imported post
Just a bit of background on this particular arrest.
Todd Sanford, the man who comitted suicide, shot himself in the head with a 44 caliber handgun. he did this when approached by a county sheriff deputy who was going to arrest him for Murder.
Todd Sanford had an arrest warrant pending for an open murder charge. He had shot a man, Steven Sampier, who was dating his ex-girlfriend. He shot Steven Sampier at the Sampier residence once in the back and once in the back of the head. Todd then set fire to the home in an effort to cover up the evidence. He later confessed the killing to his ex girlfriend. I suspect that he may have also confessed to some others because the media reported that he was rumored to be Mr. Sampier's killer for several weeks before the warrant ws issued. He also left a video tape confession of the killing at his residence and swore that he would take a lot of cops with him before he comitted suicide.
Todd Sanford was a very close friend of Patrick as well as Patrick's business partner. Todd Sanford was also an ex State Trooper for the state of Michigan. He found that job boring and moved on to owning a night club. He was also well regarded by his neighbors and many business owners nearby. So, he wasn't a "monster" but was someone who probably should have sought some mental health care.
I've posted this background information so that you all may be made aware that this was a very emotionally charged situation. According to the news reports, Patrick was told not once, but twice, to vacate the scene, after which things turned into a wrestling match. I cannot say if the order to leave was a lawful order, however I do believe that it would have been in Patrick's best interest to have complied. Because of the background of rumors concerning the Steven Sampier killing and his business partner's involvement, I suspect that Patrick felt a great deal of animosity towrds the Jackson PD, I have no doubt that some of the Jackson PD was the source of some of the rumors. I suspect that today Patrick feels even more animosity. Which will do nothing to get the charges that he is facing dropped.
So, this is not a typical cop vs. Open Carry arrest. It was a very emotionally charged confrontation with a bit of history, andprobably animosity present on both sides. What Patrick should have done was leave when he was first told to leave. Instead, he chose to grab a video camera and film the "action", and that action that was almost sure to lead to an escalation, given the back story. As my father always told me, "two wrongs don't make a right", and in this case both sides were probably Wrong to some degree.