HAZCON7

Badge or no badge - come on to my land during opening morning of any season and there is going to be a problem!
The officer had to have known the people he encountered would be angry at being interuptedand armed.
If there was an investigation into unlawful activity then he should have never went there without backup - PERIOD!

hossdaniels

The GW was within his rights to be on private property. I believe they can go anywhere they want, atleast in NC. I've read that that there was bait in the area. I have also read that the GW was in full camo, not uniform. I have seen GW's here in full camo before and thought that was a bad idea. All of this is here say, no one knows what really happened yet. The GW probably should of backed off untill backup arrived, but if some old man points a shotgun at you what the hell was he supposed to do? Youwouldn't think he would shoot, but would you bet your life on it?

NCRemington700

I don't think it matters if the GW was in full camo or his all-green uniform. The whole idea is for them to catch you without you knowing that they're coming. Otherwise they'd all wear blaze.

There's 2 sides to this story, I'm sure. Unfortunately we'll never hear the other side. It's still truly sad that this happened.

mohunter82

Some of my best friend are Police officers. I myself have thought about joing the force. Think about how that GW is feeling right now. I honestly doubt he wanted to shoot that man. regardless if he was doin something wrong or not. I'll bet he had no intention of goin in there to shoot him.
I can only imagine how he is feeling and my prayers go ouy to both families.

Peck1524

Game Warden has every legal right to be on your property for an investigation, unless your state has a law I don't know about. And if a Game Warden does come on your land what kind of "problem" will he have? He's only doing his job.

UncleNorby

The details will never be known to the public. The GW is the only one that knows what happened, unless there was another witness.

I don't know anything about this case, but I do think there are cases where GWs are heavy handed or perhaps over-zealous.I can seeno reason for the GW to be on private property dressed in full camo, unless he has received a tip that some violation is going on like hunting over bait. If that's the case, there are plenty of ways to handle it, like enter the property with another officer once it is fully light, dressed in the typical uniform so there's no doubt who you are or what you're doing. Could have even waited for the hunt to be over while observing from a distance, then approach the hunter(s). GWs dressed in full camo, staking out a hunter on private land, alone, is going too far IMO.

There's no real excuse for shooting anyone on your land like a poacher or trespasser, unless you are truly defending yourself. But we'll never know how it played out.

HAZCON7

I'm not saying the Game Warden didn't have a legal right nor am I implying innocence on the land owner's part.
What I am saying is that that Game Warden, especially being a 12 year veteran, should have expected an attitude "problem" or argument going onto private land on opening morning of a hunt and therefore should have had backup with him. Like UncleNorby said - I don't know anything about this case other than what was presented here but there are many more professional ways to handle these situations than the one presented.

Todd1700

How you figure? There's only one side of the story left alive and he will be believed because he's a game warden. But in my experience with some of the thugs we have had for wardens in this area their word shouldn't automatically be taken as gospel either. Unfortunately some of the worst outlaws I've every encountered were game wardens. We even had one here that framed aguy and had him sent to prison because they were both courting the same woman. Nice way to eliminate the competition huh? Would love to know more about the 76 year old man. Like any criminal record or pastepisodes ofmisconduct. If none exist then it seems odd to me that a man would live 76 years without harming anyone and then just decide one day while on a hunt with his grandkids to try to kill a game warden.

Peck1524

Well said. I guess we will have to see what the details of the investigation bring out.

Lanse couche couche

I simply don't like the idea of GW's lurking around in the woods in full camo. Hell, I dont like the idea of them wandering around the woods on opening day of hunting season in regular uniform. Its simply unsafe and a good way to lead to confrontations like this. I realize that game laws need to be enforced, and respect the job that GW's have to do. But there has got to be a better way to do it than situations like this.