Pinellas County deputy shoots, kills man who pointed gun at him in St. Petersburg

[Unregistered]

It's not reasonable to walk up on a car you has a man in it with a tactical vest that says sheriff on it and say to its troll with guns. Good luck with that false narrative those two people had bad intentions from the start. If they were so concerned they should have called 911 not obtain weapons which it is illegal for them to even posses

[Unregistered]

WHOOP, THERE IT IS! It was only a matter of time before this conversation turned towards PCSO deputies bringing up other men's pensies. It is like a favorite topic of theirs. Like they just sit around and daydream about all of the different colors and sizes and can't wait for a chance to bring them up in conversations. Glad I'm not around you in the locker room, you with your camera phone in hand.

Why? Because he’s not a weak little worm like you. He’s the kind of man your wife fantasizes about while your semi-hard little baby pecker disappoints her yet again.

[Unregistered]

It's not reasonable to walk up on a car you has a man in it with a tactical vest that says sheriff on it and say to its troll with guns. Good luck with that false narrative those two people had bad intentions from the start. If they were so concerned they should have called 911 not obtain weapons which it is illegal for them to even posses

Maybe they did, then again, maybe they did not. when someone asks you if you are a "troll", the proper response is not simply "yes". In the first place, who the hell knows what the person asking means by the word "troll"? Second, what ever happened to the 200 year practice, in LE, of showing a person your badge? It is common and accepted practice throughout the LE world, except in PCSO, I guess. Remember, Curry is in plain clothes wearing only a funky vest with SHERIFF written on it. Does that make him a LEO? Who knows.

The big kicker here is what Curry reasonably knew and believed, at the time of the shooting. Did he know they were felons? Did he REASONABLY believe that a deadly force was imminent? Was there some way he could have avoided the confrontation, called in back-up and THEN confronted the men from a position of superior force and determined their intent? As he was sitting in a car, in an ally which was clear both ahead and behind his car, why didn't he simply drive away, or at least attempt to? Why did he, apparently, initiate the exchange of gunfire? These are all questions which need to be answered. For they will surely be asked in any court proceedings down the road. And, they are all questions that a E investigator is trained, and needs, to ask and answer.

[Unregistered]

When two suspects who evaded apprehension by two other agencies approach with guns drawn it's safe to say they are not inquiring about joining the PBA. They intent to kill you. You don't talk or hesitate, you just shoot to save your life.

So then the story is back to these guys were the ones in the black Lexus? I'm confused because it is so hard to keep up with all of the different versions from boobie. I thought it was determined that the Lexus "chase" had nothing to do with this house, these two men or why Curry was there.

Also, I am a little confused about Curry's story. At Boobies first presser, he claimed that they only pointed their guns at Curry. Then there was supposedly a big gun battle. Which one is it? Did Curry forget or now know they shot at him? I've been shot at twice. I certainly knew it at the time, and I will never forget it. But Curry either forgot or didn't know?

[Unregistered]

Maybe they did, then again, maybe they did not. when someone asks you if you are a "troll", the proper response is not simply "yes". In the first place, who the hell knows what the person asking means by the word "troll"? Second, what ever happened to the 200 year practice, in LE, of showing a person your badge? It is common and accepted practice throughout the LE world, except in PCSO, I guess. Remember, Curry is in plain clothes wearing only a funky vest with SHERIFF written on it. Does that make him a LEO? Who knows.

The big kicker here is what Curry reasonably knew and believed, at the time of the shooting. Did he know they were felons? Did he REASONABLY believe that a deadly force was imminent? Was there some way he could have avoided the confrontation, called in back-up and THEN confronted the men from a position of superior force and determined their intent? As he was sitting in a car, in an ally which was clear both ahead and behind his car, why didn't he simply drive away, or at least attempt to? Why did he, apparently, initiate the exchange of gunfire? These are all questions which need to be answered. For they will surely be asked in any court proceedings down the road. And, they are all questions that a E investigator is trained, and needs, to ask and answer.

Golden was carrying an AR-15, and Ford was carrying a .40 caliber handgun.

Golden had 32 prior felony arrests and Ford nine prior felony arrests.

I'm sure both were just approaching Deputy Curry as good citizens to turn in found weapons, you know, so they could keep the neighborhood safe.

You are a PUTZ - end of discussion.

[Unregistered]

The james is strong in this thread.

[Unregistered]

You make several unsupported assumptions, here.

The first is that the armed men knew, or even believed, that Curry was a LEO. Curry was in plain clothes in an unmarked car. He was wearing a est with the word police or sheriff printed on it, something that anyone with a credit card can purchase on line. According the Sheriff, Curry was asked if he was a "troll", not a LEO, and answered yes. There is no evidence that he produced his creds for examination. So, all the men knew was that there was some guy, wearing vest with police printed on it and possibly armed, parked in the alley behind their home.

Second, is the assumption that they intended to harm Curry. They were perfectly capable of reaching out and touching him with either the rifle or the .40 caliber pistol from a distance, they did not have to approach the car at all. Yet, they did not. In fact, apparently, they allowed him to get out of the vehicle before the shooting started. And, the sheriff, in his statement, said that Curry said that he feared for his life. This tends to indicate that Curry fired first. If the other men had started shooting at him, the sheriff would more likely have said that Curry was being shot at and returned fire.

Also, you justify Curry's actions based upon the criminal history of the two armed men. There is no evidence that Curry had any knowledge as to the identities of the men, or their criminal history. So, that argument is moot. You simply can not argue that people, even black people, can be executed for living in a bad area and being armed. For all he knew, one or more of them could have been retired LEOs. Heck, some clown jump out of an unmarked cafr behind my house, and point a gun in my direction, I'm liable to ventilate him, myself, if there is no cover around.

There are a lot of problems, with this shooting. The first is why Curry did not simply drive away, rather than exit his vehicle and engage the two men. There is the obvious question of who fired the first shot and if it was justified under the existing circumstances. Then there is the question of whether the armed men actual knew or suspected that Curry was a LEO. After all, it does not appear as though Curry adequately identified himself. The next question, if the men intended to harm Curry, why approach the car, rather than take him under fire from a safe distance? They had a rifle, after all. If this case does not have homicide investigators pulling their hair out, then it should.

Now, I am not defending the actions of the two armed men who approached Curry. As I said, they had plenty of opportunity to call the local PD and the SO and inquire as to whether there was a unit parked at that location and to have a PD unit swing by and check it out. They should not have gone out, armed. But, they did. Now, many people do the same thing, in the same situation. They are not thugs or criminals. Some of them are retired LEOs. So, we can not simply shoot people bearing arms, especially it there is chance that they do not recognize us as being LEOs, because we are in plain clothes. The use of all force, and especially deadly force, has to be legally justified, even by LEOs.

You make some very valid observations, however, you are still basing the majority of them on the PCSO narrative, which has proven time and time again to be both inaccurate and often intentionally misleading.

You first assume that Curry even had an actual pre-shooting conversation with Golden. You talk about combat tactics and police training, but are leaving out hood tactics and hood training. Most of the people in that community are calling BS on any person from that area walking out into an alley (unarmed) up to a dark running car with dark tinted windows and sticking their face on the windshield to see who it inside. That's a great way to get shot. Hood tactics would dictate that if they had actually come out with guns in hand, it may have been because they saw the car and were trying to scare off what they perceived to be a threat to them. Perhaps some other rivals or someone they were beefing with. That makes a lot more sense than Curry's story. But Curry knew he needed to establish they he they knew he was a cop in order to get away with jumping out of a dark car and blasting away. The "abmush theory covers that nicely.

Then there is the supposed conversation with the "troll" comment. It is not widely known by the public that Golden had posted a rap on Facebook earlier that same day showing him sitting on a couch, supposedly in that same house with that same gun next to him and in that song making the same "troll" comment. Is it possible that that is why curry was there and where he got the "troll" comment. Sheriff Gualtieri has backpedaled from his original statements about Golden and Ford being involved in that police chase in Clearwater in that black Lexus. Also, those who knew both Golden and Ford say that there was never any Black Lexus at that house or tied to that house. So then why was Curry really there? Because of Social media monitoring and the PCSO knowing Golden was a felon with a gun in a video they saw? Again, this scenario supported by people that knew Golden and know Ford makes more sense than Curry and Gualtieri's version.

Then there is Curry's and Gualtieri's claims that Golden saw that Curry was in uniform. The old PCSO tactical vests have a dark green plastic band on them with black letters over that and are very hard to read, especially from the front. The newer vests use white print, but do not display any badge, name or credentials on them. If Curry was sitting in his car, the word "sheriff" would have been difficult if not impossible to see from outside the dark car with tinted windows. If Curry was actually waiting on them or surveilling them, I can't see Curry or anyone else rolling down the window and having a little chat. If I were in the exact same scenario as Curry with Golden approaching my car, I would have my left arm on the wheel concealing the gun in my right hand which would have blocked the wording on the vest.

Also, your point that "if the men intended to harm Curry, why approach the car, rather than take him under fire from a safe distance?". Again, going back to hood tactics and hood training, there is not a single person that has lived the street life that would have acted in that manner. If they had intended on shooting Curry, they would have fired immediately and not waited until Curry got out of his car and started firing.

Then there is the complete absence of any bullet holes. None in Curry's car, none in the backdrop objects behind Curry. none anywhere. The most disturbing aspect of all of this is Curry not even claiming initially that he was shot at. What, he didn't know? If you have ever been shot at, you know it and will never forget it. But Curry didn't?

I do take exception with your contention that Golden or Ford should have just called the cops if they thought someone was sitting in a car behind there house. If you lived where they lived and were their same race then you would know that inviting the police over to your house is never a a good idea, especially the PCSO. You are just as likely to wind up in cuffs as not.

The shooting story literally makes no sense and all of the bravado about what a bad ass Curry is will never cover up that fact.

[Unregistered]

What reasonable person would know it was a Deputy, go back in the house and retrieve guns, and start approaching this same Deputy with firearms in hand? Our expert here, is fixated on tactics. What emboldened these two numerously arrested lads to think that was the way to go? See, you have to go way back in their lives to see that no boundaries were ever taught or respected. They only know that violence is power in the thug life. Their behavior has been tolerated by the courts whom have given them many chances to change their ways. City leaders, both black and white tolerate this behavior and never address it unless there is a racial component to it. Black on black crime is so out of control that even horrific crimes only make the news for a day or so. Now we have so called police experts that are apologists for these thugs behavior. Trying to say that the Dep didnt have to use deadly force from a arm chair quarterback, after the fact, misses the biggest point here. The thugs made even poorer decisions, and the Deputy is lucky to be alive. It would appear that minimizing the thugs behavior and being hyper critical of the deputies tactics is not the conclusion of most Leo's, Thank God!

We all heard Sheriff Gualtieri's "32 felony arrests" speech. But how many actual convictions? A review of his DOJ sheet shows a few minor drug charges, a couple of DWSL and a few "fleeing" along with two arms charges after the drug conviction. No violence, none towards LEO's and none against anyone else. But all of the sudden he is Rambo? Doesn't make sense.

[Unregistered]

The only perspective that matters is that of Curry's. From his perspective he was surveilling a house where a fleeing felon may be located then was approached by two men with guns. He got out to engage rather than have the vehicle be his coffin and fired or returned fire. Ot doesn't matter who fired first. He doesn't have to announce "police" or "show his badge" if it puts hin at a tactical disadvantage. Also, you cannot approach a vehicle as a civilian with a gun drawn because it is not legal in Florida to protect personal property with deadly force. You can not open carry in Florida and they were both felons in possession of a firearm. Clean shoot all day long. Whether or not they were actually involved in the persuit is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is Curry's perception.

[Unregistered]

Maybe they did, then again, maybe they did not. when someone asks you if you are a "troll", the proper response is not simply "yes". In the first place, who the hell knows what the person asking means by the word "troll"? Second, what ever happened to the 200 year practice, in LE, of showing a person your badge? It is common and accepted practice throughout the LE world, except in PCSO, I guess. Remember, Curry is in plain clothes wearing only a funky vest with SHERIFF written on it. Does that make him a LEO? Who knows.

The big kicker here is what Curry reasonably knew and believed, at the time of the shooting. Did he know they were felons? Did he REASONABLY believe that a deadly force was imminent? Was there some way he could have avoided the confrontation, called in back-up and THEN confronted the men from a position of superior force and determined their intent? As he was sitting in a car, in an ally which was clear both ahead and behind his car, why didn't he simply drive away, or at least attempt to? Why did he, apparently, initiate the exchange of gunfire? These are all questions which need to be answered. For they will surely be asked in any court proceedings down the road. And, they are all questions that a E investigator is trained, and needs, to ask and answer.

They ran the plate and the address so it was known that at least one of them was a felon, possibly both. Did you even read the article Sherlock? You are obviously not a cop.