Tag Archives: Texas

Sgt. Harold Preston

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End of Watch. One Houston police officer killed, another wounded in shooting; suspect and suspect’s son also shot

The two were shot at an apartment complex Tuesday morning.

The chief said Sgt. Preston was surrounded by family before he succumbed to his injuries. He served as a police officer for 41 years.

“We lave lost a wonderful human being,” the police chief said.

Even though Sgt. Preston was black, don’t expect Black Lives Matter to take notice. Or the media, or the Left in general to take notice. Doesn’t serve the narrative.

NOTE: Counting down to the end on WordPress. Please see this post and future posts at my new home: 357 Magnum over on Blogspot. And you should update any links. (Posts are in both places right now. That is a small, but not meaningless bit of work on my part, so it will continue for a VERY short time.)

Austin Discovers That Police Are Required for 911 Calls to Be Answered

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Who do they think responds to 911 calls? Austin Police Association believes recent 911 response time delays are the result of understaffing

First, why is there a staffing problem? Well aside from the War on Cops, that is…

Gov. Greg Abbott chimed in on the issue Monday, tweeting in part, “This is caused by Austin’s cuts to police funding & it endangers lives in Austin. The State must consider laws that take over policing parts of Austin.”

The Austin City Council voted to cut some funds from APD in August. A total of $150 million from APD’s budget will be reallocated. Of that, $49 million will be diverted to other programs, $21 million was reallocated immediately and $80 million will be reallocated later. Those cuts also included cutting some future cadet classes.

Add to that the continuing attrition in the ranks.

Casaday said that the canceled classes, coupled with what he believes is an increase in APD officers resigning, is causing the recent rise in 911 response times.

Recently in downtown Austin, when a “shots fired” call came in, there were no officers available to respond, because they were already dealing with other situations.

And if you don’t have a shots fired kind of emergency, you will wait for cops to show up. Hours for burglary, trespass assault, etc.

So. You need cops to answer 911 calls. And if you make cops think that they are not welcome in your city, they might just leave. So how is that defunding of police thing working out?

Don’t Bring a Baseball Bat to a Gunfight

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It won’t end well for you. Man shot five times after threatening Killeen homeowner with bat

The homeowner went inside and came back with a gun. Police said the man in the car stopped on Greengate Dr. and approached the homeowner with an aluminum baseball bat.

The two got into some kind of fight before police said the homeowner shot him at least five times.

The investigation continues.

A Failure of the Victim-selection Process

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CuffsHe had a chance to walk away. He should have taken it. Two people charged in Flower Mound home invasion

During the incident, the homeowner shot the male suspect after telling him to leave several times and warned him, without success. The homeowner felt threatened as the suspect kept moving toward him, which is when he fired one shot towards the suspect.

He was shot one time in the chest, which makes him slightly lucky to be alive, and also luck not to be paralyzed.

Matthew Aaron Jester, 29, and Aerialle Rieff, 30. Both have been charged with burglary of a habitation and fraud use. Rieff was also charged with tampering with/or fabricating physical evidence.

Self-defense is a human-right, and this took place in Texas.

After Action Report on Self-defense Shooting

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People were injured and scared, but they got out better than the would-be bad-guy. EXCLUSIVE: Midland homeowner speaks out after killing alleged intruder

Two guys were in the kitchen, Duffy’s girlfriend was down the hall.

Duffy saw 26-year-old Ian Ramirez burst into his home brandishing a gun,

he knew he had to act quickly.

“I ran to my room and grabbed my rifle,” said Duffy.

Duffy added, “He had blue gloves on and a surgical mask, and he pointed at me and said you’re going to come with me. He was very matter-of-fact and very determined–it was stressful, it was scary.”

That’s when the shooting began.

Click thru for the details of the shooting, what the cops found when they arrived, etc. There is quite a bit that is worth a look, but I will include this.

The incident, although scary, has strengthened Isabel [Tovar] and Gunner’s relationship.

“I definitely feel safer because not everybody can say that my significant other would take a bullet for me, and he definitely did, and I feel safer with him,” said Tovar.

Self-defense is a human-right, and this happened in Texas, not in New Jersey.

2 + 2 = 5 means more bridges will collapse

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Reality is true even if you don’t want it to be. And it has certain characteristics, which includes the fact that you need to do engineering right. Firm blamed for deadly FIU pedestrian bridge collapse suspended from federal contracts.

There has been a lot of talk about how Mathematics is racist, and that Math is sexist. Well, math also describes the way the universe works, and if you want things like electric power, electric vehicles, better internet and computers, and bridges that don’t fall down, someone had better understand the math and the physics.

The FIU pedestrian bridge designed by FIGG Bridge Engineers collapsed in March of 2018 while it was still under construction. Six people died. Faulty design, due to incorrect calculations of load factors, was blamed.

Last month, the Federal Highway Administration placed FIGG on immediate suspension of any projects that involve federal funding. The FHWA also proposes that FIGG be debarred from any federally funded work for 10 years.

The company won’t survive under those conditions.

Texas decided to review work that the same design firm was doing for TxDOT. They didn’t like what they found. Harris County Commissioners vote unanimously to change engineer of $962 million Ship Channel bridge.

I am not an engineer, but clearly there was something wrong with either the design of the FIU bridge or the construction, or both. The other thing wrong was that FIU spent something like 12 million dollars for a bridge that could have been built for less than 1 million. There was a federal grant! I don’t know how to gauge the quality of their designs, but when you get bridges designed incorrectly, they fall down. They usually don’t fall down before they are in use.

Harris County Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday night to change the engineer of record on the Sam Houston Tollway Ship Channel Bridge after a review found one portion that had not yet been built contained a potential design flaw.

That design was done by FIGG. FIGG is saying it all fine. They were also replaced on another bridge in Texas. New designer named for Corpus Christi’s Harbor Bridge replacement after FIGG fired.

In removing FIGG from the project, TxDOT cited a National Transportation Safety Board investigation of the 2018 Miami bridge collapse. The report released in October cited load and capacity calculation errors by FIGG for the pedestrian bridge’s design.

You can find more info about the FIU bridge collapse at this link. It is what started this whole review process.

Self-defense Is Legal in Texas

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JusticeAnd Texans are still armed. This kid didn’t get that memo. Inverness-born teenager Ben Mackie shot dead in Texas after trying to rob a man at gunpoint, Grand Jury rules

“It was the ruling of the Brazoria County Grand Jury that the identified 25-year-old male who fatally shot the victim, Ben Mackie, did so out of self-defense and no charges were pursued.”

Lake Jackson police sergeant Roy Welch added: “The investigation showed that the victim, Ben Mackie and his reported girlfriend, Victoria Mendoza, conspired to orchestrate an aggravated robbery of the 25-year-old male that fatally shot Ben Mackie.

The dead-guy was out of jail, on bail, for drugs and weapons charges. The dead-guy’s girlfriend was arrested and charged with “first degree felony aggravated robbery and third degree felony tampering with evidence.”

It is sad that this law-abiding 25-year-old was put in a position where he had to defend himself with lethal force. It could have been avoided if the dead-guy was held in jail on those original charges. But keeping criminals in jail is unfair. Or something.

A Son Defends His Mother

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I wish that someone from the gun-hating Left would tell me what he should have done differently? HPD: Son fatally shoots man who attacked his parents, inappropriately touched his mother

A 39-year-old man inappropriately touched a woman and beat up her husband before the couple’s son shot and killed him in southeast Houston, police said early Friday.

You can file this under “Another failure of the victim-selection process.” And while…

Detectives said a surveillance video from a nearby restaurant matched the family’s story.

The case goes to a grand jury.

Self-defense is a human-right, and this took place in Texas, not New Jersey. Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 0.

Good Guys 2, Bad Guys 0

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CRIME SCENE DO NOT CROSSTexans are still armed, and Home Invaders are still getting shot. Home invasion suspect shot in Flower Mound

So a man and a woman break into a home in northern Texas. They are met by an armed homeowner. What would you expect? This isn’t New Jersey.

During the 911 call, the homeowner stated he had shot at an unknown male and female, who had allegedly broken into his house through the back door. After the gunshot, both individuals fled the location in a vehicle.

Cops found the vehicle, and the two would-be home invaders. The man had been shot in the chest and was taken to a hospital. The woman was arrested on a parole violation.

Self-defense is a human-right, and in Texas, it is your legal right.

Texans Are Still Armed…

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Hand CuffsHome invaders are still getting shot. Suspect shot by homeowner after breaking into Howard County home

According to the Howard County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called to a home on Driver Road on Sunday afternoon for a report of a shooting.

When deputies arrived, they spoke with a homeowner who said he had walked into his home when he found a man inside. Both men were armed with handguns.

The homeowner shot the suspect, who ran away. He was identified a while later when he showed up at a local hospital. When the doctors were done with him, cops arrested him.

Self-defense is a human-right. Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 0.

Good Guys 4, Bad Guys 0

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You won’t see this on the national news. It is only of local interest. (Translation: It doesn’t advance the narrative.) Woman armed with handgun stops burglary, four people arrested, Bell County Sheriff’s Department says.

You could also file this under “A Failure of the victim-selection process.” And Texans are still armed.

The woman was upstairs and heard what sounded like someone kicking down the front door, the sheriff’s department said. She went down stairs with a handgun and confronted the burglar, who the sheriff’s department said was also armed.

The burglar left the house without any shots being fired and got in a nearby vehicle. The vehicle, with four people inside, was later pulled over on FM 2410 in Belton.

And one of the guys arrested had an outstanding warrant for a shooting in January. He was charged accordingly.

Hat tip to The Daley Gator and Bearing Arms, where it is noted…

Here’s a story you won’t hear “gun safety” activists like Shannon Watts talk about, even though it involves a strong, empowered woman using a firearm responsibly to ensure her own safety.

“Just Give Them What They Want” Is Supposed to Prevent Injury

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crime scene tapeBut it is not a guarantee of safety. Armed robbers wanted after shooting store clerk at Starr Shop in Houston.

Two miscreants broke into a store using concrete to smash a window. They attack the clerk in an effort to get cash.

Police say it’s clear that the employee wasn’t offering any resistance, but they are questioning why the suspect still decided to shoot him.

Because violent criminals don’t stop being violent criminals because of anything you are or are not doing.

“Just give them what they want,” or cooperation, is a strategy to deal with a violent encounter. I think it is a fairly poor strategy in the long run, though a lot of employers would rather see injured employees than armed employees.

The employee is expected to survive his injuries.

Do You Think “The System” Will Protect You?

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Hold violent offenders in jail? I don’t think so. Advocates say partners in Harris Co. are being killed after offenders get bond.

In a document filed by the district attorney’s office, Le reportedly posted that if she went missing, it would be Curtis Holliday responsible for her murder.

“Guess what? She was right,” victim’s right advocate Andy Kahan said. “It was a tragedy, and yet it was so utterly preventable because the signals were sent out galore and we sat and did nothing.”

Holliday was charged with continuous family violence in January for two incidents in 2019. He was released on a $30,000 bond and Le was granted a protective order.

Many people have said that a court order is just a piece of paper. If you need an order of protection, then you need a plan for your personal safety. The cops are not going to act as your bodyguards, not even if there is a restraining order.

There is more… Click thru.

It’s All About the Ratings

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Justice? Safety? We are talking about LIVE Television. Sit down and shut up and let the cops be heroes on TV. Or something. They could’ve arrested him at the courthouse. Instead, deputies waited till the cameras were rolling and busted down his door..

The highly weaponized arrest came just 3½ hours after Watsky sat peacefully in a courtroom where deputies had ample opportunity to take him into custody without fanfare.

Watsky, whose alleged offense was ending an argument by hitting his roommate with a shovel, had strolled in and out of the Williamson County Justice Complex for a routine pretrial appearance that afternoon as he had done for months. He had passed through metal detectors under the watchful eyes of armed sheriff’s deputies.

But arresting him under those circumstances wouldn’t have made for good TV. Or any TV, since the cameras weren’t there. The Warrant was entered into the system as “Inactive” so that there was no chance one of the non-TV deputies would have taken him into custody. There would have been no kicking in of doors. Where is the excitement in that?

Anyway go read the whole disgusting thing. Oh, and there are probably lawsuits involved.

He Didn’t Understand the “Ex” Part of Ex-boyfriend

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crime scene tapeHe had a chance to walk away; he should have taken it. Man dies after being shot by homeowner during dispute at Far Northeast Side home.

First, he apparently called in a 911 report on a disturbance. The cops show up. No disturbance, so they leave.

A real disturbance then breaks out between the soon-to-be-dead-guy, and the homeowner’s daughter. The disturbance was on the front porch.

The girlfriend’s father came outside with a gun and asked the ex-boyfriend to leave. Police say that the ex-boyfriend lunged at the father and that is when he was shot multiple times.

The “How dare you live without me” attitude never really works out in the long-run for anybody.

Self-defense is a human-right, and defending their children is what parents are supposed to do.

The Breakdown of Civilization Continues

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Lawlessness is the new norm. Suspect punches 83-year-old man, steals his car before running over him, Houston police say.

Police in Texas are searching for a suspect accused of attacking an 83-year-old man, taking his car and running over him with the stolen vehicle.

Here’s a link to the surveillance photo the monster who ran-over an 83-year-old man.

Hat tip to The Other McCain, who notes White Lives Don’t Matter: Democrats Encourage Murderous Racial Hatred.

If the races were reversed — if a white man had attacked a black man, stolen his car and run over him — wouldn’t this story be covered by the New York Times, CNN and every other major national media outlet?

As it is, this is strictly “local news.”

The Tolerant Left – Not So Tolerant

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Not if you dare to disagree. UTSA investigates alleged violent threats made by former teaching assistant toward woman on Twitter. (University of Texas at San Antonio)

The UTSA police department is investigating an incident of alleged violent threats made on social media toward a woman by a now former teaching assistant.

Twitter user Ashley StClair contacted UTSA’s Twitter account Tuesday evening to alert the university of the physical and vulgar threats she claimed to receive. She posted the following.

“Hey @UTSA, One of your students/teaching assistants threatened to come to my house, kill, and rape me because of my politics.”

Say it again. “now former teaching assistant.”

Do I have to say she’s conservative and the “now former teaching assistant,” who shall remain nameless, apparently, took offense at something she posted on Twitter.

So where is all the tolerance? Where are the peace and love? That was the Left in the 1960s, but not today. Today it is “Agree with us or we will kill you.” (Hat tip to 90 Miles From Tyranny.)

Another Texas School to Add Armed Staff

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I think maybe I should move to Texas… Mount Pleasant board approves plan to allow employees to carry guns.

A spokeswoman for the school said the board approved using the Guardian Plan, which is a state-approved plan which solely provides hand-picked armed employees the ability to defend themselves in the event of an active shooter.

Don’t mess with Texas. (Hat tip to Keep and Bear Arms.)