Questioning your government entities is our civic responsibility. We don't hate cops or the government. Our intention isn't to blame the police for this whole situation, that would be absurd. We are simply asking the questions that challenge our police force to be even better. We live in a very peaceful community but there are times when cops respond inappropriately- it is pure simple human nature. In this case, as friends and primary witnesses, we truly believe this incident may have been mishandled. We have chosen to bring attention to this issue in an effort to prevent situations like these from recurring, and to facilitate an intelligent dialogue on how to better handle situations like these. We come from the best intentions and truly love and value the members of our community. Let's work together to inspire change!
-Evan and Cassie
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22 comments:
I was there as I live right down the road and I am sorry all this had to happen and I am sure he was a great person and I hope he will always be remembered for those things. However while the area was blocked a random shot fired from his gun could have killed an innocent person. The fact is the police were not there to protect him from himself but to protect others from what he might do. In the end it ended in his death, but until your ready to step up and put yourself in there shoes and put yourself in the line fire then you have no right to blame the police for anything. I am very grateful that they were there to protect my loved ones from someone out of there mind with grief and anger and hurt.
When i questioned why a police officer was following me around here in tooele - THEY DECIDED TO PUT ME IN UNI
the reason he blockaded hiself in his truck is he feared for his life
he was afraid he would be beaten down like a dog or killed
his fears were correct
I completely agree with brandon.
And James, I used to work at UNI. You probably deserved to go there.
nobody ever deserves to be treatet like a loon or a criminal
a scared and caged animal will always defend itself
This hole situation was handled totally wrong! He was not going anywhere and the worse thing he could have done was to shoot himself. I don't understand why they needed 300 cops when they could have simply put a few around the perimiter and waited 3 days, 3 weeks or 3 months until he had a chance to think thru what was going on. We spend 1,000,000 saving peoples lives in hospitals and this would have ended most likley with him calming down. It seems to me that it had been 10 hours and all the police had hoped to be home to watch a football game after they had put in there 8 hours. I will admit I may not have every last detail but it sure stinks of stupiditity from what I do know.
This hole situation was handled totally wrong! He was not going anywhere and the worse thing he could have done was to shoot himself. I don't understand why they needed 300 cops when they could have simply put a few around the perimiter and waited 3 days, 3 weeks or 3 months until he had a chance to think thru what was going on. We spend 1,000,000 saving peoples lives in hospitals and this would have ended most likley with him calming down. It seems to me that it had been 10 hours and all the police had hoped to be home to watch a football game after they had put in there 8 hours. I will admit I may not have every last detail but it sure stinks of stupiditity from what I do know.
This hole situation was handled totally wrong! He was not going anywhere and the worse thing he could have done was to shoot himself. I don't understand why they needed 300 cops when they could have simply put a few around the perimiter and waited 3 days, 3 weeks or 3 months until he had a chance to think thru what was going on. We spend 1,000,000 saving peoples lives in hospitals and this would have ended most likley with him calming down. It seems to me that it had been 10 hours and all the police had hoped to be home to watch a football game after they had put in there 8 hours. I will admit I may not have every last detail but it sure stinks of stupiditity from what I do know.
I'm sorry about your friend and neighbor. But I strongly feel your blame and anger are misplaced.
That is normal. A man is dead when he shouldnt be. Someone needs to be held accountable.
Unfortunatly the man who should be holding that accountability is not able to answer for his actions.
The truth of the matter is Brian Wood had a "history of domestic violence". He also had TWO loaded firearms and was not afraid to use them. How would you feel if one of the shots Brian Wood fired ended up in your childs bedroom? Those bullets have to end up somewhere.
Finally, lets not forget why the cops were there in the first place. Brian Wood was NOT a victim of circumstance. What he should have done was put down his weapons, and gone quietly.
Who exactly would you be blogging about if Wood had used one of those firearms on his wife? You would like to say he wouldnt. He may not have. But, he was obviously in a frame of mind where using a firearm on a human being was not out of the question.
I ask that before you post your angry response that you really try to understand what I'm saying.
I'm sorry about your friend. But, don't blame the police for Wood's bad choice.
Dear "glb", I'd like to officially inform you that you're an idiot. Don't play the "logic" card. The last time I checked, police officers are supposed to be trained that this country's criminal law rests on innocent until proven guilty. So, to "logically" deduce that this man would be a danger to them and others based upon his obvious choice to #1 remove himself from the company of others #2 call the police on himself #3 remain on his own property...the list goes on. These officers did aggravate the situation, leading to the tragic climax. It's laughable that they claim it's a police policy to not allow close family/friends to diffuse the situation, when the police chief says we "generally" follow that policy. What the hell kind of policy is it if you only "generally" follow it? Do they also have a policy of "we only generally don't try to shoot people who aren't putting others in danger?" Give me a freakin' break. Granted Brian had some issues, but since when does one adrenaline-charged and impatient officer get license to be judge, jury and executioner? And people like you support that behavior? He comes from a great family and I'm sure he was a good man. We can fault him for being weak enough to fire a weapon at an undeserving garbage can, but we most definitely cannot condone the bone-headed decisions of law enforcement that night.
I think a lot of the anger here is misplaced towards the officer who fired the shot and not to the supposedly clear thinking people who put him/her in this position. Yes Brian shares some of the blame but lets remember here for whatever reason he was not thinking clearly and up to the final solution the only shot he had fired was at a defenseless garbage can. So at this point in time he was dependant on the clear and foward thinking minds who are behind the badge to not only protect the neighborhood but Brian as well.
At first they did a great job clearing the neighborhood of potential victims and then it went all wrong. There was never a need for any officer to be in harms way once the neighborhood was cleared they simply need to lay seige and wait! Not bring 300 potential targets into view and start poking at Brian with all the non-lethal force they had in a supposed effort to save him from himself.
Think about it from a common sense point the man is stressed for whatever reason and yes he clearly needs help. So instead of taking the leasons that were learned in such disasters as Ruby Ridge and Waco the powers that be thought it best to antagonize the situation so they could force the outcome. To what end now there is a family that has lost a son, father and husband and a police officer who has to live with the fact they were forced into a situation of having to take a mans life.
In my opinion this may have ended the same way or even with Brian's suicide but we will never know. Sometimes even though in the words of Tom Petty "the waitng is the hardest part" it may also be the right thing to do.
If you don't break the law than you don't have any thing to fear. When an officer is on the scene they are the one to make decisions. If the retard with the gun would have pulled his head out of his A** and obeyed the lawful orders he would have had his day in court.
The fact remains is the Police did not decide to shoot him, he made the choices to put him self in the position where the consequence was to be shot. I am 100% positive the Officers involved did not wake up get ready for work kiss there wife and kids good by, and say daddy is going to kill some one today. No one wants to pull that trigger and take away someones right to better there life, but Police did what was best for everyone's safety.
He made the choice to not comply.
"If you don't break the law than you don't have any thing to fear."
Then we all have to fear, because we are all likely lawbreakers. With hundreds of thousands of local, State and Federal laws, it is very easy to become a lawbreaker.
The police in this case claimed that tear gas and flash grenades are "tools of peaceful resolution". What are so peaceful about potent gasses and large flashes of light? These are tools of confrontation and war.
Any one of us can be found in a similar situation; it should be our hope that the police would do all truly peaceful means in their power (including allowing friends and relatives to negotiate) to resolve the situation.
This is in response to the comment they should have waited 3 weeks or months for it to end. I'm sorry but this wasn't just effecting Brian this was effecting the neighborhood and their lives as well I live down the street. You can't put the whole neighborhood in danger for 3 months while one person calms down and puts the gun away! Also they did try to negotiate with him I live down the street and could hear them pleading with him to put down the gun so don't assume that the cops got gun happy and didn't try to end it peacefully!
I love it if you don't break the law you have nothing to fear! When was the last time you took a drive on I-15? This state has some of the most aggresive law breaking citizens of anywhere I have lived, maybe we need snipers at the ready and next time they see a tail gater then can drop them on the spot.
My lord do you people not get it once the neighbohood was cleared there was no need to force the situation unless Brian escalated it and if that is the case I will support what the police did. This is even what the FBI teaches after they looked at the mistakes they had made in their previous stand offs.
Kenzi are you really naive enough to think that Brian could have held the police off for months by himself?
Oh and Abraham if you are really looking not to offend it is Re*** and ass not the other way around!
Once again this number 300 keeps showing up there was no where near 300 officers there maybe if you count the masses of families who were endangering themselves and there children just to see what what was happening and if you think that the cops are going to let some guy walk into the middle of the situation because he knows the gunman your crazy now 1 thing that has been misreported on this website and the lovely new is that HIS FAMILY WAS ABLE TO TALK TO HIM FIRST THING WHEN THE WHOLE THING STARTED AND LET ME REMIND YOU THAT HE CALLED 911 AND SAID "COME GET ME" the police are not going to let a bunch of random people just walk up to him and start chatting as somebody knows Brian he CLEARLY was not in his right mind he shot into his garbage can and at least once at cops since he was not in his right I don't think that a good ol buddie would have done anything his parents couldn't talk him out so I don't think some random guy from down the street could have either
You guys that want to cast judgement on Brian with out knowing the truth, Make me sick. Most of you just love playing off other peoples pain. All you have heard at this piont is what the Chief wanted you to hear. Have you ever sat back and wondered why they tried to lie about the way he died. And now it is under invesigation, open your damn eyes and ears there is a reason they are doing this. Its the truth so deal with it.
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