Litchfield man killed by officer for shooting off his porch

[mikes45]

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20120710/NEWS07/120709713. I thought it was legal to shoot on your property in New Hampshire.

"Nearby residents said they heard gunshots throughout the day. Some thought the noise was fireworks". This statement makes me believe he was target practicing.

Sorry if this is a dupe.

 

[Takl23]

You can't shoot within certain distances of houses without permission and no close that 15' from a road.

My thinking is the officer told the guy to put the gun down and he pointed it at the officer. Just a thought, hopefully we know more soon.

 

[Admin]

Hmmm, can't wait to see some legit info on this.

 

[fivepak]

Way to early to speculate,, and even if the cop was wrong we'll never know the details of it.

 

[cockpitbob]

I looked at the area on Google Earth. It's way too populated to be shooting.

 

[Boghog1]

based on the google maps and the fact it looks like he lived in a trailerpark I think he may have been closer than 300ft from a neighbors house. there has got to be more to the story

 

[JoeT]

Hmmm, can't wait to see some legit info on this.

yea, lots of missing info to make a decision....initial thoughts, shooting off your front porch in a trailer park doesn't sound like a great idea, and probably not a good practice

 

[glide]

This story stinks. All I read is a guy is shooting off his porch, which he shouldn't be doing. I didn't think you could be shot on site for that.

 

[TBalls]

based on the google maps and the fact it looks like he lived in a trailerpark I think he may have been closer than 300ft from a neighbors house. there has got to be more to the story

Yeah, if you live in a trailer park &/or your house has a unit #, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say satisfying that 300' req may be a bit tough from your front "porch".

 

[fivepak]

If the guy meant no harm and he was plinking, even if wrong to do so, the prudent thing to do when police arrive is not to have gun in your hand.

 

[Boghog1]

that is if he was plinking,

more coverage
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/967250-196/shots-fired-police-respond-to-litchfield-mobile.html
http://www.boston.com/news/local/ne.../07/10/armed_man_shot_killed_by_police_in_nh/
http://www.wmur.com/news/nh-news/1-...ting/-/9857858/15452358/-/cma5mk/-/index.html

none of them say anything really

 

[ShadeWPI]

The report on WBZ this morning indicated that they were a stand-off between the man and police for a time prior to him being shot. Obviously we all want more details, but so far this sounds like a case of someone doing something stupid (shooting a firearm on the front porch of a trailer with lots of neighbors. Someone calls the police, the police come and tell the person to stop it and he takes exception to being told what to do on his property.

Hopefully we'll hear from some witnesses to confirm whether the police followed good procedure for dealing with him or if they saw a person with a drawn gun and immediately went into threat elimination.

 

[soloman02]

This story stinks. All I read is a guy is shooting off his porch, which he shouldn't be doing. I didn't think you could be shot on site for that.

This is NH you can shoot off your porch all damn day. I've done it many times myself at my parents place. What you can't do is shoot within the compact zone of a town or within 300' of an adjacent building without the owners permission (exceptions are made in justified self defense shootings). There is more to the story here.

 

[xtry51]

If the guy meant no harm and he was plinking, even if wrong to do so, the prudent thing to do when police arrive is not to have gun in your hand.

So you're saying he should have been psychic, and since he wasn't he deserved to be shot?

 

[glide]

Here we go, another one who knows how to solve everything. Has all the right answers.

I don't have all the answers.

The report states he was shooting off his porch and was subsequently shot. That's all. I don't see how one gets from A to B.

The only reason he should have been shot, is if he pointed the gun in a threatening manner at the responding officers. I don't see that mentioned anywhere. And if it did go down that way, it would have been mentioned.

 

[xtry51]

I don't have all the answers.

The report states he was shooting off his porch and was subsequently shot. That's all. I don't see how one gets from A to B.

The only reason he should have been shot, is if he pointed the gun in a threatening manner at the responding officers. I don't see that mentioned anywhere. And if it did go down that way, it would have been mentioned.

I have a hard time believing someone would make the decision to point an already in their hands firearm at a police officer, thus having the advantage, and then that same person allowing the officer to draw and fire without shooting the officer. THAT scenario makes absolutely no sense.

 

[cyberlogicx]

I have a hard time believing someone would make the decision to point an already in their hands firearm at a police officer, thus having the advantage, and then that same person allowing the officer to draw and fire without shooting the officer. THAT scenario makes absolutely no sense.

Suicide by cop. It happens.

 

[xtry51]

Suicide by cop. It happens.

True, but usually those people seek out police. I've never heard of a suicide by cop conducted by sitting on your porch all day long plinking.

 

[glide]

Who said he had a gun in his hand?

All I see is a quote from the AG (who wasn't there) that he was 'armed'.

 

[cockpitbob]

The only reason he should have been shot, is if he pointed the gun in a threatening manner at the responding officers. I don't see that mentioned anywhere. And if it did go down that way, it would have been mentioned.

No, it wouldn't have been mentioned.

Agati would not elaborate on the details of the shooting Monday night,...

They won't be revealing the the details of the case for some time to come.

 

[Jose]

This story stinks. All I read is a guy is shooting off his porch, which he shouldn't be doing. I didn't think you could be shot on site for that.

I bet there was some pointing of guns at cops.

If you're gonna do that know that you're in for a pound.

 

[cyberlogicx]

True, but usually those people seek out police. I've never heard of a suicide by cop conducted by sitting on your porch all day long plinking.

True, but nothing surprises me anymore.

 

[stinx]

I have a hard time believing someone would make the decision to point an already in their hands firearm at a police officer, thus having the advantage, and then that same person allowing the officer to draw and fire without shooting the officer. THAT scenario makes absolutely no sense.

Or he was shot when he was told to drop the gun and did not. More facts need to be released before anybody can really say what did or did not happen.
Maybe the police over reacted or maybe they did not. We were not there so its easy to use hindsight in the comfort of our homes in front of our computers to figure out what happened.

 

[PixelPusher]

Well, this is interesting.

http://www.wmur.com/news/nh-news/Autopsy-Litchfield-man-died-of-gunshot-wound-to-back/-/9857858/15465408/-/n6h50az/-/index.html

 

[bullseye]

I will reserve all comments and opinions until the official fable comes out.

 

[ntomsw]

Shot in the back?? Hmmmm.....

 

[In God We Trust]

Shot in the back?? Hmmmm.....

Pefectly acceptable (and encouraged by some instructors) in an active shooter scenerio, which this may have been confused for.

 

[Boghog1]

thay coulda shot the gun out of his hand

 

[glide]

Shot in the back?? Hmmmm.....

Well, at least they have a few months to make up a story and ensure everyone is on board with it.

 

[xtry51]

I don't see how one has a "confrontation" with your back turned. Also would like to hear when he died exactly. A single perf'd lung is not exactly a instant kill shot.