samD  |
Seattle police fatally shoot armed history buff
Seattle police fatally shoot armed history buff Posted: Jan. 2 10:28 p.m. SEATTLE — A college student dressed in a vintage German military uniform who was fatally shot by police on New Year's Day was a harmless, eccentric history buff, his family and friends said Friday. Miles Murphy, a University of Washington senior, was shot several times at his apartment early Thursday after police said he pointed a rifle affixed with a bayonet at officers and refused orders to drop the weapon. Seattle police had converged on Murphy's apartment after receiving complaints that several men were firing rifle and shotgun rounds into the air. Murphy emerged from inside and pointed what was later identified as a World War II Kar 98 German infantry rifle at the officers, police said. When he refused several orders to drop the weapon, two officers fired seven shots, police Officer Jeff Kappel said. Murphy was taken to Harborview Medical Center, where he died. A witness told some officers at the scene that Murphy had been firing blanks that night. Police searching the house found alcohol, live ammunition and a large collection of German, Russian and Nazi memorabilia including photographs and uniforms, Sgt. Sean Whitcomb said. But Murphy "wasn't a Nazi," Hattie Taylor, a friend, told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "He was just fascinated with the past... He liked to dress up and have fun." Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske called the situation "truly sad" but stood by the officers' actions. "Right now, I don't see any other choice that they had," he said. The two officers who fired at Murphy were placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure. Murphy, 22, was a senior Germanics major, university President Mark Emmert said in a statement Friday mourning his loss. Murphy wanted to be a German literature professor and had a large collection of WWII memorabilia, said his friend Spencer Bray. He was "a peaceful and loving young man," his mother, Dianne Murphy, told the local newspaper. I would add, very unclear on the concept of pointing anything at the Police... samD |
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spcCooper
sad story but once agian you should never point any weapon at the police they dont know if you have live ammo or blanks guns are no joke or no toy. people should think of the consequences of there an actions an think them through before they do something like this
Anonymous
happened 80 miles north of where i live.seattle police have some history of being jumpy in an armed standoff like this.this young guy was fascinated with history to the point of dressing up like a nazi and pointing the weapon at a police officer?first,fascination with the nazi's:somehow,you have issues!whether your mother beat you too much or something,this is a weird dude to want to dress up like a nazi soldier,hell i like the 98 mauser but i aint running around with my swastika arm band on!second:it was new years eve and alcohol was a factor,so we have a drunk hitler wanna be with a gun!hmm,cops told him to put the gun down and he didnt listen!yep,justifiable homicide.i would have done the same thing and the courts here in Washington will find the same thing.
Schuyler
I went to school there and am very famliar with the area. It's quite dense. the cops were called after he and his buddies were firing in an alley. Bright kid, very accomplished musician, good with languages, coulda gone a long way. Too bad.
undeniable
points anything that looks like a weapon at a police officer? I hate to see someone get killed, especially since those officers now have to live with what happened because somebody thought they were a German soldier or something. That is another example of not being a responseable adult. Thats it, nothing to do with firearms although the libs will run with this a little bit. You want to go out on your own and be treated as an adult than you had better damn well act like one. You want to go around acting like an idiot and affect so many peoples lives, i.e. those of his families, those of the officers and thier families and his friends. That to me is a very selfish act. Greasypaws, if you could sort of keep tabs on the aftermath of this I would be very curious to see what the anti-gunners have to say about it.
Anonymous
will do.the numbnuts mayor of seattle will be all over this as a weapon to pass his anti gun agenda,but he may not due to the fact this guy was dressed as a nazi soldier.we will see.
Schuyler
First candidate for 2009. The police took the same gun away from him in an incident awhile ago, but the guy's father inisted it be returned. There's kind of a pattern here. At least the gene pool will no longer be afflicted.
samD
The gene pool dries up for good reasons.
Instant asshole, just add acohol...
GLOCKSTER
god this guy is a da who would walk up to a cop and point a gun at him DUMB ASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reaper308
point a gun at me, and... don't be stupid! blanks for a mauser? those are hard to find
Schuyler
One of the guys claimed they were using blanks, but the cops found live ammo in the apartment. There will be an inquest--it's procedural, but even in Seattle it's justifiable. Now, had race been an issue (sorry to say, but there it is) it would be a whole nother story, but this guy was a caucasian college student.
DEMO
This guy got what he deserves. Anytime a cop tells you something do it. Just like the case in Buffalo where a kid pointed a BB gun at a cop. The cop can not tell the difference. This is not sad- its a lack of respect and responsibility from a pussy college kid who does not understand responsibility. Where do these people come from. Pointing a gun at a cop?
FreedomMilitaria
you can bet the libs will run with this one. this poor innocent school boy
gunned down by those awful trigger happy cops.
i say lesson well learned... the joke was over when he pointed the rifle, no matter what his intentions. that's the law, and that is exactly the way it
should be.
clintlebo
FreedomMilitaria,
I am not so sure the libs will do as you say. The guy was dressed as a Nazi. A right wing organizaion. They could try to link the conservatives with nazi-ism or assaulting the police officers, who are members of a union...
I agree with you, lesson learned. I had a false positive alarm at my house over the weekend. When I saw that it was the police with the flashlights shining into my windows, I placed my pistol on the table. I was in sweats, so no holster. I invited them into my house to get them out of the rain while I produced my ID. I reached to clear my pistol, and they asked me to leave the weapon where it was. OK, they are doing their job and they don't know me from Adam, so I left it there. I could be a criminal breaking into a house. They were cool. I have not had any problems with the police here in Seattle. They have a stressful job, we should thank them as much as we thank the firemen, aid cars, and even the military. These police officers were doing their jobs. They were protecting the citizens, us.
clint
samD
in your windows with flashlights? Had you called them? Prowler in the neighborhood? Oh I know the monkeys got loose...LOL
clintlebo
My alarm sent a false possitive to the alarm center. We did not get a call from the alarm company, so they sent out the police. Starndard operating proceedure. I called the alarm company the next day and screamed at them. They wanted to charge me a trip fee to fix defective equipment. I wish I could charge someone for my mileage everytime I have to go to work...
clint
Schuyler
at least judging from the comments in the Seattle Times, sentiment is pretty much like here. There has been no follow up in the paper yet.
Anonymous
had his guns taken away from him before because of stupid shit like this.he should have learned the first time.drunk or not,ignorance is not an excuse!
byerley06
I had the displeasure of being a "RURAL" Deputy Sheriff in southern Missouri for several years and let me tell ya I am surprized this isn't an everyday story of stupidity. Alcohol isn't a bad thing but it does have warnings........besides lowers inhabitions......makes you stupid.
I feel sorry for those cops, and that poor fellows family. They are the ones that will live with the event for a lifetime.
FreedomMilitaria
well hello there neighbor!... i live in Lebanon. just don't let too many people know! hehe
hillbilly77
I do not normaly agree with officer involved shootings, but this kid was in the wrong. Let this be a lesson to the ignorant. I is guys like this that are giving the gun grabbers more and more ammo to use against us smart gun owners.
Jane
An example of why stupidity and firearms don't go together. The police, in this case, did what any reasonable person would've done when they had what looked like a gun pointed at them.