Shoot them all. Let God sort them out.

Well, a Sun newspaper never fails to satisfy my need to read unmitigated idiocy. If it isn't hard-hitting news regarding Mary-Jane's  boobies or Tony's abs, it's a piece by someone all upset that we can't lynch the fucker who stole someone's shit.

According to the Mounties, voices can be heard outside Knight's house and three males are spotted. Two jump in a truck and take off. One starts up a quad he finds just outside the house. The farmer gets in his vehicle and chases the man on the quad. About 2 km from the house, the car rams the quad off the road. The farmer pulls out a shotgun and fires at the individual who is skedaddling away, but it isnt a case of the buckshot stops here. The guy is hit but keeps running. The farmer calls friends and relations to help find the man on the run, according to the police. He is found and is brought back to where the farmers wheels met the fleeing quad. Police say the man sits in the passenger side of an idling truck, but when the driver steps out for a minute the guy moves behind the wheel and puts it in drive. The suspect loses control of the truck a short way down the road, is caught again and is held until police arrive (via The Calgary Sun).

Ok. So let me get this straight. Knight hears a guy stealing his ATV, so he gives chase, rams the thief off the road, and fires his weapon at the guy fleeing the scene. A bunch of buddies join the search and before the police arrive, the guy escapes and puts a vehicle in the ditch. Christ, this sounds like a crappy buddy comedy from the early 80s. 

Brian Knight now faces a list of beefs, including assault and criminal negligence causing bodily harm and dangerous driving. The other person is up for allegedly stealing the quad and the truck.

Sounds about right to me. I sort of wonder about the 'quality of care' Knight's buddies showed for the stupid bastard while 'in custody.'

Naturally, to top it all off, the Mounties do the usual finger wagging. Don't take the law into your own hands. Call us and we'll handle it. You have to ask. Do these officers believe any of the bunkum they burp or is it just the drill they repeat because its the set script and this is their part to parrot? What are you supposed to do, far from a cop shop, all alone, call the police and wait until pretty close to when hell freezes over? (via The Calgary Sun)

Of course not, you are supposed to risk your own and other people's lives by running another vehicle off a road, then firing a deadly weapon at a fleeing suspect for a minor property crime.I can understand the frustration expressed when shit-heads steal your property for no better reason than they can. I can understand the frustration when it takes police too long to get to your location. I can understand the frustration when the crime is not taken as seriously as you think it should. I can understand the frustration when the crime is not punished to the severity you might wish. However, your crappy ATV is worthless compared to a person's life---even if the dick is stealing your ATV.If you vote for lower taxes at the expense of police and corrections funding, you are going to have to expect delays in having police respond and what counts as a serious crime. Property crime is not as important as crimes against the person. I know your shit is more important than everyone else's shit, but it isn't as important as a person's life.What really gets me about all of this though is the churlish and indignant attitude here: if the cops can't do their job, then we'll do it ourselves. Well, if buddy did the job with the same constraints under the law the police have, he wouldn't have been charged with such offences as assault, criminal negligence causing bodily harm, and dangerous driving. For the love of god, the guy fired a weapon at a fleeing suspect. Does anyone really think that firing a deadly weapon at a person's back constitutes 'reasonable force'? Why should a private citizen, untrained in apprehending suspects, be allowed to use techniques considered too dangerous and unreasonable for trained police officers to use?Good god, these chimps couldn't even keep the suspect in proper custody while waiting for police, allowing the suspect the opportunity to steal another vehicle and attempt escape. What the hell was 'the posse' doing? Celebrating? Patting each other on the back? Tossing a rope over a nearby tree branch? And Rick Bell wants us to believe that these sorts of people are to be trusted to apprehend suspects? This has to be a late April Fool's joke.