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Knimrod
04-03-2006, 11:57 PM
Cops shoot up house by mistake
April 03, 2006
By Lisa Medendorp
Muskegon Chronicle

Bullets peppered the wall, ceiling and refrigerator in an incident late Saturday during which two Muskegon police officers fired shots at each other inside a McLaughlin Avenue home.

"Thankfully, nobody was hurt," said Director of Public Safety Tony Kleibecker, who has launched an internal investigation and has placed both officers on paid administrative leave.

Three people, including one of the residents, 21-year-old Nicholas Johnson, were in the basement of 772 McLaughlin when police burst through the front and rear doors.

"They thought the cops were going to shoot them," said the young man's father, Leo Johnson, 44. The elder Johnson and his girlfriend, who live in the house, were not home when the incident occurred, but arrived shortly afterward.

Leo Johnson said it turned out that "the cops were shooting at each other."

Kleibecker said the investigation is in the early stages, but confirmed the officers shot at each other.

Police were dispatched to the home just before midnight on a report of a possible kidnapping, Kleibecker said.

A male caller to Muskegon Central Dispatch "said he believed his ex-girlfriend was being held hostage in the residence," Kleibecker said. "He met the officers near the scene."

Officers knocked on the door and didn't get an answer, Kleibecker said.

Leo Johnson said his son wouldn't answer the door because he was wanted on a traffic-related warrant. Nicholas Johnson was in the home with a male friend and a young woman.

"The police knocked on the back and front doors and they knocked on the windows," Leo Johnson said, based on a conversation with his son. "They hollered out: 'Muskegon police. Let us in!' "

"My son still didn't let them in," he said, adding that the three were scared and went to the basement, where his son's bedroom is.

Kleibecker said officers at that point "apparently felt the woman was in grave danger and decided to attempt a forced entry through the front door and had some difficulty getting in."

The account from Leo Johnson also indicates police had problems with the front door, but that suddenly both doors were forced open about the same time.

Leo Johnson said one officer came in through the back door near the basement steps and entered the kitchen. Then, the three people downstairs heard the officers shooting, he said.

"I've got about 15 bullet holes in my wall, one in the ceiling, one through the closet, and they even shot through the refrigerator," Leo Johnson said.

Kleibecker said one officer fired a shot "thinking he was in danger from somebody with a gun." A second officer "returned fire in the direction of where that shot came from."

Kleibecker said "in excess of a dozen shots were fired," and that one of the officers finally yelled to stop firing.

He declined to identify the officers involved, pending the outcome of the internal investigation.

"There was never a kidnapping to the best of our knowledge," Kleibecker said.

"We are going to do a complete, thorough investigation," he said. "We need to understand what happened, why it happened and how we can prevent this from happening again."

He declined comment on what exactly the first officer saw that made him react by firing his weapon.

Leo Johnson said he rushed home when his son's ex-girlfriend came over to where he and his girlfriend were a few blocks away, crying and saying police were raiding the house and shots had been fired.

"I thought my kid was shot," he said.

Leo Johnson said officers prevented him from entering his home, saying it was a crime scene. "They went in and took pictures and said they were looking for guns," Leo Johnson said. "I told them there were no guns in the house." No guns were found.

Nicholas Johnson was arrested on the traffic warrant and was bonded out the same day. His friend was arrested on a warrant not related to the incident.

Link to story (http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-8/114407914096330.xml?muchronicle?NEM&coll=8)

fbuckner
04-04-2006, 12:35 AM
I know some situations are very stressful but for crying out loud arent you supposed to know what your shooting at and what is beyond it. these 2 should even be security at a kmart store.

Super Trucker
04-04-2006, 10:16 AM
And to think, I must tell an officer that I am carrying, For his saftey. :lolup:

woody1960
04-04-2006, 04:30 PM
Gee, I thought were supposed to identify your target "before" shooting.:roll:

keyjockey
04-04-2006, 05:36 PM
Sounds like something from the Three Stooges. :roll:

This is being reported in a newspaper however, so all may not be as it appears.

bpbolde
04-06-2006, 11:33 PM
Ok, so we have these two blatantly negligent and reckless LEO's, the one that just shot himself deliberately in the arm and the officer that was shot in the locker room by the other officer. All these have been within the last three months I believe. That means five officers reckless and negligent with a deadly weapon in Michigan alone. Now can anyone look up how many CPL holders have had incidents like these? I have the utmost respect for our system of laws and our law enforcement officers, but these incidents are inexcusable.

Leader
04-07-2006, 11:56 AM
Doesn't this PROVE how much better trained these "PROFESSIONALS" are then us civilians that can't be trusted to carry where Police can?

Tank
04-07-2006, 01:28 PM
"Leo Johnson said officers prevented him from entering his home, saying it was a crime scene. "They went in and took pictures and said they were looking for guns," Leo Johnson said. "I told them there were no guns in the house." No guns were found. "

THEY make the mistake and make themselves look like Keystone Cops, so what... they have to FABRICATE some excuse to make themselves look better by looking for guns?

Just because THEY made a mistake, what right does that give them to go looking for guns? They find the reason that they were called there was invalid and that a HUGE mistake has been made, no crime committed, nothing illegal going on other than their bumbling. What right do they have to then start looking for guns?!?!?!??!

I'm the last one to jump on the megaphone about the Govt coming to take your guns away, but dang if that isn't what this REALLY looks like.

That burns me up... :**:

Knimrod
06-04-2006, 10:14 PM
Officers disciplined after friendly fire incident
June 04, 2006
By Lisa Medendorp
Muskegon Chronicle

Fourteen pistol shots were fired at close range inside the house by two police officers who mistakenly thought they were in danger during a hostage-rescue effort involving three other officers and three people in the house.

A refrigerator was shot to pieces, but no one was injured.

As one officer later remarked: "Everyone had a guardian angel."

Two Muskegon Police Department command officers were disciplined for violating department "policy and protocol" in the wake of the April incident at a McLaughlin Avenue home during which two officers mistakenly shot at each other.

But the city's chief of police declined to be more specific about the mistakes made that led to the dangerous situation or provide the names of the disciplined officers.

Original police reports of the April 1-2 incident, along with some material from the subsequent internal investigation, recently were received by The Chronicle in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

Reports show the shots were fired inside 772 McLaughlin after officers entered the home believing that a young woman was a hostage who was in immediate danger. The bullets missed everyone, including the woman and two men who were in the basement when officers started shooting.

One of the command officers who was disciplined, Sgt. Ronald Hepworth, was involved in the shooting, but the other officer who fired his weapon, Patrol Officer Chris Martinez, received no disciplinary action.

Martinez returned fire after seeing a fellow officer fall to the floor. He believed the officer had been shot.

Shift supervisor Lt. Andrew Olson, who was not at the scene when officers forced entry, was disciplined along with Hepworth. Olson and Hepworth each were handed five work-day suspensions without pay following an internal investigation.

The disciplinary action was based on the command officers' failure to follow department policies and protocol, Muskegon Public Safety Director Tony Kleibecker said earlier.

While providing basic information about the shooting incident, Kleibecker afterward declined to say how many officers were disciplined or to identify them. He also did not provide specifics about what went wrong, citing "tactical reasons."

"I'm telling you as much as I'm going to say about it," Kleibecker told The Chronicle on April 21.

The disciplined officers did not respond to interview requests.

At 12:14 a.m. on April 2, Muskegon officers were ordered to enter 772 McLaughlin based on the belief that 19-year-old Samantha Engler was being held inside against her will by two men who possibly were armed, reports show.

It turned out there was no hostage situation and no criminal charges were ever filed against any of the people inside the home in connection with the incident.

But at the time, reports show police believed there were "exigent circumstances" -- circumstances that require immediate action by police to prevent possible loss of life -- which allowed them to enter the home without first obtaining a search warrant.

Muskegon County Prosecutor Tony Tague said Michigan law allows officers to enter a home without a search warrant when there are exigent circumstances.

Initially, officers were unable to force open the front door. Hepworth and another officer went to a side door near the kitchen and basement stairways, which was successfully forced open.

In the meantime, other officers had gained entry through the front door and were making their way through the interior of the home.

That set the stage for the shootout.

A possible hostage

It all began at 11:53 p.m. on April 1, when Officer Greg Bonebrake was dispatched to meet 20-year-old Justin Fitzgerald-Boyden on Catawba Avenue near the McLaughlin Avenue home.

A police report said Fitzgerald-Boyden told the officer he was forced out of 772 McLaughlin by 21-year-old Nick Johnson, who lived there, and Nick Holtz, also 21.

According to the officer's report, Fitzgerald-Boyden said both men possibly were armed with guns and that his girlfriend, Engler, was being held against her will.

Holtz is Engler's ex-boyfriend and he had just argued with Fitzgerald-Boyden, trying to get him to fight, according to police and prosecutors.

Bonebrake and Hepworth went to 772 McLaughlin in an attempt to make contact with the people inside. The blinds were pulled and the lights were on, but no one came to the door. The officers also knocked on windows.

Bonebrake returned to Catawba, and while he was trying to get more information from Fitzgerald-Boyden, the young man's cell phone rang and he held it so the officer could hear what was being said.

Police reports said the call was from Holtz, who said: "The police just left the house. I didn't answer the door."

Fitzgerald-Boyden said: "Just let my girlfriend out."

According to the police report, Holtz said: "She can't go, she is tied up."

When Fitzgerald-Boyden asked what Holtz meant by that, police said he replied: "I tied the bitch up and put her in a closet."

Hepworth's report said he told Bonebrake to contact the shift commander, Olson, with the cell call information. Central Dispatch also tried to get someone to answer the telephone inside the home, but only got an answering machine.

At 12:10 a.m., Olson requested that the on-duty prosecutor be paged to see if police needed a search warrant to enter the house. Reports show Olson spoke to Muskegon County Assistant Prosecutor Matt Roberts.

Tague said police sometimes contact the prosecutor's office for an opinion as to how state law applies to certain situations. In this case, police were told they did not need a search warrant due to exigent circumstances. But, "the ultimate decision is the police officer's," Tague said.

Four minutes later, entry was made.

Two minutes later, shots were fired.

The entry

Olson had radioed Hepworth to tell him that the on-duty prosecutor said entry could be forced without a warrant. Olson also told Hepworth he was on his way to 772 McLaughlin.

As Olson was getting ready to leave the police department, he reported hearing radio traffic from an officer "screaming" that shots had been fired.

Officers Bonebrake, Martinez and Roger DeYoung positioned themselves at the front door. DeYoung kicked on the door numerous times, announcing that police would enter if the door wasn't opened.

After receiving no response, they started trying to force the door but could not get it open.

Hepworth and Officer David McNeil went to the side door and quickly broke it open. "I yelled out the side door was open and we went into the side door," Hepworth wrote in his report.

Meanwhile, the front door finally was kicked open. DeYoung entered first, followed by Martinez and Bonebrake. Bonebrake said all three officers announced the entry, identifying themselves as police officers.

Bonebrake went to check the living room, while DeYoung went into the kitchen, followed by Martinez.

McNeil wrote that as he and Hepworth started to enter through the side door, the door at the top of the stairs leading up the kitchen area was opened, and "I observed a gun barrel." He took cover and did not fire his weapon.

Hepworth wrote: "I saw (a) gun come around the corner. I ducked for cover down the stairs that led to the basement. During this I did fire my service weapon."

Reports show Hepworth shot at DeYoung, who had opened the door. Martinez then shot at Hepworth, who fired back. Hepworth fired five shots and Martinez shot nine times, said Detective Clay Orrison's scene investigation report.

Fortunately, there was a refrigerator and a wall between the shooters.

Martinez later wrote: "A shot was fired at officer Deyoung (sic) coming from the stairwell that led to the basement. Officer Deyoung (sic) appeared to be injured, therefore, I returned fire after seeing the direction of the muzzle blast in the stairway."

In the living room, Bonebrake heard a shot fired and saw DeYoung fall backward. "I believed that Ofc (sic) Deyoung (sic) had been shot," he wrote.

"The entire time that the shots were being fired I heard Ofc (sic) Deyoung (sic) yelling, but I could not hear what he was saying," Bonebrake also wrote.

Officer Scott Anderson, who was behind Hepworth and McNeil, later wrote that when the inner door opened (to the kitchen area), "I could see what looked like our uniform pants and further up the barrel of what appeared to be a Sig Sauer P220 (the weapon carried by Muskegon officers)."

When the shooting stopped, it was determined DeYoung was not hit; he apparently was taking cover when he went to the floor.

The home at 772 McLaughlin was left with a bullet-riddled refrigerator and holes in the walls and ceiling.

The owner, Laura TenBrink said earlier that the police department promised to take care of the damage. She said this week she had received compensation for the damage.

Shooting aftermath

When the gunfire stopped, Officer Ramiro Pena entered the house and saw the occupants -- Holtz, Johnson and Engler -- coming up the basement stairs. Pena wrote that he did not find any weapons in the house.

Holtz was lodged at the Muskegon County Jail for malicious use of a telephone, but he was later released and no warrant was issued for any crime. Police had requested a kidnapping warrant against Holtz.

"It's unfortunate that his (Holtz's) lies made it seem that a person might be in danger, but he didn't commit a felony. His conduct did not meet the criteria of kidnapping under Michigan law," Tague said, adding that Holtz's conduct also did not meet the requirement for a charge of malicious use of a telephone.

"The police responded to what they perceived as an emergency and to what appeared to be a life-threatening situation, but hindsight showed that it ultimately was not a life-threatening situation for the woman," Tague said.

Johnson, who according to Engler was trying to calm the situation between Holtz and Fitzgerald-Boyden, was arrested on a misdemeanor warrant unrelated to anything that happened that night.

When Engler was interviewed after the shootout, she told police she was afraid of Holtz. She also said he told her to say that it was all a big joke and that no threats were made.

Fitzgerald-Boyden, Engler and Holtz could not be reached for comment.

The discipline

In April 20 memorandums to Hepworth and Olson, Kleibecker wrote that Hepworth had decided to force entry and that Olson "allowed it to happen."

He said the two command officers were responsible for the safety of the officers on their shift and that their decisions were "counter to department policy and accepted protocol ... "

In part, the memo to each said: " ... You utilized officers who were not trained in this type of entry, who were not equipped for this type of entry and you had little idea, if any, as to the number of persons and the layout of this residence."

To Hepworth, Kleibecker wrote that when the officer was in the hallway (near the side door), "you failed to provide a verbal command prior to discharging your weapon in the direction of an unidentified target."

And to Olson, Kleibecker wrote: "At no time did you discuss with Sergeant Hepworth the possibility of securing the residence and calling for a tactical team and negotiator. One of your earliest statements during this situation was that 'sounds like we'll have to make entry.' This tells me that you did not adequately analyze the potential danger of this situation and that you failed to follow department policy."

The discipline that was handed down was the result of a settlement agreement with the Command Officers Association of Michigan, the union for Muskegon police command officers. A Muskegon police union official had no comment.

As part of the settlement with the city, the two command officers and the union agreed that no grievances would be filed and that no appeal would be filed with the City of Muskegon Civil Service Commission.

Both men have since served their suspensions and are back on duty.

Link to story (http://www.mlive.com/news/muchronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-9/114941626086100.xml&coll=8&thispage=1)

Tank
06-05-2006, 04:48 PM
:roll: :roll: :roll:

Mike Kelly
06-05-2006, 05:56 PM
According to the officer's report, Fitzgerald-Boyden said both men possibly were armed with guns and that his girlfriend, Engler, was being held against her will.

If Mr. Fitzgerald-Boyden doesn't get charged with something in this incident (and I might have missed it if he did) then he's going to get away with one of the best "Getting Back at The Ex-Girlfriend" pranks I've heard of in a long time.

He got busted for something unrelated. I get the idea that he's getting a good laugh about this regardless.