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Posted: 12/20/2005 11:04:28 PM EDT
Shot Peoria officer paralyzed from chest down
Weigt talks with family; 'investigative lead' turns self in Brent Whiting The Arizona Republic Dec. 20, 2005 03:55 PM A Peoria police officer who was shot and wounded Saturday is paralyzed from the chest down but has full use of his arms, authorities said Tuesday. "The recovery process for such an injury is tremendous, and the family asks for the public's continued support and prayers," said Mike Tellef, a Peoria police spokesman. Tellef said the medical condition was disclosed at the request of relatives for Officer Bill Weigt, 31, who remains in serious but stable condition at John C. Lincoln Hospital - North Mountain. Earlier, police filed court appears showing marijuana has emerged as a motive in a Saturday slaying that led to a shootout in which Weigt suffered the crippling chest wound. The injury occurred during an early-morning gunbattle with Damon Hicks, 27, who was shot dead by other officers. In booking documents, police said Hicks was killed after he and Hassain Hennix, 23, of Avondale, went to a Peoria home looking for marijuana. Police allege that Hicks killed Ruben Cruz Hernandez Jr., 21, and fled in a car and later was killed, while Hennix fled from the neighborhood on foot. Hennix was arrested Monday on charges of murder, kidnapping and burglary. During a court appearance Tuesday, his bail was set at $500,000. Weigt, who is married and a father of four, has been on the force for about 18 months. The officer, who was wearing a protective vest, was shot in the chest but the bullet missed the vest, Tellef said. At nightfall Saturday, more than 100 police officers, relatives and other well-wishers gathered at the Phoenix hospital for a candlelight vigil in support of the officer. Karen Ashley, a deputy Peoria police chief, described Weigt as a well-respected officer with a sense of humor. Ashley described the shooting as "a tragic day for the Peoria Police Department," saying it marked the first time a that a Peoria officer has been shot. No Peoria officer has been killed in the line of duty since the city was incorporated in 1954. Mayor John Keegan, reached in Hawaii, said the city offers full support to Weigt and his loved ones. "Our prayers go out to him and his family," Keegan said. The 100 Club, a group that supports slain and injured Arizona law officers, is accepting contributions for Weigt. Checks can be mailed to the club at 5033 N. 19th Ave., Suite 123, Phoenix, AZ 85015. The account number is 487153. Hopefully the officer recovers, prayers sent. |
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I hope the officer recovers to the best possible level.
Nevertheless, this was not caused by marijuana, it was caused by criminal activity. |
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Yup. I've smoked a little weed, and the only damage I did was to a big bag of Oreos. God help whoever stood in the way of those. Luckily, no one got hurt. |
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ETA: the mention of marijuana is merely news sensationalism. The same thing could have happened if the perp was dealing in stolen cars, weapons, crack, you name it. |
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Set it in 1928, substitute "gin" for "marijuana," and only willful stupidity will keep you from recognizing where the danger originates.
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Amen! |
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In actuallity, it was the drugs illegal nature that created the problem.
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You could be next. I'm sure that you think he deserved his fate. I think I'll wait for the rest of the story. |
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It wasn't the Pot, it wasn't the gun,
IT WAS THE PERSON. It so funny you blame the weed in your title but not the gun or immigration status of the perp. This si the same bullshit the liberal try with gun control. Bad people do bad things good people do good things. Whether they smoke pot or own guns does not make them good or bad, their actions do. |
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Well, guardian855, there seems to be a clear and consistent pattern with the responses. Not that one sentence in the article really explains much, anyway.
Just FYI, every major study of the subject in history agrees that if marijuana has any real connection with violent crime, it probably reduces it. Marijuana is a tranquilizer so it tends to make people more easy-going and passive. Not like alcohol which really does induce violence. Also, if someone commits a crime like that, then you don't need a drug law to arrest them, do you? Same as with alcohol, which is responsible for far more of these kinds of crimes than all the illegal drugs combined. |
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So why not make alcohol illegal? Far more Law Enforcement Officers are killed by people on alcohol than marijuana.
Why isn't alcohol illegal? Because of Prohibition that's why! The only reason you have the ability to drink legally is because the MOB kicked the shit out of the Federal Government's rights tromping ass. There is no "harmless" drug, but I think pot is far less damaging than alcohol will ever be. Anyone that has ever lost a friend to a drunk driver can attest to that. Besides you can always tell who the pot smokers on the road are. Their the ones drving 10 mph in a 35 zone, while munching on a Wendy's double cheeseburger and drinking a frosty. |
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Another casualty in the "War on Drugs"
My prayers go out for Officer Weigt and his family, but I'm going to have to go with the "Gin in Prohibition" argument on this one. I quit the Narcotics Task Force the week after my son was born. I realized then that I could get my family hurt over laws that did not bear enforcement. Say what you want to, but you need to go watch the movie "Traffic" with an open mind (or you could just become a cop and work as a Narc for about 5 years) and you'll see that the "War on Drugs" really has very little to do with drugs and everything to do with political control. |
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He had a willing seller, he just chose to rob him instead. Why wouldnt he also rob the quickie-mart for the same product if legalized? Marijuana did not cause this crime. But it certainly shoots holes in the theory that all pot heads are non-violent. |
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Just apparently not in this case. |
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Propangada from the progressive press at its finest.
Dope doesn't kill people, guns do. Guns don't kill people, people do. People don't kill people, Dope does. Repeat and fade ... |
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In my state both Alcohol and marijuana are decriminalized and heavily regulated. Alcohol violations carry much tougher penalties than marijuana violations. |
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When people refer to a pothead, they susally mean the pacifist hippy that smokes it all the time, not the guy dealing it. Not to say that this guy didn't smoke, but that would be speculation either way. So no, no holes in the theory with the information provided thus far. |
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We covered this before. In motivation, it isn't any different than the St. Valentine's Day Massacre or any number of other prohibition murders. Remember how homicides skyrocketed during alcohol prohibition? The motive is money, not marijuana. |
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That didn't answer the question. Why not make alcohol illegal? It causes more of these problems than all the illegal drugs combined. Note that the question has nothing to do with the current state of affairs in your local area. |
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OK, let me be perfectly clear. The USE of marijuana has nothing to do with violent crime. The MONEY involved in the black market can be a cause of crime. |
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somehow that's a different argument altogether, no matter how much it isn't so. |
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The anti-weed crusaders here are just closet liberals who propogate stereotypes in hopes of banishing personal privacy.
Marijuana causes crime like flies cause garbage. HS1 |
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I am one of the biggest pot haters here but I have to admit that pot had nothing to do with what happened here. Those two involved were just shitheads to begin with, whether they were looking to buy pot or steal a car.
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Exactly. People who commit crimes with drugs involved arent really commited those crimes because of the drugs, but because of the money that those drugs are worth. Money is a great motivator for a great many things, both good and bad. Some people say money is the root of all evil. However money is just another lifeless item that can do nothing on its own. If anything people themselves are the problem. But government is never going to pass a law banning people, even if it is for the children. But people are stupid and they will try to pass other laws banning other things, for the children. |
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Because pot is expensive because it is illegal. You don't hear about people being murdered over cigarettes very often. (Granted I'm sure it HAS happened, just extremely rare. Making drugs legal clearly would not resolve ALL drug related violence, just most of it.) |
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Thank you to those who showed compassion in their posts.
My prayers and thoughts are with the officer and his family. |
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Germany did... |
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Hear, hear!! Someone's using their brain. Too bad more aren't. |
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Pot is pretty cleap in states in the vicinity of mexico. Alaska is expensive. ~5x the price in Alabama. Back the to subject, Marijuana didn't cause crime. People did. |
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+1 People do the same shit drunk or over a couple dollars. I think weed is for idiots but blaming weed excuses the criminal. |
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Back to the basics for you. Marijuana IS criminal activity. Yes this was caused by marijuana. Which is............criminal activity! Don't kid yourself. |
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I knew it wouldn't take long to bring out our resident doper appologist. Just what we need. Dope and guns. What a wonderful combination. |
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Just in case you missed it. The 89 import ban, 94 AWB were both ushered in because of armed dopers. It was the final straw. In the eyes of the public, its an inter related problem. Discipline starts with not using dope and locking up dopers. |
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you seem to live up to your tag of "Site JBT" if you think that someone should be locked up for ingesting a certain "evil" type of plant.
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Works for me. Do what you want in your own home. Bring it near me or my kids, and we will have a serious issue that you will find yourself on the short end of. |
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