Farmer Shoots at Thief

Cannuck

Time Out
Feb 2, 2006
30,245
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Alberta
CTV.ca | Alberta farmer charged with shooting suspected thief

"An Alberta farmer who is facing charges after police say he chased and shot at an alleged thief last Thursday has people from across the province rallying to his defence. Brian Knight was charged with seven offences, including assault and criminal negligence, after police say he took the law into his own hands when he thought someone was stealing his All-Terrain Vehicle."


What do you think. Hang him aor hail him.
 

Hazmart

Council Member
Sep 29, 2007
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We have been talking about this at work over the last few days. It seems that a lot of the farmers say they would have done the same thing if they were in his place. Knowing a lot of them, I wouldn't doubt it for a second.
As for me though, I don't want him to get away with it. At the same times I hope that it is not too serious of a punishment.
If he has cattle, perhaps a 4H calf or two in place of a fine!
 

Colpy

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 5, 2005
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Whose life was in danger?

According to the letter of the law, this guy was WAY out of line.

But I have some sympathy for defending your property......there is too little fight in us now-a-days, off the ice, anyway.

My advice to this guy? Elect trial by judge and jury, and pray someone on the jury knows that under the basic premises of English Common Law the jury can legitimately ignore the judge's instructions and find him "not guilty" despite the letter of the law.

It is called jury nullification.

It happened here, when an elderly gentleman in Sussex was continually victimized by a certain group of individuals, who broke into outbuildings on his property and stole basically at will....finally, he lost it and fired at their fleeing vehicle with a .308 rifle, killing one.

Trial by judge and jury....."not guilty", although obviously he did pull the trigger, he admitted it.......in fact, he had told the RCMP he was going to shoot them if they robbed him again.
 

lone wolf

Grossly Underrated
Nov 25, 2006
32,493
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In the bush near Sudbury
Sometimes I wonder if there should be a "varmit" clause in the law. I mean, if a fox is stealing your chickens....

Buckshot sure is an effective means of leaving your mark....
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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Regina, Saskatchewan
We've been talking about this story here at work for days now.
This Farmer was charged with (I believe) seven major charges,
and the Thief was charged with one charge of theft...last I heard
the other two Thieves hadn't been caught yet either, and the one
that was shot was treated & released from the hospital (& custody)
with a promise to appear that very same night.

RCMP response times out in the country are usually not great, at
best. If the expected response time is a 1/2 an hour, or an hour, or
hours....I can see where Brian Knight & his Neighbours would be
very frustrated. Mr. Knight wasn't charged with Bigamy or Jay
-Walking, but with every other possible charge even vaguely and
remotely applicable by the RCMP...and the Thief only got one
charge. This sure doesn't have a "just' feel to it at this point.
___________________
 

Zzarchov

House Member
Aug 28, 2006
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If he had time to get and load a weapon he had time to pick up a phone and dial 9-11.

Did he also have 20-30 minutes to wait for the police out in the country?

Did he have the ability to function without the ATV?

Im opposed to lethal force when you don't know someone is guilty, where there is even the slightest possible doubt they are innocent.

When they are caught in the act?

Now as they were fleeing, if he was shooting to kill that is another can of worms. Its one thing to shoot to protect yourself and property, another reason to punish someone running away.
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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Anyone want to look up what the solve rate %'age for property
crimes in non-urban area's in Canada would be? I haven't
bothered but I'd be very surprised if it wasn't very low....

I agree with Colpy here in that hopefully this Farmer gets tried
by a jury of his peers, as with the "Hero or Zero" call in radio
poll this morning that I listened to, this Farmer wasn't a Zero.
___________________
 

Stretch

House Member
Feb 16, 2003
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If he had time to get and load a weapon he had time to pick up a phone and dial 9-11.
wot the hell is 911 going to do?
when was the last time the cops arrived in time to stop a crime being committed?
99% of the time they arrive after the crime has been committed.......if a person isnt allowed to protect whats his, then there really is no hope!
 

tracy

House Member
Nov 10, 2005
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California
I say let him go. If not for the thieves stealing his things, he would never have broken the law. Punish the theives.
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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wot the hell is 911 going to do?
when was the last time the cops arrived in time to stop a crime being committed?
99% of the time they arrive after the crime has been committed.......if a person isnt allowed to protect whats his, then there really is no hope!
Ever try to hide on the wide open prairie?
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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was charged with seven offences, including assault and criminal negligence, after police say he took the law into his own hands when he thought someone was stealing his All-Terrain Vehicle."
Thought?

Was or was this person not trying to steal the ATV or were they in his yard for another reason and no we don't have trespassing laws so you can skip that angle?
 

VanIsle

Always thinking
Nov 12, 2008
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If he had time to get and load a weapon he had time to pick up a phone and dial 9-11.
Yours is the only voice of reason here. The person was possibly attempting to steal a vehicle - he was not attempting to kill. The farmer was. Calling 911 to report a theft would have been the right thing to do. How accessible was the ATV anyway. Did the farmer feel it was un-necessary to lock up the ATV because he felt safe out in the country? Is there a chance he may be a little at fault here? Did he leave the keys in it just in case anyone in the family wanted to use it? What if it was say, an 18 yr. old kid and it was your kid he was shooting at? Would you still feel the farmer was right? Would you still say let him go free? The farmer was not beaten, nor was any member of his family and no one attempted to hurt them other then stealing a vehicle. The farmer is a zero, not a hero. He shot at someone. Why do all of you appear to think he has more rights than the police have? You are hanging the police high here without them even being called during a violation of the law with all your guesstaments about how long it would take them to arrive on the scene or to even catch the thief on the way to the scene. Would you all feel the same if the farmer had "mistakenly" killed (murdered?) the thief? The thief was not threatening anyone and he was running from the scene.8O There was no immediate danger.
 

karrie

OogedyBoogedy
Jan 6, 2007
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It strikes me that he could just as easily have shot BY the thieves, rather than shooting AT them, drove home his message, and he likely wouldn't be looking down criminal charges. With the added bonus of dissuading future thefts.

While I get that people want to protect their property, I do that via insurance, rather than a gun, and anyone who thinks that they're willing to kill someone over a quad, probably ought to think twice about possessing a firearm, as society in general looks poorly on killing people (or attempting to kill people) over money. Possession of a firearm is a responsibility, and you need to be honest with yourself about whether or not you're level headed enough to use that weapon only when push comes to shove, not go off half cocked over a quad, or something else that offends you, like someone sleeping with your wife.
 

TenPenny

Hall of Fame Member
Jun 9, 2004
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Location, Location
Sounds a lot like the old guy in Sussex NB last year, who did shoot the little bastid who stole his truck.

I figure that if you're going to steal, you take your chances.
 

Colpy

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 5, 2005
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Yours is the only voice of reason here. The person was possibly attempting to steal a vehicle - he was not attempting to kill. The farmer was. Calling 911 to report a theft would have been the right thing to do. How accessible was the ATV anyway. Did the farmer feel it was un-necessary to lock up the ATV because he felt safe out in the country? Is there a chance he may be a little at fault here? Did he leave the keys in it just in case anyone in the family wanted to use it? What if it was say, an 18 yr. old kid and it was your kid he was shooting at? Would you still feel the farmer was right? Would you still say let him go free? The farmer was not beaten, nor was any member of his family and no one attempted to hurt them other then stealing a vehicle. The farmer is a zero, not a hero. He shot at someone. Why do all of you appear to think he has more rights than the police have? You are hanging the police high here without them even being called during a violation of the law with all your guesstaments about how long it would take them to arrive on the scene or to even catch the thief on the way to the scene. Would you all feel the same if the farmer had "mistakenly" killed (murdered?) the thief? The thief was not threatening anyone and he was running from the scene.8O There was no immediate danger.

I can't answer any of your questions.....all I know came from a cursory reading of a newspaper article.....and they are notoriously inaccurate.

That's why I say it is up to a jury of his peers to judge his guilt....not me.

BTW, the police are not the ones being ripped off......three decades ago, the law was that you could use "any force necessary" to prevent a crime being committed.....to me, that makes a lot more sense than the current rules on force.........

I see no reason one should have to stand aside and allow himself to be robbed.
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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Yours is the only voice of reason here. The person was possibly attempting to steal a vehicle - he was not attempting to kill. The farmer was. Calling 911 to report a theft would have been the right thing to do. How accessible was the ATV anyway. Did the farmer feel it was un-necessary to lock up the ATV because he felt safe out in the country? Is there a chance he may be a little at fault here? Did he leave the keys in it just in case anyone in the family wanted to use it? What if it was say, an 18 yr. old kid and it was your kid he was shooting at? Would you still feel the farmer was right? Would you still say let him go free? The farmer was not beaten, nor was any member of his family and no one attempted to hurt them other then stealing a vehicle. The farmer is a zero, not a hero. He shot at someone. Why do all of you appear to think he has more rights than the police have? You are hanging the police high here without them even being called during a violation of the law with all your guesstaments about how long it would take them to arrive on the scene or to even catch the thief on the way to the scene. Would you all feel the same if the farmer had "mistakenly" killed (murdered?) the thief? The thief was not threatening anyone and he was running from the scene.8O There was no immediate danger.
If a life is considered worth less than an ATV in this society, it is a scoiety that I want nothing to do with.

It seems the anti-abortionists on here are the ones posting that a theif's life is valueless. Make up your minds already, do you value life or not?
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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I figure that if you're going to steal, you take your chances.
Every last person who posted on here has stolen something or another in their life time. Can I shoot you now or should I wait until you do it again?