A funny story that almost got me arrested

[David LaPell]

I was thinking about this story today and how it almost landed me in my own jail last year.
I was on my way home from work after my 3-11 shift and I had to be back the next morning at 7am, part of my light duty since I got hurt wrestling n inmate 17 months ago. Only two days before I had what is known as a stellate ganglion block, very painful where they inject a steroid and a pain killer right into the stellate ganglion nerve cluster through the front of the neck. I was still in a great deal of pain afterwards. Well this was the first week of December and the whitetail were still in late rut.

On my way home in the middle of nowhere a bunch of deer burst out of nowhere and a small 4 pointer came out running from right to left, I could not avoid him and he hit the right front fender of my jeep. Well I pulled over, got out and the damage to the jeep was minimal, a smashed turn signal and headlight valance that was cracked but little else. I looked back and the deer was in the road with a large pool of blood under him and his lower jaw was bent down almost to his neck and the left side of his head was sliced open below the eye. I kicked him a couple of times and no movement so I grabbed him one handed by the antlers and drug him off the road into the grass. The buck rolled onto his stomach very slowly and his head was tilted back almost like he was drunk. He was definitely suffering. I had no cell service and there were no houses, nothing but woods so I made a judgement call and drew my Model 27 and aimed right between the eyes. The buck rolled onto his left side and he was trying to get up so I got really close and put another bullet (#358156 SWC's) between the neck and head. He was all done.

Now I had a dilemma, here was a perfectly good whitetail and I had no way to get him in the jeep, not one handed. So I waited and local firefighter showed up and called it in on his radio. About 10 minutes later two state troopers showed up and I told them what happened and as that I had shot it. Now I have the same firearms training these guys do, heck we even use the same range for qualifications, but don't you know these two almost arrested me, not for shooting the deer but because they didn't believe that I had hit it first with my jeep. I told them (politely because nothing will get you arrested quicker than yelling at a cop) that I had hit it, and that we have tons of cameras at work covering my parking lot and the marker lens on camera was intact then, they were not impressed. They secured the gun, my ID and badge, and then me in cuffs in the back of their car, where I sat for 45 minutes or so. Several times they told me "tell us the truth, you shot it from your car" and "there's no blood or hair, no broken lens on the ground" to which I kept replying the truth, the deer was hit by the jeep, then I shot him.

After they called out a game warden, and he at first said the same thing. I was thinking I was going to get fired, and lose all my benefits in the middle of me being hurt. I told all three of them that I would not risk all that I had for a deer, no matter what. No marker lens fragments they told me, they had to be there. So the game warden said he has an extra flashlight and would I help look, I said I would stay out all night. (I had no flashlight of any kind on me so I was still wondering how you jack a deer in complete darkness). So here I am at 2:45 am and after 10 minutes one of the troopers finds one piece all the way across the road in a ditch at the same time the warden finds the other. Well after they match them up, the trooper takes the cuffs off of me, and the game warden finds traces of green paint on one antler from the side of the jeep. Well, after some talk and the troopers calling my supervisor to let them know I would not be visiting, (they called before to tell them I might) they all apologized up and down, one even offering me his card in case I wanted to make a complaint. I told them no, and that there were no hard feelings over it, the game warden tagged the deer and they loaded it for me at the same time my wife arrived because I had not been home yet, and she almost hit a doe a mile up the road (I was wondering if it was the doe this buck was chasing). I got my Smith back there at the scene (that would have really hurt) So I got home and dragged the deer out with my good arm and I found out that I could gut a deer one handed.

So on one hour's sleep I went to work, but nothing more came of it other than some ribbing from the brass. I decided to keep the pieces of the marker lens and the antlers (which someday will make a pair of knives). All in all though I got my winter's venison (sure is heck not the way I wanted to) and as my mother said in her wisdom is that God provides and it might not be how you figured. So whenever I have some venison from this deer (no blood loss at all except for the bullet hole) I think about how darn close I came to being on the wrong side of the fence for once in my life. I learned my lesson, from now on I don't care the cops will be the ones to shoot the deer, not me!

 

[steveno]

I have heard of people getting charged for discharging of a firearm from a highway for thinking they are doing the right thing by shooting the deer.

 

[feralmerril]

David, I can relate for several reasons. First, I was raised in wisconsin and even did a 6 month appointment for the conservation dept back there in 1962. They would only keep us new guys on for six months, anything more than that and they had to make you permanet. I was to take a month off after my six and go back as a temp warden. However I took a entirely different type job and didnt go back. I did work some with the wardens though the first six months out of winnebago.
Anyway, I was in northern california and had just hired a crew to treat old power poles. I was to meet them at a filling station in willow creek. Thats the heart of "Bigfoot country" in the sierras. This was my first day on that contract. I had a travel trailer out of town in a forest service campground. I was headed to pick up my boys and seen a dead buck on the road. This was about a week before the deer season was to start in that area. Not that I had a license, as I had just arrived from out of state. I picked up my guys and mentioned something about the "dead" deer. We got alongside it and it made a feeble kick.
We got out to look at it and larceny and hunger possessed me I guess. It was evident the deer was dieing. We threw it in the back of my truck. It came to and kicked tools all over etc. I could tell it wasnt going to make it so I cut its throat. It kicked the hell out of me in the process. Anyway I and some other people that was staying at the campground ate pretty good for a few days. I have lived a charmed life years ago on deals like that.

 

[m1gunner]

So, you were basically guilty until YOU could prove your innocence. And this is from 2 different investigating agencies.

 

[papajohn428]

So much for getting the benefit of the doubt. I'm really sure if I had to do a turn-and-burn shift, I'd stop in the middle of nowhere and pop a deer in the head so I could spent half the night gutting it.......right? What were those guys thinking? Nothing better to do? Sheesh.

 

[steamloco76]

Many Wildlife Enforcement Officers/Agencies work from the guilty until proven innocent side. PA is that way. Glad your situation was just inconvenient instead of expensive!

 

[brucev]

I sympathize with you. Years ago I was a newly married student at seminary in N.O., LA. I had just gotten my first handgun, a Ruger Single-Six. On a Saturday morning I went out in the marshes by Lake Pontchartrain where I used the Ruger and a little Win. 190 rifle to shoot cans, etc. A La. state game and fish officer came flying up behind me and hopped out of the vehicle cussing at me. He accused me of hunting out of season and searched my car for drug. He took my handgun and rifle and gave no receipt. He told me I'd have about a $200 fine. When I went to court, he described me to the judge as being the equivalent of Al Capone conducting a St. Valentines Day type slaughter in the marshes of south LA. When asked, I told the lady exactly what I'd been doing (shooting cans and rats, etc.) and I told her about his language, his shouting and his searching my car. She charged me $5 court cost and said she didn't want to see me in her court again. She let me pick through the pile of guns that were on the floor by the wall. I got my rifle and revolver. Interestingly both were still loaded. The rifle was still cocked. The safety was not on. I left the courthouse with them in that condition as I was afraid they'd say something if I emptied the rounds into my pocket. The last I saw of the officer, the judge was talking to him. She was being very emphatic. He was listening. He wasn't saying anything. My good friend, Cecil Campbell had accompanied me to court as I didn't know how to get to the courthouse. He thought the whole affair was hilarious. It was a long time before I could see the humor in the situation.

 

[Rangerpat]

Sure glad it all worked out for you but that is one heck of a way to get your winter meat!
I have picked up a few fresh roadkill deer over the years myself and there was always evidence of blunt trama somewhere on the body of the deer when skinning it out.
I believe the lesson learned is, do not shoot injured deer on any road, use a knife to slit it's throat, like Feralmerril did.
Where I live the local Sheriff Office calls a private "Wildlife Rescue" organization that comes out and picks up the dead deer to be processed and fed to the "lions, tigers and bears, oh my!" I was told by a LEO that one time they showed up with a tiger in the back of their truck and they loaded up a still alive, paralyzed doe and fed it to the tiger.

 

[feralmerril]

A game warden has MORE authority than a regular LEO does. In some cases they can come in your house and check your freezer WITHOUT a warrant! They can search your car without a warrant. They can tresspass on your land without a warrant right pass your no tresspassing sign. All this is because they are protecting state owned wildlife. As said, I have worked for a state conservation dept and several national parks many years ago, however some of this go`s against my grain too from my conservative views. Often in searching for illegals border patrol will have a game warden with them because he can search WITHOUT a warrant! Unless things have changed a lot from 50 years ago, I doubt any state dept gives their wardens a small fraction of the training that regular LEO gets.
When I was a boy my dad laughed about one of his friends that got a warden job. Dad said he was one of the biggest game violators he knew and they gave him the job to get him to quit poaching! Most of the training used to consist of no more than going with another warden for awhile for OTJ training.
One thing you do have to hand them though is that the people they deal with are mostly armed for sure AND most often their encounters are in the woods and marshs with no one around to witness anything plus most often its one warden braceing two or three armed guys on the average! I belive many have a cocky agressive attitude from that alone to survive.