Man shot & killed while trying to lea...

Author Message   Jan Advanced Member Username: Seychelle Post Number: 322 Registered: 07-2006 Posted From: 70.137.29.217 Posted on Friday, May 28, 2010 - 03:12 pm:    Leland, I don't know how common it is, but the maximum stay at MacDill is 180 days, then you have to leave for 1 month before returning for another 180 days. I think that is why in the story he recently stayed with his relative for a month and then returned to the famcamp.   Leland Senior Member Username: Leland Post Number: 6280 Registered: 05-2006 Posted From: 98.218.147.237 Posted on Friday, May 28, 2010 - 01:15 pm:    He lived at the MacDill famcamp for six months? Is that common or authorized?   dinotars Senior Member Username: Dinotars Post Number: 6735 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 173.169.151.24 Posted on Friday, May 28, 2010 - 03:13 am:    It would be best as suggested to await the results of the official investigation of this incident.   James H. Coppens Intermediate Member Username: Coppens1 Post Number: 109 Registered: 05-2006 Posted From: 151.196.166.250 Posted on Thursday, May 27, 2010 - 09:28 pm:    Dear Jan, thanks for the info. I guess we will have to wait for the results of the investigation to determine if the killing was justified or not. We had an unfortunate incident in Orlando a year ago, where a kid who was being bullied brought a pellet gun to school, and was shot and killed by police.   Jan Advanced Member Username: Seychelle Post Number: 321 Registered: 07-2006 Posted From: 70.137.29.217 Posted on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 - 05:32 pm:    Here is more information that some RVing friends just sent to us. It is long but interesting and I'm not sure if the picture will reproduce. He had some problems in the past: More from News of the Force Publication Veteran killed at MacDill AFB previously threatened police officers Ronald J. Bullock had been involved in a domestic altercation. When officers arrived, he approached them menacingly, with a sharp weapon in his hand. He refused to back down until officers shot him with pepper spray. The March 12, 1994, scene in Austin, Texas, was eerily similar to what authorities say happened Wednesday night at MacDill Air Force Base, in Tampa, Fla. This time, though, Bullock was fatally shot by an off-duty FBI agent. Sixteen years ago, Bullock was armed with a meat cleaver, said Austin Police Cpl. Scott Perry, who was there that night. Bullock was later convicted of aggravated assault and resisting arrest. Wednesday night, investigators said, Bullock once again approached a law enforcement officer with a sharp weapon. This time it was a knife. Yesterday morning, Bullock's uncle, Phil Sullivan, described Bullock as a happy-go-lucky veteran who served in Vietnam and was "100 percent disabled" with post-traumatic stress disorder. Sullivan said he had no idea what happened at MacDill, where the FBI said Bullock was involved in a domestic incident at the base before lunging at an off-duty FBI agent. "This is a total shock," Sullivan said yesterday. "I have been in a fog since the police knocked on my door at 1 a.m." Bullock, 61, was disabled and had lived at MacDill Air Force Base for six months, Sullivan said. Then he lived at Sullivan's home for a month before returning to MacDill's Family Camp recreational area, where he was living at the time of the incident. The two had lunch before Wednesday's incident, Sullivan said. They had their usual conversation. "We talked about food, fishing and taking medicine," Sullivan said. "He was a fishing fanatic. He spent 25 hours a day fishing. And because of his disability, he took a lot of pills." Bullock served in Vietnam as a dog handler and received a couple Purple Heart medals, Sullivan said. He said Bullock used to drink and had hinted at taking drugs but had been clean and sober for at least 10 years. Bullock, who served four years probation on the assault charge in Texas, was also arrested on Aug. 25, 1997, and charged with possession of a controlled substance, for which was convicted and served 18 months in the Texas state prison system, according to records. The arrests, said Sullivan, were a turning point for his nephew. "He joked about Texas and the arrest, because he always said to me, 'When I saw myself in handcuffs, that's when I decided to straighten myself out,'" Sullivan said. "He cleaned up his act. But he never gave me the details of his arrest.'' Bullock was a big man, about 6 feet, 1 inch tall and weighing 210 pounds, Sullivan said. "Didn't have a hair on his head," Sullivan said. He grew up in Randolph, Mass., a small town just south of Boston. Sullivan said Wednesday's incident was "totally out of character" for Bullock, who loved to ride his motorcycle when not fishing. Because he was an avid fisherman, it would not be unusual for him to have a knife, Sullivan said. Sullivan said he took a ride to the base yesterday to try to find out more about what happened, but no one was around to talk to him. "I went to visit his trailer," he said. "It was surrounded by yellow tape. So was his truck, a Ford with six wheels." Now he is waiting to talk to Bullock's brothers and mother to find out where and when the final arrangements will be. An FBI shooting investigation team was expected to arrive today in Tampa to find out whether the off-duty FBI agent who shot Bullock followed bureau policy, Tampa FBI spokesman Dave Couvertier said. The base's Dale Mabry Highway gate, which was closed after the incident, was reopened early yesterday. The FBI typically does not release the name of agents involved in shootings, Couvertier said. Also, agents involved in shootings are not typically required to be assigned to desk duty during an investigation, a standard practice in most law enforcement agencies. Couvertier said those kinds of decisions are usually made on a case-by-case basis, depending on many factors, including the individual involved in the shooting. Couvertier said the FBI will be leading the investigation, with assistance from Tampa police and the base's Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI). The FBI shooting investigation team will "look at everything from A to Z," Couvertier said. Investigators want to determine whether the agent followed policy and whether the use of force was warranted, he said. Couvertier said the agent "is involved is doing relatively well, considering the circumstances." Bullock was involved in a dispute about 6 p.m., EDT, at MacDill's Family Camp, a recreational vehicle area at the south end of the base, said Col. Larry Martin, the 6th Air Mobility Wing's commander. Bullock was living at the camp. Base police were called to the scene, and Bullock sped away on his motorcycle. He avoided the security personnel's attempts to stop him and proceeded toward the gate at Dale Mabry Highway, officials said. An FBI liaison who happened to be at MacDill assisted police. He approached the suspect, who had ditched the motorcycle and was wielding a knife as he walked toward the FBI agent, officials said. The agent shot and killed Bullock just inside the Dale Mabry Highway gate, Couvertier said. Paramedics responded to the scene at around 6:45 p.m., and determined there was nothing they could do for the victim, said Capt. Bill Wade, a Tampa fire department spokesman. The case is not thought to be terrorism-related, Martin said, but he wouldn't confirm that it was a domestic incident. Dedicated in 1941, MacDill Air Force Base is located on 5,767 acres of land at the south end Tampa's Interbay peninsula. It plays an integral role in national security. It is home to the U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command, as well as the 6th Air Mobility Wing. It also is home to the 927th Air Refueling Wing and 50 other mission partners. Last month, the Dale Mabry Highway entrance was closed for several hours after a car damaged the gate when the driver tried to enter the base without authorization. A Dodge Intrepid approached the gate at about 12:45 a.m., on April 19. Base police believed the driver was impaired and asked him to turn off the ignition. Instead, he reversed, striking a car behind the Dodge, and then continued through the gate. Security barriers stopped the Dodge, and the four occupants were detained.   John David Brooks Senior Member Username: Johnb6597 Post Number: 418 Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 121.55.235.75 Posted on Sunday, May 23, 2010 - 05:09 am:    Bottom line: Good guys won.   Chuck F Member Username: Snipe Post Number: 25 Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 68.14.190.202 Posted on Sunday, May 23, 2010 - 01:45 am:    If anyone is interested my wife and I were staying at Macdill lodging when this happened. I was on my way to the gas station to wash my car. I was on Kingfisher St about 200 hundred yards from N Boundary Blvd when a base police truck turned off of N Boundry Blvd onto Kingfisher St with all lights flashing. I pulled over and stopped. A person on a ninja type of bike passed me from the rear at a very high rate of speed and went the wrong way to N Boundary Blvd. The same base police truck and 3 or 4 more base police cars went to N Boundary and turned left towards the gate. This all happened in seconds. The guy on the bike had a helmut and jacket on. By the time I got to the car wash [no more than 2 minutes] an emerg. truck passed the car wash on the way to the gate. By the time I left the car wash all 3 gates were closed, with the red lights on and the barriers were up. The traffic was backed up to S Boundary Blvd. don't know how long the gates were closed. The base was not on lock down. Chuck F.   ed williamson Advanced Member Username: Regnav Post Number: 199 Registered: 07-2009 Posted From: 76.114.109.206 Posted on Friday, May 21, 2010 - 02:44 pm:    Not any more.   Carole G Advanced Member Username: Greengal Post Number: 155 Registered: 01-2010 Posted From: 68.205.151.181 Posted on Friday, May 21, 2010 - 12:54 pm:    Since we weren't there during the shooting, we don't know the circumstances. Better not to judge or say what you would do, or what they could've done. The details will come out and then we will all know what the circumstances were. He obviously had a very troubled life.   ed williamson Advanced Member Username: Regnav Post Number: 198 Registered: 07-2009 Posted From: 76.114.109.206 Posted on Friday, May 21, 2010 - 12:27 pm:    Let's put this in perspective. First, have someone stand twenty feet from you and pretend to have a knife. Now have that person charge you full speed and see how many seconds it takes to cover that twenty feet. Then decide if you could pull a weapon from a holster and shoot the person in the knee. DO NOT TRY THIS WITH A REAL KNIFE AND/OR A GUN, EVEN AN UNLOADED GUN! READ THAT LAST AGAIN! Now do a little Google research and learn that many, many times an officer will fire five, six, seven or even more rounds in a close encounter with an armed suspect, and have even one round hit the target, and then not always in a vital area. TV may depict otherwise but real life encounters prove that even shooting for center of mass does not, nearly always does not, result in accurate shot placement. Very, very few officers ever pull their weapon during a career. The exceptions create a highly stressful situation that causes blood pressure to rise dramatically with the result that vision blurs and the hands shake. In short, the pucker factor is about as high as it gets. Aiming for any spot other than the center of mass will get you killed. Dead. Remember that if you are ever unfortunate enough to have defend your life, or a loved ones life.   James H. Coppens Intermediate Member Username: Coppens1 Post Number: 99 Registered: 05-2006 Posted From: 134.93.40.24 Posted on Friday, May 21, 2010 - 09:25 am:    Maybe I am in the minority here, but I see many alternatives for a situation where a suspect with a knife is up against people armed with guns. Those alternatives involve not taking the person's life, if possible. It would be a different story if the suspect had a hostage at knifepoint. JC   Earl Senior Member Username: Myramstein Post Number: 757 Registered: 11-2007 Posted From: 173.121.169.26 Posted on Thursday, May 20, 2010 - 10:10 pm:    Correction: Not Davis-Monthan AFB. But Luke AFB. http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123191718 a Sorry. Davis Monthan was another gate incident where guns were drawn on a guy in car during the working day.   John David Brooks Senior Member Username: Johnb6597 Post Number: 412 Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 121.55.235.75 Posted on Thursday, May 20, 2010 - 08:31 pm:    I served several times as an armed prisoner escort during my Army career and my written orders specifically prohibited warning shots and directed me to aim center-of-mass if use of my issued .45 became necessary to prevent a prisoner's escape. I don't know of any law enforcement agency that teaches its officers shoot-to-wound techniques. If a situation requires an LEO to draw and fire their weapon, they should always be aiming center-of-mass. These media stories are healthy for the military community. They serve notice to the public that monkey business on our installations will not be tolerated and we'll take firm action when confronted by a threat. In a contest between a crazy guy with a knife and a cop, I want the cop to win 100% of the time...and I want those stories told to everybody and anybody who reads or watches or listens to the news.   Kenneth McLaughlin Member Username: Flrxfire Post Number: 19 Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 72.40.170.42 Posted on Thursday, May 20, 2010 - 08:05 pm:    Interesting comment about shooting for the kneecap. In the combat course we were always taught to aim at the center of mass. Shoot a kneecap with a pistol at night with a resisting subject?? Talk about taking a knife to a gunfight!   Earl Senior Member Username: Myramstein Post Number: 754 Registered: 11-2007 Posted From: 70.9.21.133 Posted on Thursday, May 20, 2010 - 04:21 pm:    Karen, best wishes for your husband's retirement. For those who have not been to MacDill, the area off base, outside the main gate, is not your best of neighborhoods. Karen's husband has a tough job in that neighborhood.   Karen Yan Advanced Member Username: Karenyan Post Number: 336 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 67.246.180.158 Posted on Thursday, May 20, 2010 - 02:33 pm:    My husband (Tampa police officer) was on shift last night when it happened & outside MacDill is his zone. (he's retiring in 3 weeks). He just called me when he got off work this morning, and was at the scene but couldn't say too much else, except for it's still under investigation & a lot of things don't make sense yet. Funny, along with the cost you stay at Famcamps & billetting because it feels safe. You just never know what could happen anywhere.   DAVIS, L. E. Senior Member Username: Ldavis Post Number: 494 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 173.24.183.1 Posted on Thursday, May 20, 2010 - 02:00 pm:    Tampa Trib link to story. http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/may/20/fbi-team-coming-investigate-macdill-shoo ting/   Earl Senior Member Username: Myramstein Post Number: 753 Registered: 11-2007 Posted From: 173.105.17.97 Posted on Thursday, May 20, 2010 - 01:53 pm:    Same MacDill story in Stars and Stripes today. Regarding Davis-Monthan AFB: incident was in Feb. Story states two involved. One died. I later read the second one died. link: http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123191718   James H. Coppens Intermediate Member Username: Coppens1 Post Number: 98 Registered: 05-2006 Posted From: 134.93.40.24 Posted on Thursday, May 20, 2010 - 01:46 pm:    Dear Karen, sounds like a sad case. I wonder why the FBI agent didn't just wound the suspect by shooting him in the kneecap. Sounds like the guy was maybe partying at the Famcamp, got drunk, got in a fight, left, and was trying to exit the base. He was an Army vet, a guest at the famcamp. JC   Earl Senior Member Username: Myramstein Post Number: 752 Registered: 11-2007 Posted From: 173.105.17.97 Posted on Thursday, May 20, 2010 - 01:45 pm:    Karen, thanks for that link. Been to the Fam Camp at MacDill many times. Very large RV Park on base. In another gate incident, fairly recently two individuals were shot, and killed, by Security Forces at main gate on Davis-Mothan AFB, AZ. They did not stop for SF at gate. Were driving stolen vehicle.   Karen Yan Advanced Member Username: Karenyan Post Number: 335 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 67.246.180.158 Posted on Thursday, May 20, 2010 - 12:40 pm:    http://www.wtsp.com/video/default.aspx?aid=104312#/News/Man+shot+and+killed+tryi ng+to+leave+MacDill+AFB+/53132882001/53147622001/86732591001