Marshal shoots passenger Miami airport

[arnisador]

When you have to make the decision, you have to go with whats presented to you. Do you just assume that a bomber wouldnt say he had a bomb and not shoot?

I'm not arguing against the decision to shoot. It seems like the right decision to me.

But I'm also not surprised that there was no bomb, and I expect we'll learn that the person was suicidal, not a terrorist.

There's no winning. The marshall must shoot.

 

[Kreth]

I agree with arnisador. I'm not questioning the decision to shoot, I just thought it was odd that the article didn't mention whether there were any explosives found.

 

[INDYFIGHTER]

I agree, but I think there has to be another way to protect everyone in the instances when someone is mentally unstable and making false claims. I don't know what they way is, but I have to think there is another solution out there that can disable someone without killing them....
Based on the evidence reported so far it sounds like the air marshalls did what they were trained to.....hopefully further evidence will support what they did and this won't be a huge mistake

I just read yesterday where a Israeli policeman was killed stopping a suspected bomber.

From the article-

Crowded station
Sunday’s attack occurred in a dirt parking lot about 100 yards from the bus station, which was crowded with morning rush-hour travelers. Witnesses said two security guards halted the bomber, preventing a much larger attack. The guards were critically injured with burns and shrapnel wounds.
Taxi driver Itzik Ohana said he was waiting for customers in the lot when he saw the bomber, a man about 20, who had short hair and was dragging a heavy bag and sweating. The man frequently stopped to put the bag down and rest.
Ohana said he told a security guard about the suspicious-looking man and called the police. “While I was talking to the police there was an explosion,” he said.

If the facts so far are true and the man claimed he was carrying a bomb then made an attempt to reach into the bag than the marshall was in the right. If you shot this suspect with a taser and missed and he does have a bomb and sets it off then the loss of life could have been a heck of a lot more. Terrorist have taken some of our freedoms but I don't think anyone expects to have the freedom to yell "BOMB" on an airplane without getting someones attention. If the man was mentally ill and shouldn't have been traveling than let's blame his doctor not the man whose incharge of the saftey of every passenger on that plane and the terminal that day. With the given facts it sounds like he did his job.

 

[MJS]

I'm not arguing against the decision to shoot. It seems like the right decision to me.

But I'm also not surprised that there was no bomb, and I expect we'll learn that the person was suicidal, not a terrorist.

There's no winning. The marshall must shoot.

I'm hearing now that he was in an argument with his wife. He stood up, grabbed his carry on bag and start making his way to the front of the plane. In efforts to get from the rear to the front, he was yelling that he had a bomb. He was then confronted by the Marshal. They're saying that it was at that time when he reached into his bag, giving the impression that he was going to activate the bomb.

Mike

 

[Ping898]

The guy said he had a BOMB not a knife. Do you recommend we wait for the BOOM! To see if its legit? If the guy says hes has a bomb does he really have to have one for the Marshals actions to be justified in your opinion?

No, I do not suggest that, but that doesn't mean I don't wish there was another way to deal with it than killing the guy. I also said I didn't know what that answer was, but it doesn't mean there isn't another way out there. I see nothing wrong with what was done in this instance at the moment, but I just wish in the future there was another way to deal with this situation other than killing the man

 

[arnisador]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051208...wvbdQQB;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

No bomb was found, and federal officials later concluded there was no link to terrorism. Witnesses said his wife, Anne, frantically tried to explain he was bipolar, a mental illness also known as manic-depression, and was off his medication.

"She said it was her fault that he was bipolar," said Mike Deshears, a Flight 924 passenger who works for a vacation club in Orlando. "He was sick and she had convinced him to get on the plane."

[...]

Alpizar, who worked in the paint department of a home supply store, was returning from a missionary trip in Ecuador

So, it appears that mental illness is indeed the explanation. I still don't disagree with the decision to shoot--it seems like it was the only option--yet, what a shame!

Investigators closed the concourse at the airport for half an hour and spread passengers' bags on the tarmac. Dogs sniffed them for explosives, and bomb squad members blew up at least two bags. No bombs were found.

The remaining passengers were kept on the plane for an hour, then police told them to leave with their hands behind their backs, said Lucy Argote, 15, of Codazi, Colombia. They had to leave their possessions behind.

I am soooooo ready to see Osama bin Laden in custody. (Ours, or Satan's--I don't much care which.) I miss 10 September 2001.

 

[rutherford]

It's worth making special comment about the fact that the guy was yelling "I've got a bomb" to move through traffic as the plane was already landed and the jetway was attached.

I assume that at this point, he was not aware there were Air Marshalls on the plane.

So, at the moment I've got checkmarks in the stupid and crazy columns, but probably not suicidal.

 

[shesulsa]

It's worth making special comment about the fact that the guy was yelling "I've got a bomb" to move through traffic as the plane was already landed and the jetway was attached.

I assume that at this point, he was not aware there were Air Marshalls on the plane.

So, at the moment I've got checkmarks in the stupid and crazy columns, but probably not suicidal.

He was bipolar - when he yelled "I've got a bomb" it probably meant he had to go poop. Seriously, he clearly panicked and ran.

Another mentally ill person bites the dust in the interest of national security.

 

[Tgace]

Id have shot him pre 9/11...a man is yelling "Ive got a bomb!" Are we to wait and see if hes telling the truth?

 

[shesulsa]

Id have shot him pre 9/11...a man is yelling "Ive got a bomb!" Are we to wait and see if hes telling the truth?

When someone else running right along with you is yelling, "HE'S BIPLOAR! HE'S BIPOLAR!" why not use that taser? :ultracool

 

[Kreth]

When someone else running right along with you is yelling, "HE'S BIPLOAR! HE'S BIPOLAR!" why not use that taser? :ultracool

Because nothing rules out him being bipolar AND having a bomb, unfortunately.

 

[shesulsa]

Because nothing rules out him being bipolar AND having a bomb, unfortunately.

Nothing rules anyone else on the plane out either. Nor the wife who could have been creating a distraction - why wasn't she arrested or shot?

 

[Kreth]

Nothing rules anyone else on the plane out either. Nor the wife who could have been creating a distraction - why wasn't she arrested or shot?

No one else on the plane was screaming, "I have a bomb!" I think the marshall made the correct choice given the circumstances.

 

[7starmantis]

You can't just start shooting everyone around. You take out the immediate threat. If the wife had jumped over his body and grabbed for the bag, she probably would have been shot as well.

Seems she wasnt arrested because she wasnt creating a distraction. Its sad, but at the risk of soundig harsh....the downside to being mentally ill. I dont care what your yelling at me if someone screams they have a bomb and make an aggressive move, you simply can't jeopardize the lifes of others to see if he's bluffing....an air marshal doesn't get that luxury.


7sm

 

[rutherford]

And the whole plane was detained and questioned. People univolved with the incident had their luggage blown up outside on the concrete.

 

[Tgace]

Some 3rd party yelling "HES BIPOLAR" is probably why the officer didnt immediately shoot. From what I heard they proned the guy out and he then went for his bag. I think that not immediately shooting the man was taking enough of a chance, when he reaches into the bag its crunch time. Do YOU trust some unknown person yelling at you?

Bottom line is if there was some sort of weapon in the bag the guy would be a Hero. And the fact that there wasnt is the only reason the guys actions seem to be in question.

 

[Ping898]

And the whole plane was detained and questioned. People univolved with the incident had their luggage blown up outside on the concrete.

So I read the 2 bags were blown up for whatever reason...I am wondering though, what kind of compensation do ya get if they decide to blow up your bag and there was nothing in it, but say your cd player, camera, 2 laptops, some dvds and a pda (a typical carry-on bag for me)....is the government under any obligation to replace your stuff once they find out they blew up your bag for the hell of it....?

 

[Tgace]

Probably. Either them or the airline.

 

[arnisador]

Are they obligated to replace it? If the police slice open the fabric on your car seats to search for drugs and find nothing, must they pay to have it repaired?

 

[Tgace]

If you make a valid claim the town typically pays up here. They pay to fix doors we kick down too.