Bad day on the Bayou

CAJUNLAWYER

CAJUNLAWYER

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No-make that a horrible day.

About 20 years ago I helped a young man get his disability benefits from Social security-SSI not regular disability. He was slow mentally and was "just not right". He did odd jobs for me and others in town like misc lawn work-washing your house,etc. Pretty much homeless-had no family and lived out of an old car that somehow got him around. His people contact came from hanging around the casino but he really had no family. From what I am told, the lady that helped him get his meds had apparently died recently and for the last month or so he had not been on his medicine. I was playing in a tournament Wednesday night and he came up to me smiling, shook my hand and told me he just wanted to say hi. Everybody knew him thought he was harmless.
This morning he set a trailer , a shed and a car on fire-why I don't know. He shot and killed the first deputy that arrived (whom I knew and was a VERY decent guy) and then shot and grievously wounded two more deputies-one of whom was air lifted to Lafayette and One to New Orleans. Don't know who these two are, but I suspect that I will know them both.

Don't know what kind of weapon was used, but I suspect it was a shotgun as the guy liked to hunt rabbit and squirrel. Should he have had a weapon? Absolutely not-but in the country everyone has access to hunting weapons. I don't know whether it was his or he took it. Not that it really matters.
They will probably get his meds stabilized, and he will be faced with a fork in the path, he is either gonna spend the rest of his life in Angola or at Jackson (our hospital for the criminally insane). I've been to both and if it were me-I'd pick Angola.

Regarding the officers, the one killed (I won't give out his name) was a member of the tribal police department. Just a good kid-he didn't deserve this one whit! Neither did the other two deputies-they were responding to a fire call on a Saturday morning for cryin' out loud.

My rant ain't about the gun, it's about -the mental health industry. This guy got lost in the shuffle and now because of it, one good man is dead and two are in the hospital with life threatening injuries.

To all you first responders-whether it be Ambulance, fire or police (and my son is a first responder-paramedic- so this hits close to home) thank you for what you do and please stay safe.


I am just sick about this on so many levels I could cry.:(
 
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That's tough.

God bless those deputies and their families. I wish a speedy recovery for the two wounded.
 
It is sad that people needing help so easily are lost in the system.

My prayers are with you and those gravely affected.
 
Very senseless and tragic. Prayers out for the officers family and LE Brothers.
 
A very painful story, but thanks for sharing it--seriously. Yes, the mental health industry is majorly [censored] up.
 
My condolences to all involved. Sorry to hear this Caj.
Prayers going up for peace and comfort.

Chuck
 
Sorry to hear this..sadly the state of our mental health system has caused so many tragedies and yet the politicians try to ignore it and blame other things to divert attention away from it.
 
Lawyer,

You don't know me but I have taken the pleasure to read many, many of your offerings here.

While I am torn up about those brothers who are lost and hanging thin, I am thankful that your good deeds toward the shooter were enough to keep you safe.

Blessings,

A.
 
This is a tragedy on so many levels. A good man dead, two more seriously injured, and a fourth is likely to spend the rest of his life behind bars.

So many people fall through the cracks of the mental health system that it's hard to call it a system at all.

I feel sorry for them all. And you as well.
 
What a waste!!

My condolences and prayers for all involved.
 
Sometimes we need reminding that the world is not
a safe place. Not safe, and not fair. The thread about
Sheriff Clark has already started me thinking about the
dangers that LEO's face, even when their department is fully
staffed.
Prayers sent for the deputies and their families.
TACC1
 
Evidently there is a second fatality. A 78 year old man was found shot inside the mobile home that was set on fire.

Tragic on too many levels.
 
Caj, sorry to hear the story.
I know you take it to heart.
God be with them all.
 
This is not the time for a rant about the miserable mental health system in this country, which it is!

Prayers to all involved!

medxam
 
Every town has one or two like this. The larger cities have even more. I don't remember the details, but about four decades ago some court ruling opened the gates to the insane asylyms (sp?) and turned thousands of crazies loose on society because we now have the meds to treat them outpatient. It ain't working. I know that folks have rights, but so does the majority of people who aren't crazy. One of my duties as a LEO was to pick these folks up for commitment hearings. If they got commited it wasn't for very long. They are sent home with a new bag of meds that most of them would quit taking. It is a revolving door dealing with the same people. I don't know why there aren't more victims than there are. You just about have to kill someone (sometimes more than one) to get permanently commited.

I was involved in a case back in the early 70's where a man had killed five members of his family with a rusty hatchet. He spent over 25 years in the state hospital and was declared sane. They brought him back here and charged him with five counts of murder to which he pled guilty and was sentenced to life in the state pen. It doesn't always happen that way. He seemed like a nice guy, but I knew he wasn't. I knew he had some hidden demons regardless of what the doctors said. A good lawyer could have probably won that case because so much time had passed, witnesses were no longer around, etc. They are out there, you can't accurately predict who they are, but some are just so obviously unfit to live in society and nothing is done to protect them or their victims. Maybe this guy didn't fall into that category, but a lot of them do and they're still walking around amongst us. It's a sad day in bayou country, even sadder if you're in the middle of it. I hope for your sake you don't have to defend him.

Guns don't have anything to do with it. If they are predisposed to such acts, they'll find a way to commit them. My prayers go out to all involved.
 
I'm sorry to hear it, Caj. My prayers for you, the officers, their families, and the whole community. I am sad for the young man who perpetrated the crimes. God only knows why it happened.
 
Caj,

Please add my prayers for all concerned. It is sad to hear of this man snapping as he did and sadder still that innocent men suffer from his actions.

RIP my brother in arms, we will carry on in your stead.
 
I have only read the OP by Caj.
The rest are probably all that anybody can say---and what I will say.
I am sorry for your loss as it appears that it is a loss to you on many personal levels.
If it is any help at all---this will never be understood or corrected---because it can't. i undersatnd the feelings but feelings don't correct anything and they too will heal with time.
Blessings
 
My condolences to everyone involved in this tragedy, especially for the officers and their loved ones. It is hard when there isn't a specific target to blame but an entire industry.

Yet, I would question if the information posted here should have been withheld as Caj may become involved in the case (character witness)?
 
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