-Caveat Lector- http://www.theledger.com/top_stories/21shoo.htm Mobile Homes Hit by Stray Bullets in Police Shooting WAYWARD SHOTS Tuesday, December 21, 1999 By RICK ROUSOS The Ledger LAKELAND -- Lakeland police riddled four mobile homes with at least 29 .45-caliber bullets when they killed an armed robbery suspect last week. The Elim Mobile Home Park near Interstate 4 is home to many retirees. Residents say they support law enforcement but want an explanation for the wayward shots. About 11 p.m. Thursday, four Lakeland police officers chased a man they say robbed a McDonald's restaurant at I-4 and U.S. 98 North to the Elim park, where he bailed out of his Chevy Cavalier and ran to Mathew Road. Investigators say the man, Robert Wesley Laird III, 21, of Tampa, brandished a gun. But a mobile home park resident said Laird had his hands in the air when the officers started firing, hitting the suspect and nearby homes. At the entrance to the mobile home park, the first four homes on the west side of Mathew Road are full of bullet holes. "It's hard to figure," Martin Silver, 70, a retired U.S. Army sergeant with eight holes in his mobile home, said Monday. "I can't understand why they would shoot this recklessly." The luckiest man in the park may be Bob Carlson, a 52-year-old maintenance man who said he has worked part time for the Sebring police. When the firing started, Carlson stood in a hallway at the rear of his home, away from the street where Laird died. One bullet crashed into the metal just behind Carlson and another passed in front of him. Those two holes in the side of his mobile home are less than four feet apart. Carlson picked the right place to stand, between the holes. "I didn't have time to get down," he said. "And yes, I do feel pretty lucky." All told, there are 10 bullet holes in Carlson's mobile home, several of them at the rear of his 56-foot long trailer. A television was hit but still works. A pair of glasses was blown off the nightstand in a bedroom. "I was about to go to bed," he said. Carlson's grandfather's shaving mug was blown to bits, scattering debris all over the kitchen. "When it happened, I was in a state of shock," Carlson said. "I don't like to question the police, but if (Laird) was on the road, why are there bullet holes in the back of my trailer?" A woman who did not want her name used has four bullet holes in her home, including two in the bathroom. She said her husband had just finished shaving when the bathroom was blasted. From the angle of one bullet hole, anyone standing at the bathroom sink stood an excellent chance of being hit. One of the bullets went through the bathroom and a bedroom before lodging in the carport gutter. "They have no business shooting these places up," the woman said. "We're lucky that they didn't kill someone else. And they're lucky, too." Silver, the retired sergeant, said the shooting of Laird appeared unjustified. He also said he had a good view of what happened to Laird. "A (police) dog had him," Silver said. "He had his hands up in the air shouting 'no,no,no,' when they shot him." Laird's father is livid about his son's death. "I feel like my son was killed in cold blood, murdered execution style," said Robert W. Laird Jr., who has sold auto parts for 26 years. Laird of Tampa said he was told by a funeral director that his son was shot at least six times. Laird said he visited the mobile home park "for closure." "I was ready to let go of this. I know my son did wrong, and I figured he had it coming." But after talking to mobile home park residents, he became angry. "What my son did was wrong," Laird said. "What the police did was dead wrong." Laird and his wife, Sally, have three daughters, Tammie, Lacey and Lindsay. Two of the officers involved in the shooting are not being identified because they are undercover officers. The other two are Richard Kachadurian and Ed Cain, who was working with his dog, Alex. All four are on administrative duty until the Polk County Sheriff's Office has finished its investigation, which will be reviewed by the State Attorney's Office before it becomes official. Lakeland police Chief Sam V. Baca said he could not comment on the case because it is being investigated by the Sheriff's Office. Investigators said they found 47 .45-caliber shell casings in the area. The Sheriff's Office had no official comment. The clips used on the LPD's .45-caliber guns carry between eight and 15 rounds. The Sheriff's Office has not said what kind of gun Laird was carrying. LPD policy calls for the use of deadly force when an officer feels his life is in jeopardy. But it also cautions officers to beware of "the presence of innocents or potential victims in the area." Baca said the department's deadly force policy is a guide for officers, but in the end, they must use their best discretion. "The officers have to make tough decisions," Baca said. "They have to think of their own safety and the public safety. Sometimes, if they were to let someone go, an innocent person could die." -- ----------------------- NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ----------------------- DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! 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