76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

Sad opening day here in NC. Praying for both families involved.


WILKES COUNTY, N.C. -- A 12-year veteran wildlife officer was acting in self-defense when he shot and killed a hunter Saturday morning in Wilkes County, according to a statement from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

Officials said officer Mark Minton was patrolling an area off Cain Creek Road at about 7:30 a.m. when he came into contact with 76-year-old Clyde Coffey, of Lenoir.

Capt. Rusty Hunter with the North Carolina Wildlife Commission said an armed confrontation between the two prompted Minton to shot Coffey one time, killing him.

"There is no evidence to suggest the officer confused the hunter with an animal," Hunter said. "It appears, from all information gathered, the officer was protecting himself. And I don't know any further details than that."

Hunter said Minton was patrolling the area, checking for bait traps, bag limits and hunting licenses. Saturday was the first day of spring turkey season in North Carolina.

The shooting happened in a wooded area on the property, which is owned by Coffey's family. Authorities said Minton had called for backup. According to North Carolina law, wildlife officers are allowed on private property for wildlife-related investigations.

The NCWRD statement said its investigation of the incident had been turned over to the State Bureau of Investigation.

Coffey's family members said Sunday they doubt Minton's claim that he was provoked. "He was taken from us and he was shot on his own land minding his own business. Who shoots a 76-year-old on his own land?" Coffey's daughter told WXII12 news.

"He was a family man who loved his family," she added. "They were the center of his world. This was totally senseless. He was the best father, and grandfather and great-grandfather."

Family members said Coffey had gone out hunting with his son and grandsons, but it wasn't known if any of the family members had witnessed the incident.

Minton is on paid administrative leave pending the results of the investigation.

This is the first wildlife officer-involved shooting in almost 25 years

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

Thats unbelievable and very sad..

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

Unreal...that's terribly sad and it's hard to make any judgement because no one really knows what happened. Prayers for all involved!

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

Its sad that no one really knows what happened, but I hope that the man is killin a big ol gobbler upstairs right now. I also pray that the game warden was in the right to act in his self defense, but I really doubt it for some reason :eek:

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

Please keep us posted on the outcome. Its odd to mea man is shot on his own property by law enforcement.

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

I don't find it odd. It's the south and the man's family has probably owned the land for generations. Some down here tend to think they need to defend their land and rights on it from everyone, including law enforcement. More has come out now, that the officer was investigating a baited area. This would give a better explanation as to why he was on the property itself. One can't let emotions guide them to wonder if the officer was in the wrong for doing his job. Down here people, especially those with generations of beliefs, tend to take things a little personal. I can see the man pointing a gun at the officer if he thinks the officer is trying to tell him what he can and can't do on his own land, or if he's trying to arrest the man for baiting his property. He could have even be trying to take the man's son or grandson into custody and the older man pointed a gun at him. Like any other story, the investigation will tell the truth...or at least one side of it.

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

I agree with you all...especially Breezer

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

You know I think it is sad that we live someplace that the first thought is the Officer had to be doing something or we impute his/her judgment. If this guy was breaking the law at his place or someone elses...he was wrong. Can officers make fatal mistakes; yes they can, but to assume from the git go that that is where the fault lies....sad. They are out there by themselves making split second decisions keeping you and me safe. Our world is a much better place because these men/women are out there in the middle of the day or night willing to use force against people who would do us harm.
As a Lt on the fire department I have done somethings that I am sure would make people judge my actions....point- I broke a door into an apartment because there was smoke showing in the hallway- it was two small Totino's Pizza the guy placed it there and fell asleep- Was I wrong to have ordered the door broke in??? Someone (owner) questioned that and I asked the owner- The smoke detectors went off you didn't wake up, there were knocks on the door you didn't wake up, I kicked the door trying to break it in, you didn't wake up and Joe beat the door in with a sledgehammer and you didn't wake up till we grabbed you off the couch (right next to the door) and drug him down the hall. I asked him what could I have done differently? He said nothing....I am just embarrassed. The point being is this officer made a choice, I do want the fact before we assume he did something wrong and very well could have been forced to choose between his life and this guys.....Put me there and I'll choose my life every time. How many of you could walk to a dark woods by yourself knowing some poaching was going on and they were armed...A dark roads side traffic stop.....Cut the cop some slack until the full story goes out. Off my box thanks.

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

What about No tresspassing signs. Does that not apply to the Game Warden?

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

No it doesn't...wardens (in a lot of states and it sounds like NC is one of them) are allowed to do warrentless searches of private property to investigate crimes related to the environment, hunting, fishing, etc...I could certainly see someone pointing a weapon at a guy if they didn't realize it was a warden, or even if they did. I agree wardens don't get enough respect. EVERYONE they come across is armed, it's rare cops come across armed people. No matter who was right or wrong, or what happened, it is just unfortunate the whole thing happened.

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

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!

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

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?

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

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.

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

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.

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

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.

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

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.

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

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.

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

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.

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

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

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

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.

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

No kidding, sneaking around on someone's private property during opening day (in full camo) is downright stupid. Common sense would tell you that you could either get mistaken for a trespasser or, worse, a game animal. Stupid and tragic.......

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

Let's feel sorry for the poor criminal- You all here should be the ones screaming for the law to be upheld, but we want to attack the warden first andtake 1 jerk in Alabama who did something wrong and make it every CO or GW....We are to uphold the law as hunters where ever we hunt and be ethical. We are to do the right thing even when no CO is lurking, We should be ticked the guy died because of posibly his own actions....If you are asked or told by and officer to do something do we argue or do it? You respect him and then after it is over you can press charges or file a complaint. You don't get shot being calm and obeying the orders....Should the guy have died over a baiting violation, no, but I'll tell you this as I said earlier You pull a gun on me and make me choose who get to go home...I am everytime.
We are the crew here that should be talking about the protection of those who put their life out there every day for us and for the creatures we hold dear...If this guy was breaking the law (as it sounds like it could be) maybe the officer got the info in a situation where he had to go alone. If he was a 12 year vet he knew what he was doing. As far as whining about the way they dress, here in Indiana they had to wear their green uniform and shiny silver/gold bagdes all the time until a few years ago. They changed because the brass made them stand out. They are out there in conditions that would make you or me be scared and due to resources they are put in positions to be alone, just as State Troopers. It is unconscionable that someone here would make the comment that there is only one side of the story...The live GW's side. Now if the facts prove he is guilty than so be it, but until then I am one his side right or wrong.

Copied from a different site- Here is what I was told by a warden ,Minton and another warden where out doing there thing,they were going to check out the farm on cane creek.Minton knew the land so he went.He came across Coffee setting in a tree stand hunting turkey over bait.He told Coffee to come down and he would not.So they fussed for about 15 min and Coffee was telling Minton that it was his land and he could do what ever where ever and if he did not leave he would shot him.Minton ordered him down the tree and Coffee said if I come down and if you are still here I will kill you.Coffee 76 years old came down the tree by using a ROPE Ladder.Went he got to the ground,Minton had take cover and was radioing for back up and moments he was call for EMS and was doing CRP....

In NC the Game Warden has more rights than the land owner if he thinks game laws are being broke.They can come and go on your land as the please and even in your home,Like it or Not.I also think that,that kind of power goes to there head and they think to put it nicey they are god.I have not use what so ever for the game warden.And because the is a family without a dad,granddad and a county that has lost a good man,why,because of a pill of corn..[censored] shame.Please remember this family in your prayers...

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

If I have someone pointing a gun at me, then Im making the choice of going home to my family. I'll make the choice for the person whos pointing the gun at me. Put yourself in the wardens position. What would you do? Not one of you would let someone shoot at you or threaten your life. Just my 2 cents...

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

I spoke with a friend who goes to church with an assistant DA in Wilkes county. He tells me that it was well known that the gentleman was baiting. Now,it is certainly NOT illegal to bait(especially on your own land),however it is ILLEGAL to hunt over bait. Once the hunter climbed up in that tree over a known cornpile,well the case was made. According to what my friend was told,the GW had already radioed for back up,and then confronted the hunter and asked him to come down from the tree stand. According to statements allegedly made to sheriffs Deputies on the scene,the GW was ordered off the property,and the hunter was told he was only going to make things worse for himself. It was further alleged that threats were made against the GW by the landowner. Now,wether or not the shotgun was pointed towards the officer,they just don't know for sure.
Some have said,"why not just wait till after the hunt,and arrest the guy at his cabin or his home?"..... Well,according to the DA,that is contrary to any LE procedure. Using that theory,I guess the NCHP should just follow drunk drivers home to avoid a confrontation on the highway. Now,I don't know what the truth will ultimately be,but I sure hate that the old gentleman lost his life. I also feel for the GW. No matter what happens,this nightmare will haunt his dreams for the rest of his life......

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

u guys need to look at it this all the guys i know that age are stuck in their ways and most would react the same
they figure they worked their whole lives and that they paid their dues to this world and if you try to tell them different they will tell you to go to hell plan and simple and if he spilled coffee on his self on his way out he could off had an att. already so if you look at it that way they story is probably not that far fetch after all
don't take me wrong i am not siding with anyone but i know those kinda of momoents are just the ones that give officers a bad name

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

your a good man firelt72. but your wasting your breath.some people have no respect for the law and think themselves above it. they openly admit it by typing the words they do !
c.o.'s are out there to serve and protect us and our hunting rights.if you think you have the right to hunt over bait on your own property [when it is illegal] what does that tell us?
as everyone has said,we don't know what happened for sure. i do know that telling a c.o. off for tresspasing or messing up your hunt is going to put him in defense mode and if you say the wrong thing or make a wrong move.....
your prolly gonna get shot. reminds me of a story i saw on the news....a woman called police and dared them to chase her.she said she was heavily armed and told them where she was.minutes later she was surrounded by armed officers and she pointed a bb pistol at them and she got shot 3 times for her stupidity.officers are trained to kill,not shoot to wound.
she lived to be stupid another day.:D

as far as the dead hunter being a good man...... a poacher is not a good anything in my opinion he wasn't shot because of a pile of corn,he was shot because of his blatant disregard for law enforcement.

there are some good people on this site but i don't see myself staying.puts a bad taste in my mouth.

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

The old guy was wrong.....the warden did what he had too......

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

Dog Killer- This site and other sites are like eating chicken- You pick off the good stuff and throw out the bones. I am disappointed that there is the anti-law sound to this thread. As I have said if the CO was found to be guilty I think he should be dealt with, but until the facts are out there we don't paint with a broad brush.
I ask this are there bad officers, firefighter and teachers- Sure there are...but the majority of those folks do the right thing. If you take a cross section of any profession you will fine 3-4 per 100 that are screw ups or unethical, most do the right thing. We preach ethical behavior to the kids and to the anti-hunting establishment but when we are here and somewhat anonymous our real nature comes out....Now I am not bailing on this site; I really like it here, but some of us need to look in the mirror and say what would I do if now one was watching? I am not trying to make myself look better but my experiences are what I have; Last season I had a field full of Toms in front of me....I wasn't 100% sure if that was a field I could hunt. I tried calling them to me, but didn't get it done. I hated not getting a shot. I know know that it was a field I can hunt...I could have gone into it to hunt last years, but didn't...I know this year LOL. Point being is I'd rather miss an opportunity to take a bird/deer or whatever and have my integrity than kill a monster and know I did it wrong. Te guy that died could have stopped the whole situation if he followed the orders...even if the CO/GW was rude and rough he would be alive today PERIOD. You don't get shot following the rules the officer gives you.

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

You might want to check the laws. My understanding is that a GW can enter your property, but when it comes to entering your home to conduct a search they have to follow the same procedures as other enforcement officials.

In terms of how GW's act, my perspective is that it is an issue of dealing with priorities and using common sense at the same time. GW's are stretched thin, so one would think that they would concentrate on patrolling for road hunters,conducting license and safety checks on hunters entering or exiting the woods to hunt, and responding to actual complaints. Simply going on private property or even wandering around on public land just to check things out, especially on opening day of a season where everyone is in camo and carrying shotguns with highbrass loads just does not seem like a good or safe idea. In the area where Iown landand hunt I have never even heard of a GW entering private property like that. They already have their hands full dealing with the issues that I described above. Kind of a moot point since it has been repeatedly established that they can enter private property, although a recent court case in Ohio has suggested some limits to that.I just know that is pretty ironic that in hunting we constantly preach safety while in the woods, yet you can have GW's wandering around the woods under pretty unsafe conditions.

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

I wish it were just one.

The case I mentioned about the guy who got framed would have probably blown up into a story that may have been picked up by the national media if the poor guy that got framed (who I knew well)hadn't beenkilled in a car accident after he got out. The state shuffled the GW to another area for fear he would encounter one of the guys family members and violence would ensue.

The two game wardens that were in this area before the framer had so many complaints lodged against them for night hunting on peoples land that the state eventually shuffled them off to another area as well. (See a pattern here? Much like the catholic church used to do with molesting priests all the state of Alabama does with bad GWs is to transfer themonto otherunknowing people)

One of the last GWs that we had here got drunk at a party one night and ran his hand down the back of a married womans pants and groped her bare @$$. The womans husband promptly stomped the chit of the off duty GW. Two weeks later the GW found the guys truck and boat trailer parked at a public boat ramp, and while the guy was gone in the boat running his trotlines, he tossed a dead turkey into the back of the guys truck. When the guy returned from running his lines the GW wrote him up for hunting turkeys out of season. And the guy would have been screwed too if he hadn't had some friends in high places that got it thrown out. I'm not saying that kind of activity is kosher either but in this case another wrong actually did make things right.

Then there is one that I actually witnessed. About 20 years ago after a heavy downpour some friends and myself were pulled over beside the road talking to another car load of friends alongside a drainage ditch swollen with rain water run off. Normally it was bone dry. One of my friends was showing another guy in the other car a new rod and reel he had just purchased. The guy stepped to the ditch and cast it one time to check it out. The local GW was passing by; pulled over; and wrote the guy a ticket for fishing without a license. Because he said that the drainage ditch emptied into a small branch about a 1/4 mile down the road and was therefore considered a part of it. No, I'm not lying or exaggerating. That happened just as described and is representative of the average GW we have had in this area my whole life.

I won't bore you with further stories (But I could).Suffice it to say that based on my own life experiences with GWs I'm not inclined to take their word for chit especially where a shooting is involved. Their profession for some reason seems to have about 6 times as many bad apples in the barrel than any other branch of law enforcement. Perhaps it is the enormous amount of power they are alloted in comparrison toregular police and the fact that they typically work alone in places where the only witness to their actions is the accused. Absolute power corrupts absolutely you know.

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

Did most of those take place in Al or from all over? I ask because here in Indiana I work with them some in water rescue and accidents and I used to be with the state park system here and our guys are top notch. They were fair and balanced; ever the pro (At least the 20-30 I knew).

The point in this case though is this...if the 76 y/o guy gets out of the tree, handles himself in a calm mannor, doesn't point a gun at anyone and just follows direction he is alive today. Even if the GW was a moron and rude I am pretty sure most GW/CO's don't just blow someone away for nothing.

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

He was responding to a baiting situation. Must have been reportedor known of somehow. "that the officer was investigating a baited area." Thats his job and he did his job end of story.Obviously the hunter didn't do his job and paid dearly for it. Doesn't matter if its baiting, license, or whatever it all has the same priorities and just because its easier to check people at public land areas that doesn't give private land owners less priority over public because it is safer.

I beleive the only way a warden can come ontoprivate land is to investigate a report of illegal activity. They don't just wonder around on any public land looking for things that are wrong. WCL

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

I dont' get it why would a 76 yr old man try to harm a game warden? But I don't know. And I also hope he's killn' the biggest bird of his second life right now upstaris too Oneshot. :eek:

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

The reports say that the game warden was patrolling the area, but then states that he was supposed to be investigating a baiting in the area. Kind of unclear whether he had direct information that the property in question was specifically where it was occurring or if he was just wandering about the general area. Will be interesting to see all the facts, so we are all kind of speculating at this point. No matter, it just seems to me that a GW in camo going onto private property over a pile of corn is kind of like sending a SWAT team in on someone for an unpaid parking ticket. Like I said though, it is kind of a moot point since they do have authority to do stuff like this. See comments below.

As a general rule, game wardens have the authority to enter all privately held lands and public lands in the course of their duties. This power is kind of vaguely stated in the hunting regs,but it is generally taken that they can enter private or public ground at will and check hunters even if they are interupting their hunting. For example,a few years ago, the front page of a local newspaper here in Ohio had a picture of a game warden checking a hunters license, while he was in his tree stand, on public ground. I think that there are a number of members here who in the past have talked about encountering GW's who were patrolling private property. There was a recent court case in Ohio which possibly indicated that the GW's power to enter private property should be limited to when they actually know that people are hunting there. I can no longer find the link for this case, but will post it if i do.

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

Sadly yes, all in AL. The guiding principle for hiring game wardens in our state seems to be, "It takes a criminal to catch a criminal."

Glad to hear it. Shake their hand for me. I wish we had them.

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

I will when I see one of them again! BE safe Todd!!

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

WOW remind me to never hunt with most of you guys. I belive the game warden has every right to come on any piece of property private or not they need to be able to up hold the law. I don't know about you guys but every time I have had a run in with a GW they have been great nice kind not a gun toting trigger happy freak that you guys make them out to be!!! SO what if the guy is 76 or 17 if he was breaking the law and threatend the GW than he had every right to do what he did I am sure that was the last thing he wanted to do He even tryed giving the guy CPR!!! after he shot him. its not like he kicked him in the face and put another bullet in him for good measure!!! This last deer season a friend of mine owns a farm and has feeders out all year for the deer when deer season came he just blocked the feeders and never emptyed them the first moring of shotgun opener about 5 wardens showed up and wrote seven guys tickets for baiting.And one of the guys didn't even have a deer tag dumb ass.did any body get shot NO did the wardens pull there guns NO so the morel of the story is do what your supposed to and no body gets hurt act stupid well I pray for you. I am just glad I decided not to hunt with my friends last year I had no idea they were doing that.I am glad they got caughtthats my two cents worth have a great day.

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

Well. first off, if you are going to point your gun at someone, you better be willing to use it. If he had, this would have been a different story; " Game Warden shot, mistaken for game while on private property without knowledge of the landowner". Only one guy there to tell what happened, the 76 year old turkey hunter!

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

Such a sad day for everyone involved...
Here is my .02 cents on what I have read.
I wonder why the family was allowed to put a piece in the paper on how great a person the 76 y/o man was. For instance there was a 16 y/o boy shot and killed in a neighboring town.The family and friends said the boy was such a wonderful person. The newspaper discoveredYouTube video of the kid belonging to a gang and in addition after the police investigation was completed it showed the kid was involved in an armed robbery... How wonderful is that?
I have to agree with FIRELT that if you keep your cool, remain calm, and do as you’re told it is rare you will get injured.
When it comes to wildlife officials being able to enter property here in PA I do believe they can go on without a warrant. Personally I would rather have a warrant... it just makes a case stronger.
Whether he was wearing camo or a full uniform is aside from the point... It may make it harder to identify but I am sure that the officer can provide identification if asked for it. I am sure he would have his badge along with department identification if he was conducting an investigation.
I would also like to verbally blast the people who are disrespecting the LEO in this situation. We as hunters, trappers, and outdoorsmen should strive to uphold the game laws every second of our lives. Whether we agree with them or not... Here in PA we have antler restrictions, do I like it?Not really but I obey the law.
We also need to remember that if someone points a gun at you what your initial reaction might be... I can honestly say that if someone points a gun at me I plan on going home to my family, friends, and my beloved pets.

RE: 76 yr old turkey hunter killed by game warden
 

I /m a teacher and deal with all kinds..most of my kids get anger management ..I as a professional can push their buttons and get them to act out ; which results in a suspension for them or.. I can work with them and try to defuse every situation..I do that..I've seen cops on Cops do the same..most exert their authority but some display a compasionate heart and try to defuse the situation..

Most of us know the effective range of a turkey shot gun..When the GW realized what he was dealing with..he could have backed up out of the kill zone and radioed for help.Many 75 year old folks are on medication and probably aren't thinking so sharply. Usually time will help this situation ...I just think dealing with some folks you need to have a little more patience..You can 't use the same tactics in dealing with everyone..not if your the least bit interested in people's lives.
C7