HankT
State Researcher
imported post
(title s/b Oakland cop advised woman to "get a gun")
Sometimes the coppers get it right.Even the Oakland coppers...
In general, I think that a any woman who is actually being threatened by the man in her life, or the ex out of it, should be put on a fast track to purchase a gun and get training for it. Maybe even havethe gubm'nt issue the firearm to the woman. I dunno... I hate to see these cases. All it takes is a goof with a broken heart and a gun (usually) and it's curtains for the woman. Not fair.
Interesting details, too, the investigators picked up aboutHans Reisor's bookpurchase. I wonder if they pulled his Internet forum posts...
Nina Reiser told to arm self
Ex-Oakland cop says he advised woman after observing Hans' 'hostility'
By Chris Metinko, STAFF WRITER
Article Last Updated:11/30/2007 02:45:37 AM PST
An Oakland police officer familiar with the Reiser family said he told Nina Reiser she should get a gun after watching her estranged husband's aggressive behavior toward her.
Ben Denson, now a retired Oakland police officer, took the witness stand Thursday in the Reiser trial and described how for a year he watched Nina and Hans Reiser exchange their two children at the Police Administration Building in downtown Oakland during 2005 as he worked the patrol desk.
"My impression was that she was a caring, loving mother," Denson said, adding he would have short conversations with her as she waited for Hans to return the kids to her on Wednesday evenings.
Though Nina came across that way, Denson said he had a very different view of Hans Reiser, who is charged with the murder of his wife.
"It was my impression the defendant displayed hostility toward Nina," Denson said. "I would call it barely restrained aggression."
Denson said he would often follow the couple outside to make sure nothing ensued. He admitted, however, that Hans Reiser never got physical with his wife.
Prosecutor Paul Hora asked if Denson ever gave Nina any advice on how to handle Hans, and Denson related one incident when he told Nina to protect herself.
"There was one occasion where the defendant was looking at her — there was menace in his eyes," Denson said. "I told her, 'You need to get yourself a gun.'"
William DuBois, Reiser's defense attorney, pointed out that in Denson's 27 years on the police force he has never testified for the defense in any case.
Denson was the second person to take the stand Thurs-day in what became a parade of witnesses, with five people taking the oath. Earlier in the morning, the prosecution called Sandra Rudd to the stand.
Rudd was an employee of the now-closed Barnes and Noble bookstore on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley.
Rudd testified Hans paid cash for two books on Sept. 8, 2006, five days after his wife, Nina Reiser, went missing. The books were "Masterpieces of Murder" and "Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets."
Rudd said she did not recall the transaction and could not tell for sure if the man in the store's video surveillance was Hans Reiser, but agreed from reading the receipt that the purchased occurred.
Rudd also said, based on looking at the receipt, that Reiser did not use his Barnes and Noble membership card — something he did have. Hora claimed in his opening statements that, along with paying cash, there were signs Reiser did not want the purchase to be tracked.
Mary Aima, a teacher at Grand Lake Montessori, and Helen Campbell, founder and principal of the school, also testified Thursday. The Reiser children attended Grand Lake Montessori.
Both Aima and Campbell told the jury Nina always seemed to put the couple's children first.
Campbell also testified about a meeting she attended with Hans, Nina and teachers of the couple's oldest child, Rory. The teachers were concerned Rory had weak fingers and was falling behind in learning writing skills — something to which Hans Reiser seemed to take offense.
Campbell said Hans Reiser seemed upset at both Nina and the teachers during the meeting, speaking through clenched teeth at times to his estranged wife. Campbell called Hans "extremely hostile" at the meeting. She also recounted another encounter with Hans when he told Campbell Nina was affiliated with the KGB and was a "good liar."
Nina Reiser, who had been awarded legal and physical custody of the couple's two children, was last seen alive Sept. 3, 2006.
At the time, she and Hans Reiser were involved in bitter divorce proceedings. Nina Reiser's body has never been found despite exhaustive searches in the Oakland hills and elsewhere.
The Reiser trial is set to continue Monday at 10 a.m.
http://origin.insidebayarea.com/timesstar/localnews/ci_7599067
(title s/b Oakland cop advised woman to "get a gun")
Sometimes the coppers get it right.Even the Oakland coppers...
In general, I think that a any woman who is actually being threatened by the man in her life, or the ex out of it, should be put on a fast track to purchase a gun and get training for it. Maybe even havethe gubm'nt issue the firearm to the woman. I dunno... I hate to see these cases. All it takes is a goof with a broken heart and a gun (usually) and it's curtains for the woman. Not fair.
Interesting details, too, the investigators picked up aboutHans Reisor's bookpurchase. I wonder if they pulled his Internet forum posts...
Nina Reiser told to arm self
Ex-Oakland cop says he advised woman after observing Hans' 'hostility'
By Chris Metinko, STAFF WRITER
Article Last Updated:11/30/2007 02:45:37 AM PST
An Oakland police officer familiar with the Reiser family said he told Nina Reiser she should get a gun after watching her estranged husband's aggressive behavior toward her.
Ben Denson, now a retired Oakland police officer, took the witness stand Thursday in the Reiser trial and described how for a year he watched Nina and Hans Reiser exchange their two children at the Police Administration Building in downtown Oakland during 2005 as he worked the patrol desk.
"My impression was that she was a caring, loving mother," Denson said, adding he would have short conversations with her as she waited for Hans to return the kids to her on Wednesday evenings.
Though Nina came across that way, Denson said he had a very different view of Hans Reiser, who is charged with the murder of his wife.
"It was my impression the defendant displayed hostility toward Nina," Denson said. "I would call it barely restrained aggression."
Denson said he would often follow the couple outside to make sure nothing ensued. He admitted, however, that Hans Reiser never got physical with his wife.
Prosecutor Paul Hora asked if Denson ever gave Nina any advice on how to handle Hans, and Denson related one incident when he told Nina to protect herself.
"There was one occasion where the defendant was looking at her — there was menace in his eyes," Denson said. "I told her, 'You need to get yourself a gun.'"
William DuBois, Reiser's defense attorney, pointed out that in Denson's 27 years on the police force he has never testified for the defense in any case.
Denson was the second person to take the stand Thurs-day in what became a parade of witnesses, with five people taking the oath. Earlier in the morning, the prosecution called Sandra Rudd to the stand.
Rudd was an employee of the now-closed Barnes and Noble bookstore on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley.
Rudd testified Hans paid cash for two books on Sept. 8, 2006, five days after his wife, Nina Reiser, went missing. The books were "Masterpieces of Murder" and "Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets."
Rudd said she did not recall the transaction and could not tell for sure if the man in the store's video surveillance was Hans Reiser, but agreed from reading the receipt that the purchased occurred.
Rudd also said, based on looking at the receipt, that Reiser did not use his Barnes and Noble membership card — something he did have. Hora claimed in his opening statements that, along with paying cash, there were signs Reiser did not want the purchase to be tracked.
Mary Aima, a teacher at Grand Lake Montessori, and Helen Campbell, founder and principal of the school, also testified Thursday. The Reiser children attended Grand Lake Montessori.
Both Aima and Campbell told the jury Nina always seemed to put the couple's children first.
Campbell also testified about a meeting she attended with Hans, Nina and teachers of the couple's oldest child, Rory. The teachers were concerned Rory had weak fingers and was falling behind in learning writing skills — something to which Hans Reiser seemed to take offense.
Campbell said Hans Reiser seemed upset at both Nina and the teachers during the meeting, speaking through clenched teeth at times to his estranged wife. Campbell called Hans "extremely hostile" at the meeting. She also recounted another encounter with Hans when he told Campbell Nina was affiliated with the KGB and was a "good liar."
Nina Reiser, who had been awarded legal and physical custody of the couple's two children, was last seen alive Sept. 3, 2006.
At the time, she and Hans Reiser were involved in bitter divorce proceedings. Nina Reiser's body has never been found despite exhaustive searches in the Oakland hills and elsewhere.
The Reiser trial is set to continue Monday at 10 a.m.
http://origin.insidebayarea.com/timesstar/localnews/ci_7599067