In the name of Officer Gary Michael, and now Officer Christopher Morton
Last night, March 6th, 2018, three Clinton Missouri police officers responded to a 911 call traced by the 911 Dispatch center. A woman answered the door and told the officers that no one called 911, and that there was no one else in the house. The officers verified the address with Dispatch, who told them that the initial call included screaming from two women. The officers decided to make entry based on this info. When they entered the residence they were confronted by James Waters, a man with an extensive criminal record.
Waters opened fire on the officers as they entered the house. One officer was slightly wounded, another was shot in the leg. But the third officer, 30 year old Christopher Ryan Morton, an Army veteran with two tours to Iraq was hit multiple times. Morton took cover inside a room in the house, returning fire, as the other two officers, also shooting retreated from the residence. Transcripts from the radio dispatch of that night reveal that Morton was hit in the arm, leg, vest, abdomen and head. He kept transmitting for several minutes, letting the officers and dispatch know where he was in the house. Then silence.
State Patrol SWAT, as well as neighboring Bates County SWAT arrived at the scene some time later. They made entry into the house, and removed Morton, who was quickly transported to the local hospital. But it was too late. Christopher Ryan Morton died almost 7 months to the day after Officer Gary Michael was killed during a traffic stop.
At 12:10 AM the SWAT teams made entry again, and found Waters in the bathroom dead. Police have not released whether he was killed from gunshots from the officers, or if he died of self inflicted wounds.
In fact, other than what I have written above, not much else has been released. The radio transcript from the officers says they were taking fire from a semi-automatic rifle, but the police have not confirmed what type of weapon Waters had.
But yet, the weapon doesn't matter. What is known, what makes me absolutely furious over this entire episode is the fact that Waters was a CONVICTED VIOLENT FELON, and prohibited by law from possessing a gun. In fact, he was charged with that very crime in November:
Court records show Waters had a history of convictions for drugs and resisting arrest. He served stints in prison from October 2000 through November 2002, May 2003 through April 2008, July 2008 through October 2012 and May 2014 through last July, according to Missouri Department of Corrections spokesman Garry Brix.
Waters was charged in November in Missouri's Cass County with unlawful possession of a firearm and drug possession, court records show. He pleaded not guilty, and the case was pending when he died.
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It has been learned that dispatch traced the 911 call to the wrong address. However, based on the information that the officers had at the time, I cannot fault them for making entry into the house. As it turns out, the woman who came to the door, Tammy Widget has been charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver and maintaining a public nuisance. They were drug dealers.
Had that happen to me once in KC. Cops at the door claiming a 911 call from my address which didn't happen. They had guns pulled and I begged them to call back the dispatcher who figured out that they wanted the same address but a street over. Freaked me out that that could happen.
I saw this story on the national news last night. So sad that a a guy can make it back from a war zone, and die on the wrong 911 call, by a felon with a gun. He still looks like a kid to me. My heart goes out to his family.
RIP Officers.
"Tell me we need more laws on guns, and I will tell you in the name of Officer Michael, and Officer Morton: Go to Hell."
So because the law doesn't prevent all criminals from getting their hands on guns we should just abandon all gun laws and restrictions, right? Why even make it illegal for a felon to possess a fire arm if they can just break the law, right? Why even lock the doors on our homes each night since there are no locks that burglars can't get around if they really want to get into your home, right? Since criminals are only considered criminals because they broke our laws, let's just ditch all gun laws and theft laws and assault laws, because criminals still get guns, steal stuff and assault people, so why even have the law? Right? That seems to be the premise of this seed, am I missing something?
Yep. Your fallacious reasoning falls flat on its face with this real life example of failure of current laws to keep us safe. It's not the law, its the enforcement of it. This guy was out on bond. Facing a court appearance on charges of a felon in possession. And yet, he still obtained a weapon. And your answer is to add more laws, which do nothing but hand tie the law abiding. Why not pass a law that eliminates bond for a felon in possession?
The problem is you and your camp want to focus on the gun. It's not the gun that's the problem. You ignore the problem because you think the gun is a ripe target. You're too afraid to take on the real problem. You're too afraid to take on the HIPPA laws to allow easier reporting of the batshit crazy to prevent them from getting a gun. You're too afraid to take on the ACLU and the civil rights whiners to address felons and their actions. The problem here is not the gun, it's a felon able to get the gun. And rather than go after THAT, you want to go after the gun.
One guy, who wasn't supposed to have a gun, used one to kill an officer that night. Yet roughly 300,000,000 guns, did not kill anyone that night. Yet you want to go after the gun.