Gun Pointed at Census Worker - Police kill One of Gun Wielders 67 Yr Old Woman

[dandi]

A tragic event, though I tend to give the benefit of the doubt to cops in these cases until shooting review boards do their work. This post is just to point out the rank hypocrisy of DU.

If the person wielding the gun had been a poor minority individual or a drug dealer or such, there would be minimum of 200 posts with such astute observations as "****ing pigs getting their gun fantasies on", questions about why the cops couldn't use some super-duper kung fu moves to disarm the individual, cries of "Police state!", calls for federal investigations, letter writing campaigns, and on and on, ad nauseum.

But because this is a white person from an affluent neighborhood and there was a census worker involved - not one single post of that type appears. Plenty of blame for conservative talk show hosts, though, who as we all know regularly call for the assault of census takers.

RamboLiberal  (1000+ posts)         Fri May-21-10 08:40 PM
Original message
Gun Pointed at Census Worker - Police kill One of Gun Wielders 67 Yr Old Woman
 Edited on Fri May-21-10 08:42 PM by RamboLiberal
A 67-year-old Yuba City woman was shot and killed by officers when she pointed a shotgun at them and refused to put it down, according to Yuba City police.

Victoria Helen Roger-Vasselin was pronounced dead late Thursday at her home at 764 Mariner Loop in an affluent neighborhood on the city’s far south side.

A U.S. Census worker “had been confronted by residents who pointed a firearm at the worker and said they would not answer any questions and closed the door,” said police spokeswoman Shawna Pavey.

When two male officers arrived, 51-year-old Lionel Patterson answered the door, armed with a handgun, police said.

“As officers were dealing with the male, a female approached the door with a shotgun and ignored officers’ orders to release the weapon. As the female advanced on officers, she continued to point the shotgun at officers in a threatening manner and the two officers fired their service weapons, hitting the female,” police said.

http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/family-95100-city-w...

Who was the numbnut RW Media figure who said they'd point a shotgun at a census worker? One point - I don't think census workers should be coming to the door at night.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8387686#8387968

Selected hypocrisy:

lunatica  (1000+ posts)        Fri May-21-10 09:58 PM
Response to Reply #17
26. I disagree
 They dealt with the situation the only correct way. What kind of cops leave a scene when someone is pointing a weapon at them in an obviously threatening way and who also threatened a census worker?

The woman should have put the ****ing weapon down. Did she think the cops were going to leave and just forget the whole incident because she was such a nice person?

npk  (1000+ posts)         Fri May-21-10 09:53 PM
Response to Reply #12
23. The lady came upon them with the shotgun
 The police were trying to deal peacefully with the husband that answered door. The lady left them no choice. The police couldn't have retreated, because the lady kept advancing on them.

I criticize the police a lot for use of force, but if the article is correct, the police tried to talk the lady down, but she blind with hatred and couldn't be talked down.

aikoaiko  (1000+ posts)       Fri May-21-10 09:42 PM
Response to Original message
18. Morbid question...
 

.... Does the 67 get counted or not.



It sounds like she knew what she was doing and paid the price. Stupid. Unnecessary. Tragic. RIP shotgun lady.

The Magistrate  (1000+ posts)        Sat May-22-10 02:57 AM
Response to Reply #80
81. "Sane Or Mad, Ma'am: Rebels Hang."
 My sympathy with armed sedition is nil; people who take up arms against a government ought to expect it to use arms against them, and have little ground for complaint when it does so. This applies whether the people taking up arms against a government do so from the left or the right.

"Mercy by definition is undeserved: were it deserved, it would not be mercy but justice."

TommyO  (1000+ posts)         Sat May-22-10 09:19 AM
Response to Reply #80
90. Inept policing? She had a gun pointed at them and would not lower it
 She was the inept, threatening person here.

Vickers  (1000+ posts)         Sat May-22-10 01:16 AM
Response to Original message
78. One less whack-job to worry about. n/t

And of course it's all the fault of the right:

dgibby  (1000+ posts)         Fri May-21-10 08:43 PM
Response to Original message
1. Looks like Michelle Bachmann had a very bad influence on someone. n/t

Bitwit1234  (1000+ posts)     Fri May-21-10 08:48 PM
Response to Original message
4. Wasn't there a guy on the radio that said he would
 shoot a census worker if they came to his house, or was that Breitbare or whatever his name is.
MargieDee

npk  (1000+ posts)         Fri May-21-10 09:47 PM
Response to Reply #4
19. Probably one of Neal Boortz listeners
 No doubt. His hatred and contempt for Census workers got a lot of right wingers riled up. Yet he sits in his mansion laughing all the way to the bank.

southern_belle (1000+ posts)     Sat May-22-10 12:17 AM
Response to Reply #37
72. Blood on their hands... Bachmann, Rush, Beck, Palin...
 These people and others are encouraging this evil. They have blood on their hands even if they don't want to admit it. If I were to go to one of their rally's I would color my hands with red and hold them up for all to see - "Blood on your hands" would be my sign!

Idiots.
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 


 
 
 
 
 

[thundley4]

I think the cops should have backed away from the door and into the yard. That's the only thing I see wrong with their actions. I doubt this has anything to listening to the radio.  The son said that she was likely confused.

[Ballygrl]

They're such hypocrites!

[diesel driver]

I think the cops should have backed away from the door and into the yard. That's the only thing I see wrong with their actions. I doubt this has anything to listening to the radio.  The son said that she was likely confused.

Agreed!

They weren't serving a subpoena, they weren't conducting a search, they weren't there to arrest anyone, they were just there.  Doesn't matter if she was advancing on them or not, they should have just tipped their hats, said "Have a nice day!" and left.

[Lord Undies]

southern_belle (1000+ posts)     Sat May-22-10 12:17 AM
Response to Reply #37
72. Blood on their hands... Bachmann, Rush, Beck, Palin...
 These people and others are encouraging this evil. They have blood on their hands even if they don't want to admit it. If I were to go to one of their rally's I would color my hands with red and hold them up for all to see - "Blood on your hands" would be my sign!

I would assume you just finished murdering a baby inside his mother's womb.

[Thor]

Last week, a census worker came to our door. We had already filled out and returned the form. Despite the "NO TRESPASSING" signs, the worker STILL approached the door and rang the doorbell. Fortunately for the census worker, Inga answered the door. I had a gun in my hand, at the ready because a stranger was at the door. I almost answered the door, but I was minimally clothed. Had I been the one that answered, that census worker would have been looking at the barrel of a gun, too. **** these assholes!! These census workers that were hired NEVER had ANY form of background check. That leaves it open for criminals to be hired with our tax dollars. Anyways, the premise the census worker used to trespass was that she wanted to know about the house next door.  I wouldn't have been as near as polite as Inga was.

[thundley4]

Anyways, the premise the census worker used to trespass was that she wanted to know about the house next door.   I wouldn't have been as near as polite as Inga was.

That has been happening in several places. The census takers have no authority to ask about neighbors, other than to ask if you know when they might be home.

[The Village Idiot]

Thor gets the medal for courageous restraint.

or maybe we should give it to Inga.

[Randy]

That has been happening in several places. The census takers have no authority to ask about neighbors, other than to ask if you know when they might be home.

They pulled the same crap on my Dad too. He's much more polite than I am but didn't tell them squat.
Now if they'd come to my door, well this lil acorn fell way far away from the tree and we'll just leave it at that.

[Airwolf]

Seeing as how one census worker has been caught working and has a past of child molestation I wouldn't let those assholes in the house etiher since apparently anyone can get that job.

[debk]

One came to our door, a couple of weeks ago.

She drove down the driveway in one of those big SVU's......I'm not a car person, but it was a Lexus.

She was really nice, I told her the envelope was in my car, she said I could get it or answer her questions since she was there.

Told her I would answer her questions with...."there are 3 adults living here". After the second time I said that she asked if I was going to give her any other answers and I said nope.

She said ok, then we chatted.

I told her she was really really dumb to come down my driveway, as no trespassing signs are posted at the front gates of the subdivision and that she was lucky that it wasn't my other half that met her at the door with a gun.

I was really nice to her, and she was nice back...but I told her what I did regarding foreclosures and doing interior inspections, and I said that to step on private property, is just crazy....she told me that they were told that as long as they wore their ID placard so that it was visible hanging around their neck, that "they would be safe because they were government workers"....!!!!!! I told her that would get her shot just as easily as not!

She was by herself, and she said that she calls her husband when she leaves the house and when she gets back home.  I asked her what that was supposed to do to help her if she got in trouble.

She was probably in her mid to late 30's and just didn't have a clue.