reefteach
Regular Member
imported post
So would that be self defense? He pickeda fight. He willingly went into a physical confrontation. When he bagan to loose, he drew the firearm. I think he screwed up bigtime. Any lawyers or LEOS out there want to clarrify what those charges really mean?
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/local/15833847.htm
THEY WERE just 6 and 7 years old, pee-wee footballers in Northeast Philadelphia squaring off on a brilliantly sunny October morning, on a field where you expect to hear the referee's whistle and shouts of encouragement.
No one expected to hear this on Sunday on the playing fields of Burholme Park:
"He's got a gun! He's got a gun!"
Before the fracas ended, kids had seen an angry dad punching his son's coach in a dispute over the boy's playing time before brandishing a .357 Magnum, a referee clocking the angry dad's brother, and both men arrested.
And Northeast Philadelphia joined the increasingly long list of localities where parent or fan violence has run amok at a youth sporting event, often in front of young children.
"I cried thinking about the kids," said the referee, Shawn Henwood. "I can see snapshots of their faces in my mind... they were dazed, their eyes were wide open. They saw what was going on. Are they going to want to play ever again?"
Even Philadelphia police officers, who see it all in the course of their job, were amazed at how a kids' football game could spin so quickly into raw violence and even gunplay.
"It was all because his son wasn't playing enough," said Capt. John McGinnis, of Northeast Detectives. "It's a very bizarre case."
At least no one was hurt, and no shots were fired.
"It was just horrible. Sixty seconds of mayhem, that's the best I can come up with," Henwood said. "It all happened so fast, but in my mind, it plays back so slow. It was a strange experience that I hope I never go through again."
The incident happened during a game between the ironically named Burholme Outlaws and the Oxford Circle Raiders.
According to McGinnis, a parent, Wayne Derkotch, 40, of East Wilt Street, approached the coach of his son's Outlaws team, Jermaine Wilson, 34.
McGinnis said Derkotch asked Wilson why his son wasn't getting enough playing time in the game. According to police, Wilson said that "he liked to run up the score before he put in other players."
Derkotch got angry and "started cursing at the coach," according to McGinnis, who said Wilson then asked Derkotch to step aside because he was swearing in front of the boys.
Instead, the two men - Derkotch is 5 feet 9, 215 pounds, according to witnesses, and Wilson is about 6 feet 3, 250 pounds - began to scuffle.
"All of a sudden, we hear 'Fight! Fight!' " said Henwood. "I see a gentleman pounding on another gentleman. Then we hear, 'He's got a gun! He's got a gun!' "
Some of the kids were as close as five feet from Derkotch, who police said had been brandishing a legally permitted silver .357 Magnum Smith & Wesson handgun. Henwood said he told the kids "to get down, and they all listened to me."
Derkotch then ran to his black, four-door GMC, tossed his gun inside and drove off, said Henwood. The referee said he had tried to jot down the license number but a man - who he said was Derkotch's brother - slapped the paper from his hands.
Meanwhile, police were already arriving on the scene, and Wayne Derkotch was taken into custody. But now Henwood and the brother, identified as Paul Derkotch, were involved in the melee.
Henwood said Paul Derkotch allegedly backed him up 15 feet and lunged at his neck. "I perceived a threat and struck him once in the jaw," he said.
"He [Henwood] was being the good guy but then he punched the guy in the face right in front of the cops," McGinnis said. "It was only one punch. He knocked him to the ground."
The result was that Henwood was arrested and charged with simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.
Wayne Derkotch was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, and recklessly endangering another person. Paul Derkotch was not charged.
The two men were free yesterday, Derkotch on bail and Henwood on his own recognizance. Wayne Derkotch could not be reached for comment, and Paul Derkotch would not speak to a reporter.
Meanwhile, those who were involved in the melee or witnessed it were still amazed a day later.
"Everything happened so fast. It was a real shock," said a coach for the Outlaws who did not want to be named. He added, perhaps with understatement: "Sometimes it's a tough crowd."
So would that be self defense? He pickeda fight. He willingly went into a physical confrontation. When he bagan to loose, he drew the firearm. I think he screwed up bigtime. Any lawyers or LEOS out there want to clarrify what those charges really mean?
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/local/15833847.htm
THEY WERE just 6 and 7 years old, pee-wee footballers in Northeast Philadelphia squaring off on a brilliantly sunny October morning, on a field where you expect to hear the referee's whistle and shouts of encouragement.
No one expected to hear this on Sunday on the playing fields of Burholme Park:
"He's got a gun! He's got a gun!"
Before the fracas ended, kids had seen an angry dad punching his son's coach in a dispute over the boy's playing time before brandishing a .357 Magnum, a referee clocking the angry dad's brother, and both men arrested.
And Northeast Philadelphia joined the increasingly long list of localities where parent or fan violence has run amok at a youth sporting event, often in front of young children.
"I cried thinking about the kids," said the referee, Shawn Henwood. "I can see snapshots of their faces in my mind... they were dazed, their eyes were wide open. They saw what was going on. Are they going to want to play ever again?"
Even Philadelphia police officers, who see it all in the course of their job, were amazed at how a kids' football game could spin so quickly into raw violence and even gunplay.
"It was all because his son wasn't playing enough," said Capt. John McGinnis, of Northeast Detectives. "It's a very bizarre case."
At least no one was hurt, and no shots were fired.
"It was just horrible. Sixty seconds of mayhem, that's the best I can come up with," Henwood said. "It all happened so fast, but in my mind, it plays back so slow. It was a strange experience that I hope I never go through again."
The incident happened during a game between the ironically named Burholme Outlaws and the Oxford Circle Raiders.
According to McGinnis, a parent, Wayne Derkotch, 40, of East Wilt Street, approached the coach of his son's Outlaws team, Jermaine Wilson, 34.
McGinnis said Derkotch asked Wilson why his son wasn't getting enough playing time in the game. According to police, Wilson said that "he liked to run up the score before he put in other players."
Derkotch got angry and "started cursing at the coach," according to McGinnis, who said Wilson then asked Derkotch to step aside because he was swearing in front of the boys.
Instead, the two men - Derkotch is 5 feet 9, 215 pounds, according to witnesses, and Wilson is about 6 feet 3, 250 pounds - began to scuffle.
"All of a sudden, we hear 'Fight! Fight!' " said Henwood. "I see a gentleman pounding on another gentleman. Then we hear, 'He's got a gun! He's got a gun!' "
Some of the kids were as close as five feet from Derkotch, who police said had been brandishing a legally permitted silver .357 Magnum Smith & Wesson handgun. Henwood said he told the kids "to get down, and they all listened to me."
Derkotch then ran to his black, four-door GMC, tossed his gun inside and drove off, said Henwood. The referee said he had tried to jot down the license number but a man - who he said was Derkotch's brother - slapped the paper from his hands.
Meanwhile, police were already arriving on the scene, and Wayne Derkotch was taken into custody. But now Henwood and the brother, identified as Paul Derkotch, were involved in the melee.
Henwood said Paul Derkotch allegedly backed him up 15 feet and lunged at his neck. "I perceived a threat and struck him once in the jaw," he said.
"He [Henwood] was being the good guy but then he punched the guy in the face right in front of the cops," McGinnis said. "It was only one punch. He knocked him to the ground."
The result was that Henwood was arrested and charged with simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.
Wayne Derkotch was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, and recklessly endangering another person. Paul Derkotch was not charged.
The two men were free yesterday, Derkotch on bail and Henwood on his own recognizance. Wayne Derkotch could not be reached for comment, and Paul Derkotch would not speak to a reporter.
Meanwhile, those who were involved in the melee or witnessed it were still amazed a day later.
"Everything happened so fast. It was a real shock," said a coach for the Outlaws who did not want to be named. He added, perhaps with understatement: "Sometimes it's a tough crowd."