Pittsburgh Officer killings could have been prevented
 

PITTSBURGH – The mother of a man charged with killing three Pittsburgh police officers told a 911 dispatcher he had weapons, but the dispatcher didn't relay that information to officers, the official in charge of county dispatchers says.

The dispatcher should have asked more questions about the weapons, but didn't, and certainly should have told officers so they could take necessary precautions, Allegheny County Chief of Emergency Services Robert Full told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

"There is no excuse. It could have been handled better, without a doubt," Full said in Tuesday's editions.

Richard Poplawski's mother, Margaret, had dialed 911 Saturday morning to summon police after threatening to evict him.

When officers arrived at the house, she opened the door for them. She later told police that she didn't know that her 23-year-old son was standing behind her with a rifle. He shot officer Paul Sciullo II, 37, in the home and officer Stephen Mayhle, 29, on the front stoop within seconds of their arrival, and then shot officer Eric Kelly, 41, in the street as he arrived to back them up, prompting a four-hour siege and gun battle with police, authorities said.

Poplawski was wearing a bulletproof vest and was armed with a variety of weapons, including an AK-47 assault rifle, authorities said.

He is also accused of firing into two neighboring homes, injuring nobody, and at nine other police officers, including one who was wounded as he tended to Kelly.

Poplawski's public defender has declined to discuss the case. He is being held without bond and faces an April 17 preliminary hearing on criminal homicide, attempted homicide and other charges.


read the article to see the 911 transcript

So why didn't this guy shoot his mom? She was the one who was trying to kick him out, as well as the one who called police on him. Why start firing like a maniac? Why did he have a bullet-proof vest? I'd like to be able to get into the head of someone like this idiot just to see what the hell made him take that course of action.

I read somewhere that he had just lost his job, and that he thought that Obama was going to come in and take his guns. I wish I could find that article again but I did find this one in the search:

Officers' killer and his Web world

I'm not even going to say who this reminds me of...

ETA: I think this is the one I read about Obama:
Suspect said a 'good kid' who wanted guns

I'm sorry did you say..... Earp?

No - I was thinking since he is "racist" and posted on "racist websites" it was a better parallel to compare him with our "obsessed with a greek organization" and posted on "greek life websites" creeper.

TE is his whole own brand of creeper.

Aha...gotcha...

HEHE!

I like that word: creeper. I don't know if it's Pittsburghese or what but I never heard it until I lived there.

Not that that has much to do with the thread, but at least I mentioned Pittsburghese and tried to make a connection between interweb activity and level of creepiness of weirmos that shoot or kill people.

This situation, however, is not to be made light of. Did you know that some Port Authority Transit bus drivers make more than most Pittsburgh cops?

Yep, yep I do. I passed the test for intake in the Pittsburgh Police Academy a while back (got into grad school so I opted not to take it), and was shocked at the level of pay for a newbie.

This is such a tragedy, and could have been prevented in so many ways. Yes, he owned the guns legally, but on the form to carry, it asks about any arrests or psychiatric problems. His ex-girlfriend had a protection from abuse order on him, and a dishonorable discharge should have both been red flags.

Granted, his mother is a piece of work, too. Waking up someone who is so psycho because his dog urinated on the floor wasn't the best idea she's ever had. And when someone wakes up and puts on a bullet proof vest, that's usually a sign that trouble's afoot.

My heart goes out to the families of these three policemen. I have to admit that I didn't know about the pay compared to PAT personnel. That's almost criminal!

I could be completely wrong, but can't one get a dishonorable discharge for being gay? I don't see a dishonorable discharge as a complete red flag if it was related to sexual orientation, as that shouldn't be an issue for owning a weapon.

The Marine Corps won't comment on why he was dishonorably discharged, but it seems more psychiatric than sexual orientation or anything else.

Can't comment on "creeper" being Pittsburghese - it seems as if I'm not completely fluent.

I've never heard the word "creeper" in my life until this thread. It isn't Pittsburghese.

Anyone who is the subject of a PFA should not have a gun.

This mother....I question if she was coherent enough to make the situation clear to the dispatcher. Not that I'm excusing them, but it sounds like they made a judgement call based on her nuttiness.

They're not allowed to during the life of the PFA. However, PFA's are limited in time (three years max, I believe- you can get a new one). I think the PFA may have expired. PFA's only come up on certain background checks. (I've done a number of PFA's as a volunteer).

I think the mom may end up being charged with something eventually. She seems off her rocker and I think that she knew what was going on.

I really feel for the dispatcher in this circumstance. However guilty she (I think it was a her) must feel. But I don't know that I fault her. There's a difference between someone owning a gun and someone USING the gun or other weapon during a dispute that is being called in.

Agreed. These stories scare the hell out of me; people that just start shooting at officers. I've studied a lot of cases regarding scenarios like this one and a large portion of these shooters have no criminal record, and are shooting/fleeing away from a traffic violation, or a misdemeanor. Since when is killing people a better solution than getting a $50 ticket? There's also the "suicide by cop" factor that can be played in here as well.

Also, I'm from Detroit and I've heard the term creeper used before.

I heard that the PFA expired about a year ago, but they can be renewed (or at least, when I had to get one, they could be).

I heard that there are charges out for her, but I'm not sure what they are. She definitely seems to be a nutjob.

Exactly. We have guns, most of my family has guns, and not one of us has ever thought of shooting a policemen. The mother should have stressed that her son was armed, not just that he had legal guns.

This is only the second time in the US that a policeman has been killed by an AK-47 (for those keeping track).

Who I feel the worst about is the one named Kelly. He was just coming off duty and thought he'd lend a hand. May God bless them all. They're showing the caskets being transferred to the City County Building on tv right now.