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Asst. coach pulls gun on soccer dad, Fruitport, Mi.

Cozmacozmy

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I'm new hear so if this is not the place for this I apologize...




http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/muskegon_county/assistant-coach-pulls-gun-on-soccer-dad

[align=left] Asst. coach pulls gun on soccer dadCoach was arrested for felonious assaultUpdated: Monday, 17 May 2010, 7:21 PM EDT
Published : Monday, 17 May 2010, 9:34 AM EDT[/align]By Leon Hendrix
FRUITPORT TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) - An assistant coach for the Fruitport Soccer Club was arrested after a game at Pine Park on Saturday afternoon.
Police said several parents confronted James Sherrill on the field after witnessing the coach yelling and swearing at the boys, ages 8-10, who were playing the game.
After the initial confrontation was broken up, another parent approached Sherrill as he was leaving. That is when police said Sherrill pulled a concealed 9mm handgun from its holster.
When the gun was pointed at her husband, Adam Eikenberry, Chevon Eikenberry was shocked.
"Especially in Fruitport -- I mean, you don't hear of that at a kids' soccer game," she said.
Said Fruitport Public Safety Department Chief Paul Smutz: "He said, 'If you don't back off, I'm gonna shoot you.' "
"It was terrrible," Eikenberry said. "Awful -- I mean, to know that he had it right there on the field with our children? That is horrible."
Sherrill then drove himself to the police department to report what happened, according to officers. He was then arrested for felonious assault and will be arraigned May 28.
While Sherrill did have a permit to carry the handgun, firearms are not allowed at sports arenas or stadiums. It will be up to the prosecutor to determine if he violated the law by having it at a park where there are soccer fields and baseball diamonds.
Police confiscated the coach's gun.
Several people witnessed the incident in the packed park, Smutz said, as hundreds of children and their parents were there for games at the various fields.
Sherrill was not a "rostered coach," and the entire staff is made up of volunteers, said a representative from the Fruitport Soccer Club. Sherrill was a parent who came down from the stands for a few minutes when the coach was distracted, club representative Carrie Whipple told 24 Hour News 8.
"He's fantastic with the children and I just want people to know he's a fantastic guy," Whipple said. "It's just an unfortunate situation."
Chevon Eikenberry disagrees.
"I don't know why they're backing this guy," she said. "Where the guy pulled the gun at and where my husband was standing -- if he would have shot the gun and missed my husband, there was a whole park full of kids right there."
24 Hour News 8 caught up with Sherrill at his home. He walked away without comment.
 

SpringerXDacp

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"I don't know why they're backing this guy," she said. "Where the guy pulled the gun at and where my husband was standing -- if he would have shot the gun and missed my husband, there was a whole park full of kids right there."


ROFL :lol:
 

Taurus850CIA

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Not enough info to make an informed decision on the matter. However:


Cozmacozmy wrote:
While Sherrill did have a permit to carry the handgun, firearms are not allowed at sports arenas or stadiums. It will be up to the prosecutor to determine if he violated the law by having it at a park where there are soccer fields and baseball diamonds.
It appears to be a municipal park. Gotta love media.
 

WARCHILD

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While Sherrill did have a permit to carry the handgun, firearms are not allowed at sports arenas or stadiums.

Once again media drama by misinformation. Will they ever learn?

Not enough info (big surprise) to make a judgment on this one yet.

How did the guy approach him...aggressively?
How close was he?
Did Sherrill have fear for his personal safety?
Did Sherrill ask him to back off or just grab his gun to intimidate?

Without full information all discussion is speculation.

JMO
 

SpringerXDacp

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Taurus850CIA wrote:
Not enough info to make an informed decision on the matter. However:


Cozmacozmy wrote:
While Sherrill did have a permit to carry the handgun, firearms are not allowed at sports arenas or stadiums. It will be up to the prosecutor to determine if he violated the law by having it at a park where there are soccer fields and baseball diamonds.
It appears to be a municipal park. Gotta love media.
I researched Pine Park last night and it's not listed as a county or city park--I may have over looked it though.
 

Taurus850CIA

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, Michigan, USA
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SpringerXDacp wrote:
Taurus850CIA wrote:
Not enough info to make an informed decision on the matter. However:


Cozmacozmy wrote:
While Sherrill did have a permit to carry the handgun, firearms are not allowed at sports arenas or stadiums. It will be up to the prosecutor to determine if he violated the law by having it at a park where there are soccer fields and baseball diamonds.
It appears to be a municipal park. Gotta love media.
I researched Pine Park last night and it's not listed as a county or city park--I may have over looked it though.
It's green on the map. Generally, that indicates public property. As of now that's all I can go on. The email address for William Watson (the parks person) in Muskegon Heights is bad, and nobody answers the phone.
 

Savage.Detroit

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Not buying this so far. Looking at some of the comments it seems it may have been the other way around with a nutty parent going after the coach. If the coach felt like he was in danger than he is actually the victim.
 

lil_freak_66

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Savage.Detroit wrote:
Not buying this so far. Looking at some of the comments it seems it may have been the other way around with a nutty parent going after the coach. If the coach felt like he was in danger than he is actually the victim.
hopefully that is how it is,ive seen soccer people get really violent over the game.
 

eastmeyers

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Savage.Detroit wrote:
Not buying this so far. Looking at some of the comments it seems it may have been the other way around with a nutty parent going after the coach. If the coach felt like he was in danger than he is actually the victim.

+1

This was my thinking when I first herd the story.

God Bless
 

Bronson

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Cozmacozmy wrote:
"He said, 'If you don't back off, I'm gonna shoot you.'
This is where it might fall apart for him. Were I arguing this case I would say that any threat from the parent wasn't immidiate enough to warrant the use of deadly force.

If it's time to pullthe gunit's time to shoot. If it's not time to shoot then leave it holstered. You do not threaten with it. You do not give warning shots. You do not paint him with your laser sight and hope he sees it and changes his mind. If it is time to point a firearm at another human being it has to be the time for you to fire in defense of your life.

Just my take.

Bronson
 

autosurgeon

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Bronson wrote:
Cozmacozmy wrote:
"He said, 'If you don't back off, I'm gonna shoot you.'
This is where it might fall apart for him. Were I arguing this case I would say that any threat from the parent wasn't immidiate enough to warrant the use of deadly force.

If it's time to pullthe gunit's time to shoot. If it's not time to shoot then leave it holstered. You do not threaten with it. You do not give warning shots. You do not paint him with your laser sight and hope he sees it and changes his mind. If it is time to point a firearm at another human being it has to be the time for you to fire in defense of your life.

Just my take.

Bronson
However if you drew your gun and the perp backed down would you still shoot? :uhoh:
 

lil_freak_66

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i personally believe that in certain circumstances,merely drawing a weapon can make the threat diminish.

id much rather see the coach draw to stop the threat,than shoot to stop the threat.

not brandishing if you have significant reason to draw!



but if he was OC he wouldnt have even needed to draw!



soccer people are very very violent...havent you seen the countless riot videos of soccer fans at stadiums?
 

Bronson

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autosurgeon wrote:
However if you drew your gun and the perp backed down would you still shoot? :uhoh:

Absoluetly not. The purpose is to get theattacker to stop and if seeing the gun makes them stop then mission accomplished. But, I would not pull the gun andthreaten with it. If the gun has to come out the time for threats is past. If you have time to make threats and posture then the threat of great bodily harm isn't immediate enough, IMO.

Bronson
 

American Sheepdog

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Bronson wrote:
Cozmacozmy wrote:
"He said, 'If you don't back off, I'm gonna shoot you.'
This is where it might fall apart for him. Were I arguing this case I would say that any threat from the parent wasn't immidiate enough to warrant the use of deadly force.

If it's time to pullthe gunit's time to shoot. If it's not time to shoot then leave it holstered. You do not threaten with it. You do not give warning shots. You do not paint him with your laser sight and hope he sees it and changes his mind. If it is time to point a firearm at another human being it has to be the time for you to fire in defense of your life.

Just my take.

Bronson
I can see your point, and it sounds like a good policy to behold for sure. You are certainly a responsible gun owner. But there is a time in recent history where the brandishing of weapons deterred crime. I am a veteran of Katrina, and part of the survival mode that lawful citizens took was to make big signs saying, "You loot, we shoot!" They brandished their firearms and kept crime at bay. I, as a former police officer, did in fact have to draw my weapon on violent persons wielding weapons. I did not have to fire my weapon. The mere fact that I was armed and willing to defend myself by brandishing my weapon made the violent persons back down and submit. By saying, "back off or else", is wholly lawful. I've even done this as a civilian, and protected my wife and children on the street. Brandishing a weapon is lawful when life, limb, and property are directly jeopardized. It is not for the faint of heart! I believe, that holding a policy that, if I skin it, I must shoot it, removes the ability to retract a shooting if things calm down. This is why I only Open Carry! It helps to remove the necessity to brandish my sidearm because a possible assailant already knows I'm ready to defend. If Open Carry is not enough to deter, then I know the stakes are high, and that the assailant is not concerned at all with my safety. The threat level has just been raised dramatically.
So, to end, Open Carry can be construed to be somewhat of a brandishing, without brandishing! It is a awesome deterrent! but always remember that no form of carry is 100% effective, and no form of shoot, don't shoot policy can be transferred to every scenario. Be careful when pointing and shooting based on the belief that, if I pull it, I must shoot it. This will burn you! What if he turns his back as you pull it and point it? Do we shoot someone in the back based on an entrenched shoot, don't shoot policy? Take care to review this policy. I only wish for you not to have to defend yourself in court based on this policy.
God speed!
 

kyleplusitunes

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why do NRA videos tell you to dial 911, throw the phone down, then shout to the intruder in a home invasion that you are armed, and if they do not leave immediatly they will be shot?

this is the same thing isn't it?
 

SpringerXDacp

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http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2010/05/soccer_dad_claims_he_was_tryin.html

In part:

Eikenberry said that, as other parents began to disperse from the soccer field area, he approached Sherrill near the field to “thank him” for stepping in to coach.

“I went up behind him and said, ‘Thanks a lot for stepping up to coach. It’s about time someone coached these boys,’” Eikenberry said.

At that point, Sherrill told him “if I didn’t like it, I should volunteer,” Eikenberry said.

Eikenberry said he didn’t understand why Sherrill thought it was an attack on him. “I even shook the guy’s hand,” he said.

But then things escalated, Eikenberry said.
 

Bronson

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kyleplusitunes wrote:
why do NRA videos tell you to dial 911, throw the phone down, then shout to the intruder in a home invasion that you are armed, and if they do not leave immediatly they will be shot?

this is the same thing isn't it?

Not in my book. Before it is time to point a pistol at the chest or headof another human being is when the threats, warnings, pleading etc should take place. When it is time to actually point the pistol at another person it is time to shoot.

If you have time to warn or threaten the person that you are armed and will defend yourself then the threat isn't, IMO, immediate enough to warrant deadly force and pointing a gun at another human, whether you fire it or not,will most likely beconsidered using deadly force.

Bronson
 
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