man shoots red light cameras

[Mike.357]

Here are the two stories that ran in the News Sentinel about camera getting shot . Someone started talking about it in another thread and I thought it to be off topic so hence the new topic here.

Worth looking at the first one to see the smirking pic of the idiot that is accused of shooting.

It says he is charges with felony vandalism. Is all he can get for that a $50 fine?

Of course he will not be a legal gun owner anymore I suppose.

jcramin, the dude shot in a residential area, no telling where those rounds landed. I think it is worth prosecuting. The look on the perps face tells me he is not right in the head. Some people do not need to own guns.

from Mondays paper

When police pulled Clark's vehicle over, they found a .30-06-caliber deer rifle on the floor of the minivan. "He stated he didn't want to say what he was doing there because he didn't want to get into trouble," said Lt. Bob Wooldridge, a KPD spokesman.

Upon further investigation, they discovered that the traffic camera had three bullet holes in its camera box.

Clark, of Wildercliff Lane, was arrested on charges of felony vandalism and reckless endangerment. The rifle was seized by police.

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2007/no...-light-camera/

todays newspaper

A red light camera along Broadway that was disabled by several rounds from a hunting rifle is fixed and should be snapping pictures of violators by 3 p.m. today, according to Knoxville Police Department spokesman Darrell DeBusk.

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2007/no...camera-ticket/

[towerclimber37]

hahahhhahahaha he's got steve buschemi's eyes....that guy kinda creeps me out.

[molonlabetn]

What an idiot... He should have used a suppressor and more cover.

[shaftbass]

Not to mention where the bullet goes should it pass through the camera system.

[strickj]

saw that on the news,thats crazy

[Guest dotsun]

I know he's an idiot and could have killed someone, but I have to admit that the rebel in me is cheering him on. I hate those stupid cameras.

[Im Neero]

I agree with Dotsun. There's no condoning unsafe gun handling, but I'm still kinda happy when this sort of thing happens.

[Guest mc30707]

I think the govt. will use incidences like this to take away our gun rights.

[Im Neero]

Nah, the government doesn't normally use any incidences that don't involve dead children. A redneck shooting at a camera isn't enough for them.

[Mike.357]

I think if the moron had only taken one shot, or even if he had taken the four shots but stayed put wherever he was and laid low for a while he would have pulled it off without getting busted.

Isn't there an old saying about " one shot, one busted camera" ?

I have a hard time believing that there is no alcohol charge involved here.

[analog_kidd]

Oddly enough, my wife and I drove past this intersection the day before the incident. She was driving and I pointed out the cameras. I jokingly said that I was surprised that someone had not taken some shots at them yet.

Maybe I should start joking about winning the lottery

[Guest looneeetunes]

odds pretty high i would say he recieved a little running the old redlight coupon thru the mail, and decided to fix the situation..lol

[Sheepdog]

I have to wonder if that's the first case of a camera being shot in TN, or if he's just the first guy to get caught.

There is no question that what this guy did was wrong--but only because he put other people in serious danger.

Quite frankly, I've been waiting for pictures like these, but of American cameras, to start collecting on some internet site. That such pictures have not been forthcoming makes me wonder if Americans have truly lost the spirit of liberty and if, like the Brits, we might only start resisting a "Big Brother" society after it is too late to make a significant difference.

[ZZRguy]

I was listening to G Gordon Liddy a couple of years ago and a guy called in about red light cameras and he told him if he did not like them to shoot them. I guess someone took him up on the idea. We have red light cameras in Gallatin and I hate them ( no I have not got a ticket ). I called my councilman and told him I was against the idea and he told me he was going to vote for them, so I told him if he did I would vote against him in the next election which I did and I like my new councilman .

[Guest Len]

I've gotta agree with the general sentiment here -these cameras are bad news, but safety first -no shooting them with your deer rifle.

I too get to live in Gallatin (Orwell's summer home...) and despise the things. (No, I have NOT received a ticket yet.)

(begin rant here)

We now have cameras in public parks in Nashville (to catch the gay lovers), cameras at traffic lights (to catch the scofflaws), cameras within and without many public buildings, in the airport, in the store, etc. National ID on the way, wallet-size passports on the way. Govt telling us what we can do in the bedroom, yada yada yada....

Was it Ben Franklin who said something about the society that gives up even a little liberty in the interest of feeling safe deserves neither liberty or safety? Franklin or not, whoever said it was right.

(end rant here)

[Guest db99wj]

Mmmmmmm drugs are bad, mmmmmkkkaaayyyy.

[Guest Boomhower]

What an idiot... He should have used a suppressor and more cover.

That's funny. I thought the very same thing once I read the news story. He should have waited a little while longer and called Frank.

[Guest CrazyLincoln]

What?? I'm confused. You mean its not traffic camera season!?

[Marswolf]

I'm all for this guy. He just needed to plan a better getaway.

[BenS]

I work just down the street from that camera. The funny thing is the news said they couldn't find a record of him actually getting a traffic ticket.

[Guest Engloid]

THose redlight camera tickets are a scam. It amounts to the same thing as me mailing you a letter and telling you that you owe me money for damaging my property...and that if you don't think you did it, you need to go set us up a court date. oh..and if it was somebody else did it, you have to tell me who it was and give me their address. haha!!

You'd tell me to get screwed...and go file a hearing myself, if I had enough evidence to do so.

The same is true with these tickets. THey get a pic of your vehicle and the back of your head (maybe).

1) They can't prove it's you driving.

2) You simply aren't required to keep a log of everybody you loan your car to, so you may not remember who was driving it that day.

3) It is not legal service of documents.

4) It is not your obligation to initiate a suit against yourself.

5) It is their responsibility to file the issue in court, and provide certified legal service of notification.

This setup has so many holes in it that they just can't do much other than prey on suckers that are scared by a letter and a picture of their car. I know "somebody" that got three letters, which all went in the trash. They stopped sending them out after not getting any response at all.

[analog_kidd]

I can't verify this "friend of a friend" story, but it is funny regardless.

This guy gets a letter in the mail stating that he ran a red light and is being ticketed for it. Included in the letter is a picture from one of these red-light cameras, with him in plain view, running the red light.

This guy is a jokster, so since they sent him a picture of him running the red-light, he writes out a check, takes a picture of it and sends in the picture.

A week or so goes by, and he gets another letter from the same people. Inside was another letter stating he needed to pay the ticket, and this time a picture of a set of handcuffs.

He paid the ticket.

[Guest Phantom6]

I believe that is an Urban Legend but every legend has some grain of truth burried in it somewhere. A great illustration none the less.