Bystander Fired Deadly Shot, Not Officer

There is no date on this, East Baton Rouge, LA

a motorist who was shot and killed along Greenwell Springs Road Friday after a fight with a police officer.
Investigators say an autopsy shows the deadly bullet was fired by a bystander, not the officer.

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http://www.wafb.com/Global/story.asp?S=4527526

the rest of the story from the Shootist

Oldbanger -

Is there some point you would like to make about this incident that took place in 2006? Is there a cogent comment that you would like to share with us?

Drive-by posts are just that.

stay safe.

OK, here's my take away. Sort of a minor "bait the caliber wars" deal. This guy was shot with a .40S&W and then 4 times with .45ACP 230gr federal hydrashok. Finally a 5th .45 shot to the head ended it. Bottom line? Placement is king. Second, if you really thought a .45 would stop a guy with a one shot take down, you're dreaming. Handguns suck. They are under powered and inaccurate. Whatever caliber you choose to use, own it. Practice with it. Practice more, then when you're really good practice a whole lot more. I know there will be the inevitable "Yeah well a 9mm would have done less!" rebuttals. Maybe true. Don't really care because that's not the point. The point is, this guy took 5 shots from .40 and .45 without flinching. So keep that in mind next time you try to explain the "one shot knock down" of a .45. Not knocking or arguing against .45, we just need to really be realistic here.

Relax skidmark. Many people myself included, haven't heard the tale and are glad it was posted.
FWIW I hope everyone learned their lesson. Don't get involved with police incidents.
You may feel sympathetic toward someone getting their head bashed to sh!t, I also am at reading this, but you will only get yourself screwed.

"Harrison, who removed (Stephen's the hero) the magazine, unloaded it, and placed it on the trunk of a car until it could be secured by evidence officers."

"The lieutenant ordered one of the deputies on the scene to get (the citizen's) Stephen’s truck and bring it to the substation. It was deemed too dangerous for Stephens to be allowed to get out of the EBRSO unit and drive his own truck off the lot."

I wonder if they searched the Stephens' home for contraband?

From what I read when this story first came out, Temple went into a "roid rage". The other possibilities are that he was, with his record, mentally unbalanced or high on drugs. When you have any one, or multiples, of those conditions, you have a person who is damn near unstoppable with a handgun.

Notice that the shot that finally ended it was to the head. Even then, Temple was still trying to engage when he finally collapsed.

The best advice is still "shoot to stop the threat". But be prepared for what it may take to "stop the threat."

SFCRetired said:

From what I read when this story first came out, Temple went into a "roid rage". The other possibilities are that he was, with his record, mentally unbalanced or high on drugs. When you have any one, or multiples, of those conditions, you have a person who is damn near unstoppable with a handgun.

Notice that the shot that finally ended it was to the head. Even then, Temple was still trying to engage when he finally collapsed.

The best advice is still "shoot to stop the threat". But be prepared for what it may take to "stop the threat."

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And to add to that, in all "fight or flight" situations the higher levels of adrenalin pumping in the veins will make nearly every BG semi-immune to that mythical one shot knock down unless it's to one of the critical core systems.

My only point is to say that we should all be realistic about what a handgun is really gonna do. It isn't gonna put a bull moose down with one hit unless you are a spectacular aim under intense pressure.

There are more details here for anyone interested.

http://www.theshootist.net/2009/01/one-man-got-involved-perry_12.html

mobiushky said:

And to add to that, in all "fight or flight" situations the higher levels of adrenalin pumping in the veins will make nearly every BG semi-immune to that mythical one shot knock down unless it's to one of the critical core systems.

My only point is to say that we should all be realistic about what a handgun is really gonna do. It isn't gonna put a bull moose down with one hit unless you are a spectacular aim under intense pressure.

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Plenty of big game has been put down with one handgun round. They just might not drop on the spot or if brained or spine will dropped.

I personally killed a 400lb boar 1 round 30 yards 44mag spined him just behind the head dead right there never moved a inch.

What we need to realize is that un like in the movies people don't get blown off their feet. And with even very deadly shots it can take seconds to die.

One just has to read some Medal of Honor accounts to realize what a shot up motivated person can do.

Then read accounts what a druged up person who is feeling no pain and doesn't care can do.

What one learns is to shoot and keep on shooting till the threat is stopped.

Firearms Iinstuctor said:

Plenty of big game has been put down with one handgun round. They just might not drop on the spot or if brained or spine will dropped.

I personally killed a 400lb boar 1 round 30 yards 44mag spined him just behind the head dead right there never moved a inch.

What we need to realize is that un like in the movies people don't get blown off their feet. And with even very deadly shots it can take seconds to die.

One just has to read some Medal of Honor accounts to realize what a shot up motivated person can do.

Then read accounts what a druged up person who is feeling no pain and doesn't care can do.

What one learns is to shoot and keep on shooting till the threat is stopped.

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Exactly. If you could shoot a bullseye shot to the eye socket of a human with a .22 while they were running at you and you were pounding with adrenaline and sweat, you'd probably stop him too. But because nobody has that kind of skill, pretty much all handguns suck for the "firefight" scenario. I'm just saying that the mentality of ".45 is a god stopper" is a bit far fetched. In actual situations it's just as under powered as the rest really. Or to put it another way, no matter what caliber you shoot prepare to keep pulling the trigger until the threat has stopped. That might be 2-3 rounds or more.

EDIT: this might explain my reason. I've talked to a lot of people (not on this board) who think that a single shot with a .45 will stop anyone cold. So they don't practice much and when they do they never practice 3 round bursts. They only practice a single shot. You know they won't be able to control that recoil if they need to shoot 3-4 rounds quickly because they don't practice it. That's all.

Heck, just for giggles, how many of you on this board have dumped a full magazine from your EDC as fast as you can possible do it at a clean target to see what you can do? I've done it. After the 3rd shot it get's a little hairy. That's the day I realized how much more practice I need.

When seconds count. Had the civilian not intervened that cop would be dead.
The lawsuit better fall into the gutter..

Yaki said:

When seconds count. Had the civilian not intervened that cop would be dead.
The lawsuit better fall into the gutter..

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I've been trying to find info, but stumped about if the suit was dropped or kicked out. Nothing so far. The plaintiff was Karlyn King and she listed the city, the police, and both Harrison and Stephens apparently. I think it was filed in 2008.

mobiushky said:

I've been trying to find info, but stumped about if the suit was dropped or kicked out. Nothing so far. The plaintiff was Karlyn King and she listed the city, the police, and both Harrison and Stephens apparently. I think it was filed in 2008.

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She is just fishing for a payday.....

Firearms Iinstuctor said:

Plenty of big game has been put down with one handgun round. They just might not drop on the spot or if brained or spine will dropped.

I personally killed a 400lb boar 1 round 30 yards 44mag spined him just behind the head dead right there never moved a inch.

What we need to realize is that un like in the movies people don't get blown off their feet. And with even very deadly shots it can take seconds to die.

One just has to read some Medal of Honor accounts to realize what a shot up motivated person can do.

Then read accounts what a druged up person who is feeling no pain and doesn't care can do.

What one learns is to shoot and keep on shooting till the threat is stopped.

Click to expand...

I was Boar hunting in TN when I was younger and I was hunting with a man who was using an 8" Ruger Super Redhawk in .44 Magnum. This guy was using 240 grain JSP rounds, and shot a 300 lb. sow 8 times with no effect. Another man who was with us was carrying a TC pistol (don't remember what model or what round was used) chambered for .30-06, and allowed the man to use it to put her down. The man shot the sow with the .30-06 one time, and the sow was still fighting. Our guide decided to intervene and had to corner the beast and stab it several times with his knife (a real pig sticker, haha) before it expired. I will admit that not all of the shots were placed exactly where they needed to be, but that is a lot of lead and kinetic energy to walk away from. The truth is we can't expect any cartridge to incapacitate a person with one shot from a handgun or rifle, and normally it will take many rounds before they fall.