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Everyone please go on AOPA.org or EAA.org and read about the cops threatening, at gunpoint, John and Martha King; if you have not already done so.
The reason I put this on warbirds, is first I learned about it on warbird radio, and 2nd it is too important to put in one of the lesser topics and have in missed by many.
If you are not familiar with the Kings, they have for over 25 years run one of the largest, best and most successful aviation ground schools anywhere. They are the most non threatening, middle of the road, Wasp couple anywhere, and if this is how they are treated on a normal law abiding flight, it is a sad day.
This was the heavy hand of the DEA, run with our tax dollars, but little supervision. They can and do pretty well target anyone. It is fortunate that neither was shot, but it easily could have happened. The cops don't need a real criminal or even a weapon. Once there is a body or two, they can easily claim that a pilot reaching for his wallet was reaching for a gun,or making a threatening move or at least resisting arrest. They virtually never go to prison for such a shooting, and if there is a civil fine to pay, it comes from the taxpayers of the city or county not the cops themselves. In this case the cops did release the Kings, but with no apology or admission of being wrong. The chief did phone the Kings the next day.He is Hispanic, the Kings are white(very), don't know about the officers or if there was any racial element in this case. It may have been lucky that this did not happen where there is even more of a 'shoot first and make up the excuse later' place like Texas. When I grew up in Houston cops used to carry a "throw down gun" to plant on unarmed victims after they were dead. They were even caught doing it in one such case, when the shooters partner changed his story and told the truth.
About two years ago I was threatened by cops to a much lesser degree, they had guns, but not pointed at me, at Houston what used to be Sugarland airport. I wasn't even flying a plane, was sitting at a computer trying to take an IFR simulator lesson. And of course they never apologized, and I'm sure they never thought they were wrong. I think I ruined there day that they weren't able to fire in front of several witnesses.It sure soured me on what used to be friendly airport, now is like a fortress. There's no airlines, but lot's of big buck corporate planes who don't want to mix with the average guy, and may have something to hide from the media or stockholders, so the guards there are pretty aggressive.
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Bill Greenwood
Spitfire N308WK
Last edited by Bill Greenwood on Fri Sep 03, 2010 12:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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I've never had a bad experience there!
