What if the Lights Are On But Nobody’s Home?
As would seem to have been the case in the horrific Atlanta courthouse shootings.
Video captures attack
A video camera, which is supposed to be monitored by two guards in a command post, shows Nichols and the deputy arriving in the holding area between two courtrooms, according to a law enforcement official who saw the tape. The video shows Hall guiding Nichols, whose hands are still handcuffed behind his back, into one of two open cells.
Hall releases one cuff and turns Nichols around to unhook the remaining cuff. But the muscular, 33-year-old Nichols then lunges at Hall, knocking the petite, 51-year-old grandmother backward into another cell. Both disappear from camera view. Two to three minutes later, Nichols emerges from the cell, holding Hall’s gun belt and police radio. He picks up her keys from the floor and locks her in the cell.
A few minutes later, he emerges in civilian clothes. He locks the door behind him and calmly walks out of the holding area, carrying the gun belt, according to the official who saw the tape.
Please note: that was ‘the official who saw the tape. Not the law enforcement types whose job is monitoring the tape.
Not the law enforcement types who let him damn near kill one of their own under their very noses. Oh, wait. Duh. Their noses would have had to have been at their appointed place of duty for it to happen ‘under’ them. The explanation should be interesting.
Humanity...or the Lack Thereof | tree hugging sister | 
March 14, 2005 9:25 am
Subscribe
Hey, donut runs for the office can require two guys sometimes…
Heh. ‘Don’t worry, I’ve got your back’ becomes ‘don’t worry I’ll be back’.
Dude, we don’t even have a full-time BAILIFF at our courthouse. Our prisoners — excuse me, DEFENDANTS — are escorted by our jailers, three overweight retired deputies, men who I could knock over with one push.
A defendant who is out on bail isn’t even accompanied by a deputy. Just our part-time bailiff Jim, age 60, who may or may not be picking his nails with a pocketknife at any point during a trial. Our courthouse has no metal detector, either.
So, if you’re on trial in our county and out on bail, you could bring a gun in the courtroom and blow away everyone in the courtroom. Even me, because my office shares a wall with the jury box and if you’re blowing THEM away, the bullets could go through the wall and strike me in my pretty, pretty head.
Nice, huh?
Geesh, very nice. Must make for some nervous days at work…
Not even a metal detector? I’d be eBaying one of those handheld doolie jiggers, if I was the guy at the door. Here’s hopin’ you have one of those hand-me-down military surplus old grey monster desks. If you do keep the space underneath clean, Lisa ~ it’ll protect you against damn near anything.
Using one single, solitary, petite 51 year old woman to escort a large, violent offender back to his cell? I’d say in some way Political Correctness killed some people here.