you do not want to kill or destroy.
3. Be mindful of what is beyond your target, as well as the target itself.
4. And...KEEP YOUR FUCKING FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO FIRE THE DAMNED THING!!!!!!

[Ecoli]

Yep. That works.

[Cyto]

Or, you know, yank the thing out every time someone's puppy startles you.... you know.... so if the little critter starts barking at you then you'll be ready to retreat while laying down a hail of cover fire. Also useful for waving at prone frat boys while shouting incoherent orders and gesticulating threateningly...

At least, those seem to be other preferred strategies.

[Jerryskids]

Deputy was probably just tweaking and fucked up - we've all been there, amirite? Just get him to lay off the meth a little bit and he'll be fine.

[Jerryskids]

Holy shit - this Brickbat doesn't even touch half the story. In addition to the fact that Arwine didn't just "accidentally" fire the gun but deliberately fired the gun in a Russian Roulette-style game, which isn't made clear, there's also this:

Arnwine kept his job. Mark Ellis, the former assistant chief deputy who investigated the shooting, says Claiborne County Sheriff Bob Brooks ignored his advice that Arnwine be fired, kept the case quiet and instead forced Ellis out over a struggle with a jail inmate.

That struggle, which ended when Ellis used a stun gun to subdue the inmate as he fought with half a dozen officers, led to Ellis' indictment on charges of assault and official oppression — what his attorney calls a case of selective enforcement and retaliation.

"My client was told to forget this matter, that there would be no disciplinary action, and 'this never happened,'" said Ellis' lawyer, T. Scott Jones. "My client steadfastly adheres to his position that his authority was undermined by the chief law enforcement officer of the county — the sheriff, Bob Brooks. That's why they've manifested this intent to persecute him over this case."

[Don't look at me!]

I wonder how dark the whole story really is.

[Unicorn Abattoir]

Ellis committed the one unforgivable act - criticizing another cop's wrongdoing.

[Cyto]

I had a buddy back in the 90's who's brother was a deputy in rural Georgia. He similarly tried to report wrongdoing and saw the clouds of retaliation brewing. So he ran for sheriff. He received lots of threats.

The day after he won the election there was $40k in his mailbox. He called in the state bureau of investigation. In addition to a few of the officers in the PD, they nabbed the local drug dealer. You probably have your own version - the guy who lives in the big house that everyone calls "that drug dealer's house".

This particular version involved finding a couple hundred grand in cash on the kitchen table, along with scales and other drug dealer type stuff. The wife disclaimed any knowledge of such things.... despite the mountain of cash sitting on her kitchen table. Surprisingly, she managed to avoid indictment.

[Curt]

Just in case the sheriff's contempt for everyone else in the world was unclear:

"The sheriff didn't offer an explanation for why Arnwine kept his job.
"It must be a slow news day if you're asking about this," he said."

[Jerry B.]

"But, Your Honor, Deputy Arwine was never specifically trained that he shouldn't shoot out the windshield of his vehicle while riding on a public road."

"Qualified Immunity".