Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Heckuva Job: Officers Stopped Loughner on Saturday, Did Nothing

I blame Sheriff Nifong's glaring incompetence. How come when he's babbling on about Rush Limbaugh he fails to mention this?
A wildlife officer pulled over the suspect in the assassination attempt against an Arizona congresswoman less than three hours before the deadly attack, authorities said Wednesday as they pieced together more details of a frenzied morning.

Jared Lougher ran a red light but was let off with a warning at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, the Arizona Game and Fish Department said. The officer took Loughner's driver's license and vehicle registration information but found no outstanding warrants on Loughner or his vehicle.

Wildlife officers don't usually make traffic stops unless public safety is at risk, such as running a red light, the department said in a news release, which didn't say where the stop took place.

It's the latest evidence of Loughner's busy morning before police say he shot and killed six and wounded more than a dozen at a Tucson grocery store.

Also that morning, Loughner, 22, ran into the desert from his angry father, who was chasing his son after seeing him remove a black bag from the trunk of a family car, said Rick Kastigar, chief of the department's investigations bureau. Investigators are still searching for the bag.

The sheriff's deputies who swarmed the Loughners' house removed what they describe as evidence Loughner was targeting Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who doctors said Tuesday was breathing on her own for the first time after taking a bullet to the forehead. Among the handwritten notes was one with the words "Die, bitch," which authorities told The Associated Press they believe was a reference to Giffords.
Gee, maybe is someone had done something six people wouldn't have been murdered. Maybe they noticed the name Loughner and decided to give him a pass.
Amy Loughner got a job with the county parks and recreation department just before Jared was born, and since at least 2002 has been the supervisor for Roy P. Drachman Agua Caliente Park on the outskirts of the city. She earns $25.70 an hour, according to Gwyn Hatcher, Pima County's human resources director.
The blood is on the hands of Sheriff Nifong. He needs to resign in shame. Even after police had visited the Loughner home multiple times, he and his department did nothing.

Thanks to Instapundit for the link.

11 comments:

Jenn of the Jungle said...

I heartily agree Dupnik needs to go.....His behavior is shameful.

Reaganite Republican said...

And now he's refusing to release records re. his interactions with Loughner- nothing a court order can't fix, let the investigation begin

John F said...

I'm confused. Would a traffic ticket have prevented this? Should the punishment for running a red light be getting hauled to jail? Does a state G&F officer letting a motorist off with a warning really indicate that he must know a mid-level Tucson Parks & Rec employee? Do these unknown calls to the Loughner home really indicate that some glaring evidence of this murderous act was ignored? Is the Sheriff really responsible for the actions of the Tucson police? Should the Sheriff really be able to keep tabs on every schizo in his jurisdiction?

These questions and more will be answered by The Armchair Cop!

Ron said...

Sheriff Nifong appears to know all about the shooter, its like his worst nightmare is coming to pass.  Did the officer's in the department warn the 'sheriff' that this guy was dangerous?  Did he know about the acting out in classes where the student felt afraid? How many officers will testify that the Sheriff should have put out warning about the shooter?  This sounds like more Political Correctness where the killer is to be protected, another Major Hassan protected by the so called Democrat after he has murdered.  Why wasn't their Sheriff's Officers at the Congresswoman's meeting, why?  One person trained with weapons would have put this person down, why wasn't there armed people there for protection, this man made it known that he would kill her if he could, the Sheriff made it easy.

TNbourbon said...

I'll grant you, this sheriff acts like a partisan jerk instead of a lawman. But, I kinda doubt a county sheriff has any direct supervision over a wildlife officer, which seems to be who stopped Loughner. On the other hand, it would be interesting to know whether or not that wildlife officer knew the kid's mother, and gave him a break. That said, I can't imagine what would have prompted a full-fledged vehicle search during a routine traffic stop.
No real story here, I think.

jammiewearingfool said...

Yeah, let's blame Rush instead. So much easier.

Joe said...

I can't tell if this is a satire site or if you really think that people should serve jail time for running a red light.

Sigivald said...

So?

He wasn't arrested, because nobody gets arrested for running a light unless they either have a warrant out or do something else so egregious it's criminal reckless driving.

Failure to obey a traffic control is something you normally get a ticket (or sometimes a warning) for, not jail time.

And nothing short of being hauled off to jail was going to stop him, was it?

I also fail to see any reason why "his mom supervises a park and is an employee of the Parks Department" (notice, not "Sheriff's Department" or anywhere in the County heirarchy above the Sheriff or in any way influential on his job prospects) would mean anything.

I mean, it's possible, but I'm not seeing any evidence for it.

(Likewise with the home visits - what do you expect should have been done? Given that nobody outside the Sheriff's office there knows what the calls were about?

Unless you have inside information about something that should have caused them to actually arrest or forcibly commit him, you're talking out your ass on this one.)

Michael Ryan said...

JWF, I think the gist of the comments on this post boil down to "in any society, bad shit happens".

marty bohn said...

stupid...blame the police..had no reason to arrest him....im getting so tired of the right and left blaming...i lean right and this is getting stupid...take the high road tired of the babies of the america...

Wade Zotzman said...

There is only one reason Sherrif Dipshit came out so early to blame talk radio, tea partiers and Palin & Rush, because he recognized the name and knew he was up shit creek.  The best defense is a good offence, so deflect blame before the truth comes out to keep people off his back, then double down when the truth is revealed.