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  #1  
Old 03-10-2002, 02:49 PM
James James is offline
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O/T Prayers for an innocent Man Shot




Man shot in face by FBI in serious condition
Eagle Scout, 20, had been mistaken for robbery suspect
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Kimberly A.C. Wilson
Sun Staff
Originally published March 3, 2002






An Eagle Scout who was mistaken for a bank robber and shot in the face by an FBI agent in Pasadena on Friday remained in serious but stable condition at Maryland Shock Trauma Center last night.

Joseph Charles Schultz, 20, was shot at close range about 6 p.m. Friday when FBI agents searching for a bank robbery suspect pulled over his girlfriend's car.

Schultz, who lives in the 7900 block of Seabreeze Drive in Orchard Beach in Anne Arundel County and works with fiber optics for a local medical company, has no connection to the bank robbery, officials said.

At the time of the shooting, Schultz, who graduated from Northeast High School in Pasadena in 2000, was a passenger in a Pontiac Grand Am driven by his girlfriend, 16-year-old Krissy Harkum.

The couple was returning from a trip to Marley Station Mall in Glen Burnie when plainclothes federal agents in unmarked cars pulled them over near Key Bridge Discount Liquors at 7212 Fort Smallwood Road, according to Harkum's father, Joseph Harkum. Carrying weapons that his daughter, a junior honor student at Northeast, described as "assault rifles or machine guns," the agents ordered them to put their hands up, he said.

That's when the agent on the passenger's side opened fire, striking Schultz once, he said.


'Yeah, I'm angry'

"Here you got two of the sweetest kids on the Earth going to the mall and having Slurpees, getting shot through the car window. It's a mess. Yeah, I'm angry," Harkum said from his Pasadena home.

FBI spokesman Barry Maddox said agency policy prevented the immediate release of the name of the agent who shot Schultz.

He also declined to comment on whether the agent has been assigned to desk duty pending an investigation of the shooting. Nor have FBI officials released information about how the shooting took place.

"It's an ongoing investigation, and under most circumstances we do not give out too much information," Maddox said.

Harkum said his daughter was struck by glass and blood but was uninjured in the shooting. Still, she remained shaken yesterday.


'She's not doing too good'

"She had nightmares about it," Harkum said.

"She's not doing too good. Emotionally, she's not OK," he said.

Krissy Harkum remained at Schultz's bedside last night. Though he was unable to speak, her father said, she told him that Schultz wrote her a note asking, "Why did he shoot me?"

Family members reached at Schultz's home referred reporters' calls to attorney Joseph C. Asensio, who did not return repeated calls seeking information last night.

Yesterday afternoon, agents assigned to the FBI's shooting review group based in Washington scoured the scene for the agency's internal investigation.

Anne Arundel County police officers continued their probe of the shooting yesterday and were setting up interviews with witnesses, said Officer Charles Ravenell.

Sun staff writer Lynn Anderson contributed to this article.



Copyright © 2002, The Baltimore Sun

Last edited by James; 03-10-2002 at 04:15 PM.
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  #2  
Old 03-10-2002, 02:51 PM
James James is offline
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The Agent shot the guy in the head with an M-4 Assault Rifle . . .
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  #3  
Old 03-10-2002, 02:55 PM
KillarneyRose KillarneyRose is offline
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This is terrible! It's been all over the papers here. I feel so sorry for that poor man; talk about being in the right place at the wrong time.

This happened within walking distance of my house by the way
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  #4  
Old 03-10-2002, 04:07 PM
Tom Earp Tom Earp is offline
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Unhappy

Can someone find an article and send to me?

I always new the FBI were a bunch of yahoos! I did not like them when I was a COP!

Bunch of pencile neck pencile pushing butt heads!

This is Stupidity even tho we have had the Terroist Situation!

They are a bunch of Clowns in Nerd suits with weapons!
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  #5  
Old 03-10-2002, 09:32 PM
DGPhoney DGPhoney is offline
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First off, that is very sad, I know some of his friends from school and everyone has been really upset about the whole ordeal.I mean it's aweful that it happened, that people someti,es react quicker before they can logically think. it's been on the News like 24/7 here as well as in about all the MD papers. Killarney Did you see all the roads blocked when all of that happened? They had all the major roads and highways entrances blocked.
Tom E, I will have to deffinetly disagree with you on the stuff you said about FBI agents , people think the same for any law enforcer, although there is many slip ups and this one is deffinetly a great slip up, but to say all are like that, not cool in the least bit!!!
As for Joe and Family, and Krissy and family, my prayers are with you guys
DGP~Honey~
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  #6  
Old 03-10-2002, 10:59 PM
SAEalumnus SAEalumnus is offline
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As far as I'm concerned, there's no excuse whatsoever for the FBI agent mistaking this poor kid for a bank robber and shooting him in the face through a car window. If your line of work charges you with the responsibility of carrying a weapon, especially a firearm of this kind of magnitude, you should never be allowed to carry it unless and until you have proven yourself competant in its use and have also proven that you know how to make rational decisions quickly and while under pressure. "Oops, my bad," is completely insufficient for the guy who got shot. And he's an Eagle Scout too! Believe me, I know exactly how hard it is to earn that rank - I just barely got mine, it isn't easy. This makes me so disgusted that I don't quite know what to say. The FBI agent should be fired and put in jail for a long time and the guy who got shot should be paid a huge sum of money for his injuries - I mean independently wealthy, set up for life courtesy of the FBI as the price for allowing the criminally incompetant access to a high-powered firearm!
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  #7  
Old 03-11-2002, 08:26 PM
DZTUBAGIRL DZTUBAGIRL is offline
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Red face

I can't believe that story. it is scary that something like that can happen close to home. I feel so sorry for the people's families. Where exactly did this happen? I am not home and have not heard about it.

Anne Marie
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  #8  
Old 03-11-2002, 08:35 PM
KillarneyRose KillarneyRose is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by DZTUBAGIRL
I can't believe that story. it is scary that something like that can happen close to home. I feel so sorry for the people's families. Where exactly did this happen? I am not home and have not heard about it.

Anne Marie
It happened on Fort Smallwood Road in Pasadena. Right near Northeast HS if you know where that is.
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  #9  
Old 03-11-2002, 09:13 PM
Jeff OTMG Jeff OTMG is offline
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The agent was a former captain in the military who was on a special 'SWAT' type team within the bureau and was attempting a felony traffic stop. After telling the kid to get out of the car, he shot him as the kid was reaching to unbuckle his seatbelt. This is what happens when military trained personnel are used in the private sector for general law enforcement activity. Cops are trained in felony traffic stops, obviously the FBI isn't. This is an example of why the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 is still an important concept, unfortunately the govt finds ways around it and continues to use military trained officers against civilians and military personnel to train paramilitary teams within the law enforcement community. This GI Joe mentality has caused problems in the past, Ruby Ridge, Waco, the shooting by U.S. Marines of a young boy herding goats in south Texas, SLA assault in Los Angeles, and the incineration of Robert Jay Matthews (Alan Berg's 'alleged' murderer) in Washington. We need our armed forces to defend our country, we need our law enforcement personnel to help protect us from criminals, but using military tactics on a regular basis against civilians results in deaths that should be avoided.
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  #10  
Old 03-11-2002, 09:27 PM
SAEalumnus SAEalumnus is offline
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More details about the shooting (from the Baltimore Sun)...

The agent who shot Joseph Charles Schultz (20 year old Eagle Scout) is Special Agent Christopher Braga, 35, a "former U.S. Marine Corps captain and decorated Persian Gulf war veteran who has worked for the past four years on a highly trained FBI SWAT team...In the military, [Braga] was a firearms instructor and was a rifle platoon commander during Operation Desert Storm in the early 1990s." He's someone who should have known better than anyone else who to shoot and who not to.

The bank robber the FBI (F'ed-up Beyond Idiocy) agents were looking for was also thought to be riding around in a red vehicle, wearing a white cap and with a woman, just like Schultz was. The problem was, the FBI's informant couldn't contact them with more accurate information because his cell phone died. So while the informant was looking for a payphone, Braga was busy shooting this kid in the face at point-blank range with an M-14 Assult Rifle, a standard military-issue weapon.

Braga had ordered both Schultz and his girlfriend to put their hands in the air. After both followed that instruction, he then ordered Schultz out of the vehicle and when Schultz attempted to comply (either by reaching to unfasten his seatbelt or by reaching for the door to let himself out - stories differ about which was the case), Braga shot him. The bullet entered Schultz's right cheek, shattering his right cheek and jaw. The bullet is still lodged in the left side of his face even now.

Also noteworthy are the facts that the FBI agents were in plain clothes, driving an unmarked car. When Schultz and his 16 year old girlfriend left a 7-11 after buying Slurpees, they got into her car (she was driving) and were pulled over moments later. Top FBI agent for the area, Special Agent Lynne A. Hunt, made a public apology, stating that a full investigation would be made (but conveniently not promising anything would be done about it). Agent Braga is currently on voluntary paid leave of absence. The other three agents involved in the traffic stop are still working at their usual assignments.
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  #11  
Old 03-11-2002, 10:12 PM
Peaches-n-Cream Peaches-n-Cream is offline
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This is terrible. Is there any information about the prognosis of Joseph Charles Schultz?
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  #12  
Old 03-11-2002, 10:26 PM
DGPhoney DGPhoney is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by SAEactive

The bank robber the FBI (F'ed-up Beyond Idiocy.
It's nice we have such lovely Judgemental people on here. Instead of saying your peaces and get wells to the families involved , you'd rather make snap judgements, for a situation, you weren't there for. Unless you walk a mile in their shoes then you have no idea about their jobs. I think it's pathetic to always critize law enforcement officers no matter what branch they are. Regardless of what happens they are the same people who fight for our lifes everyday .
DGP~honey~
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  #13  
Old 03-12-2002, 12:44 AM
KSig RC KSig RC is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by DGPhoney
I think it's pathetic to always critize law enforcement officers no matter what branch they are. Regardless of what happens they are the same people who fight for our lifes everyday .
Personally, I don't feel anyone should be above criticism . . .

Law-enforcement officials deserve commendation for day-in, day-out doing jobs that few want and even fewer are qualified for - but these people in positions of power over everyday citizens must also be subject to public scrutiny.

Remember - these people are there to protect each and every one of us, and while this is a dubious task at the least, it is one of the most important, and as such it should be subject to the most oversight and improvement of any - these require criticism, analysis, etc. No doubt about it.
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  #14  
Old 03-12-2002, 05:54 PM
SAEalumnus SAEalumnus is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by DGPhoney

It's nice we have such lovely Judgemental people on here. Instead of saying your peaces and get wells to the families involved , you'd rather make snap judgements, for a situation, you weren't there for. Unless you walk a mile in their shoes then you have no idea about their jobs. I think it's pathetic to always critize law enforcement officers no matter what branch they are. Regardless of what happens they are the same people who fight for our lifes everyday .
1. I have every right to be judgemental and when it concerns the violation of the civil rights of one of the nation's highest caliber citizens, you can bet I'm going to exercise that right. It's called freedom of speech; get used to it.

2. Shooting an innocent man in the face through a car window at point blank range and with a military-grade weapon is completely inexcusable, especially when the man was trying to comply with the orders of the criminally incompetant officer at the time.

3. I didn't have to be standing next to Joseph Schultz when he was shot through the face to know that what Agent Braga did was wrong. Shooting first and asking questions later may work for the Marine Corps in combat situations, but a traffic stop (even when looking for a robbery suspect) in no way qualifies as a combat situation. Schultz is a citizen of the United States and an Eagle Scout, not an al-Qaida terrorist. Agent Braga obviously didn't realize this difference at the time because he didn't bother to behave in a rational manner so as to allow himself to properly examine the situation.

4. EVERY profession, ESPECIALLY those involving public office or protecting the public, is subject to criticism because in every case one must insist on personal accountability. You can try to sugar coat what Agent Braga did all you want, but the bottom line will never change: he acted without thinking and as a result, he shot an innocent man who was trying to cooperate with him through the face with an assault rifle while his girlfriend watched.

Agent Braga is guilty. Period. The End. There is no debate. This is a fact that anyone other than perhaps a bleeding heart liberal should readily acknowledge.
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  #15  
Old 03-12-2002, 06:13 PM
DGPhoney DGPhoney is offline
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Actually, hmm let me drop my two cents as always, first off, Reading is fundamental Boys and Girls. Secondly, SAEactive, I didn't say you don't have a right to be judgemental, you can be whatever the hell you want to be, I will still not care tomorrow, secondly, if your read my post, I said in GENERAL that people Judge Law Enforcement Postions a whole lot differently then they do other Professions.
Next, I am not defending what Braga Did in his judgement, people everyday make Wrong Snap judgements and the result and the outcome is something they have to live with everyday!
As for your freedom of speech use it as I use mine, and I will gladly tell you, I could care less, I like you were stating my opion, don't like , hey guess what move on. Cause I will never bite my tongue for anyone!
DGP~Honey~
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