Joe Hendrix, Man Who Fatally Shot Alzheimer's Patient Ronald Westbrook, Faces..

[Dos Equis]

its really not outrageous at all... acting in defense doesn't always mean you have to be reactive. Assessing the situation, taking control and acting proactively is far superior to trying to wait until the last possible second to determine if the man breaking into your home is trying to kill you.

Well, what if the guy locked himself in the house and the old dude dumped gas on the building and lit it on fire, and waited outside with a weapon for them to come out?

Acting in self defense doesnt mean you have to cower in fear until the enemy is bearing down on you and has you in his sites... you have a right to protect yourself, your family, and your property from threats.

If someone is on your property, isnt responding, and looks hostile, youre damn right im going to move into a defensive posture and prepare to fight where I have the best chance at winning the confrontation... not locking my door anf hiding and waiting until he has me at a disadvantage to suddenly decide hes hostile and i better do something

Completely agree.  As I've said before, very easy to dissect someone's conduct after-the-fact.  Much more difficult to make decisions in real time.  

[Jack T. Cross]

No, I don't think you'll find too many people arguing that it was a good decision by Hendrix, from whatever perspective/time the argument might be made from.

It's pretty fucked from all angles.

[Jack T. Cross]

But fact is, it was effectively his property, and that's what saved him.

(wouldn't be surprised if he was directed into treatment. Not surprised at all. And that would make a satisfactory outcome. No sense giving the guy a criminal record)

[240 is Back]

Completely agree.  As I've said before, very easy to dissect someone's conduct after-the-fact.  Much more difficult to make decisions in real time. 

Disagree... in "real time", he was safely locked in a house waiting for popo to arrive.

Had hendrix made a decision to kick thru the door, then yes, hendrix would have been forced to make a split second decision.

instead, he went outside at his OWN LEISURE and entered into a confrontation in which he KNEW it was a dude in his yard.  He gave the order to lay down, then at his own leisure fired 4 rounds. 

sorry, but that's an elective shoot. 

NOBODY on this board wants ten joe hendrix' living on their street, do they?   but its okay, cause it happened in Georgia... lol

[Dos Equis]

Yes, decisions in real time differ from somebody on the internet dissecting what he thinks happened. 

And I would certainly welcome this guy as my neighbor. 

I can tell you who I absolutely would not want as a neighbor:  some idiot roaming the street accosting people with a loaded weapon.  That's just scary. 

[OzmO]

I wouldn't want him as a neighbor, no fucking way.

He scares too easy, shots too quickly.

Don't want children anywhere near him.  Especially teenagers.

[Dos Equis]

I wouldn't want him as a neighbor, no fucking way.

He scares too easy, shots too quickly.

Don't want children anywhere near him.  Especially teenagers.

Different strokes.  I looked at his background.  Impressive.  I suspect that is part of the reason he wasn't charged. 

[OzmO]

Different strokes.  I looked at his background.  Impressive.  I suspect that is part of the reason he wasn't charged. 

His background nor his conscience is clean any longer.

[Dos Equis]

His background nor his conscience is clean any longer.

I don't think anyone has an entirely clean background.  Everyone makes mistakes.  I think he made an honest mistake. 

Regarding his conscience?  Who knows?  He could be saddled with guilt for the rest of his life, or he could accept what he cannot change and continue to live a life as a good citizen.   

[OzmO]

I don't think anyone has an entirely clean background.  Everyone makes mistakes.  I think he made an honest mistake. 

Regarding his conscience?  Who knows?  He could be saddled with guilt for the rest of his life, or he could accept what he cannot change and continue to live a life as a good citizen.   

Not to many people have back grounds with a controversial shooting death.

So if something like this ever happens with him again, his back ground is gonna look like Natalie Portman with a pimple the size of Texas in her nose.

[Dos Equis]

Not to many people have back grounds with a controversial shooting death.

So if something like this ever happens with him again, his back ground is gonna look like Natalie Portman with a pimple the size of Texas in her nose.

True, it's rare.  Still, it doesn't have to ruin his life.  He doesn't have to be demonized.  It's not like he's OJ. 

[OzmO]

True, it's rare.  Still, it doesn't have to ruin his life.  He doesn't have to be demonized.  It's not like he's OJ. 

I agree.   

[240 is Back]

Different strokes.  I looked at his background.  Impressive.  I suspect that is part of the reason he wasn't charged. 

and imagine... ten years from now... you're in your yard watering your lilies and suddenly you have a stroke.  unable to get your hands out of your pocket with your messed up arm, you limp next door to ask ol' Joe for help.

Someone else has been knocking and running, and your timing sucks.  You're only a foot in his yard when he comes storming our of the yard into the 9pm yard screaming and waving around a pistol.  You try to tell him you need him to call 911 and you cannot open your door, and suddenly he starts screaming and firing his gun.

As you fall to ground & hold your chest with a gaping bullet hole, you suddenly realize that maybe people SHOULDNT be able to fire bullets into a silhouette presenting zero threat.  Maybe people SHOULDNT be allowed to get away with "oh, he was scared" when the only threat is - drum roll please - in his imagination. 

So yeah, that could happen.  A teenage girl could be roofied and asking for help.  Hendrix created fear for his life, IN HIS MIND, when there was none in real life.  dude, you seriously would want a neighbor who will FIRE BULLETS into the darkness because of some irrational threat that exists only in his head?  Scary... I wouldn't want that dude living in my state. 

[Jack T. Cross]

Unlike my feelings about Zimmerman, I don't think this guy's inclined to get into trouble again. I believe Hendrix is legit, but that he's mentally fucked from a lifetime of stress and an inability to think clearly due to it.

[240 is Back]

Unlike my feelings about Zimmerman, I don't think this guy's inclined to get into trouble again. I believe Hendrix is legit, but that he's mentally fucked from a lifetime of stress and an inability to think clearly due to it.

dude will still have a gun tomorrow.  He'll still be the personality that will issue orders to "get on the ground" then fire bullets into a shape.  He'll still be the type of person that creates crazy threats "in real life" and fires bullets at them without getting enough info.

He perceived a threat that just wasn't there.  He still has his gun.  He may shoot someone again.  Even a small charge would ensure the dude wasn't carrying around that same hand cannon while doing gardening next week.  Oh, we're going to whine about depriving him of his liberties?  How about the old man's right to live? 

[Jack T. Cross]

dude will still have a gun tomorrow.  He'll still be the personality that will issue orders to "get on the ground" then fire bullets into a shape.  He'll still be the type of person that creates crazy threats "in real life" and fires bullets at them without getting enough info.

He perceived a threat that just wasn't there.  He still has his gun.  He may shoot someone again.  Even a small charge would ensure the dude wasn't carrying around that same hand cannon while doing gardening next week.  Oh, we're going to whine about depriving him of his liberties?  How about the old man's right to live? 

I think he was talked into getting treatment, though. I really do.

Unlike some of the dudes on this board, you can bet no one down there felt he did the right thing by leaving his house. This case was kept for quite a while for a reason. Lots of thought went into it, because it's too plain something very wrong happened.

[Dos Equis]

I think he was talked into getting treatment, though. I really do.

Unlike some of the dudes on this board, you can bet no one down there felt he did the right thing by leaving his house. This case was kept for quite a while for a reason. Lots of thought went into it, because it's too plain something very wrong happened.

I've always said he probably should have stayed in the house, but I have the benefit of knowing what already happened. 

[Jack T. Cross]

I've always said he probably should have stayed in the house, but I have the benefit of knowing what already happened.

If that's how you're judging it, then why would you say 'probably'?

lol, j/k

[Dos Equis]

If that's how you're judging it, then why would you say 'probably'?

lol, j/k

Because there is more than one right answer. 

[Vince G, CSN MFT]

We all went round and round with this for a while....

thought some might be curious about it, if no one has posted this story.

I still think he should have been charged.   

Joe Hendrix, Man Who Fatally Shot Alzheimer's Patient Ronald Westbrook, Faces No Charges

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/28/joe-hendrix-shoots-alzheimer-patient_n_4875997.html

ATLANTA (AP) — A man who fatally shot a wandering Alzheimer's patient in the early morning hours in north Georgia will not face criminal charges, a local prosecutor said Friday.

Joe Hendrix, 35, fatally shot 72-year-old Ronald Westbrook on Nov. 27. The elderly man had slipped from his home as early as 1 a.m. and wandered in the cold and dark for hours until randomly approaching the home of Hendrix's fiancee on a rural cul-de-sac, repeatedly knocking on the door and ringing the bell.

Hendrix's fiancee called 911, while Hendrix grabbed his .40-caliber handgun, went outside and confronted Westbrook in the dark. Hendrix told police that he fired four shots after Westbrook ignored commands to stop, identify himself and raise his hands.

District Attorney Herbert "Buzz" Franklin's office characterized the incident as a "tragic shooting death" in a written statement. Franklin did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

"I'm a little upset," said Deanne Westbrook, the slain man's widow. She said she felt police and prosecutors had done a thorough job. "I really wanted to see it go before a grand jury, and then maybe before a jury. But they tell me there's not enough evidence for that."

Hendrix appreciated the care and deliberation shown by investigators, said his attorney, Lee Davis

"Mr. Hendrix fully acknowledges the loss to Westbrook family, and his thoughts and prayers are with them," Davis said in a statement.

A series of chance events, even a missed opportunity, preceded the shooting.

On Nov. 19, Hendrix's fiancee called 911 just before midnight to report that a man carrying a piece of paper and a flashlight rang her doorbell and wanted to see a person whose name she did not recognize, according to Hendrix's attorney and police reports obtained by The Associated Press under the state's open records laws. The woman had only recently moved into the rented home and was suspicious, Davis said previously.

Worried, the fiancee called Hendrix, who told her to call 911. By the time Hendrix and police officers arrived, the suspicious man was gone. Afterward, Hendrix, a former soldier, took a handgun from his apartment in nearby Chattanooga, Tenn., and brought the weapon to his fiancee's home.

About a week later, Westbrook slipped out unnoticed from the home he shared with his wife of 51 years. Westbrook suffered from Alzheimer's, a progressive disease that causes memory loss, impairs judgment and can leave it victims disoriented. His widow, Deanne, previously said her husband had become confused about where he lived and struggled to identify those closest to him.

She said she installed alarms on her doors to prevent her husband from wandering, but she didn't hear them when he left with the couple's two dogs, possibly as early as 1 a.m.

A deputy sheriff noticed Westbrook walking along a road around 2:30 a.m. and stopped to question him, Walker County Steve Wilson said previously. Westbrook told the officer that he was getting his mail — he was near mailboxes — and then planned to return home. Nothing about the conversation alarmed the officer.

Just before 4 a.m., Hendrix and his fiancee woke up to barking dogs and realized someone was ringing their doorbell, knocking on their door and trying to get in, police said. Hendrix's fiancee called 911 while Hendrix went outside with his gun.

This is exactly what the Republicans wanted.....a bunch of Zimmermans running around with a license to kill someone for no reason....Wild West

[Jack T. Cross]

Because there is more than one right answer. 

What do you mean?

[Dos Equis]

What do you mean?

Staying inside would have been reasonable.  Going outside under the circumstances was reasonable. 

[240 is Back]

This is exactly what the Republicans wanted.....a bunch of Zimmermans running around with a license to kill someone for no reason....Wild West

if the dude perceives a threat - and it's anything remotely threatening, then yes, maybe he gets away with it.

in this case, the ONLY threat was imaginary, the one perceived in Hendrix' head.  

The old man knocked on the door.  He called police.  Can't blame him.  Knocking on door in middle o night, not a good idea to answer.

But then he went outside to have a standoff with the dude - and the dude was NOT a threat.  He didn't have a gun or a knife or even a superior physical presence.  He was so far away, he couldn't tell if it was man or woman or zombie or Ghandi.  He just started shooting because of the fear of the unknown.  The MINUTE we make it legal to empty your gun into an unknown area of your yard because of.. well... fear?    Okay, let hendri start shooting kids and old ladies and puppies and whatever else.  Hey, move him to your block.  I sure as shit don't want a dude that'll shoot bullets at an unknown thing, living anywhere NEAR me.

[Jack T. Cross]

I'll tell you, it really makes a person think, with these self-protection laws. In a time when people may be forced to infringe upon others' spaces in order to survive (food/water shortages, etc.), you can see how shit would get carried away very quickly.

[Jack T. Cross]

Staying inside would have been reasonable.  Going outside under the circumstances was reasonable. 

It wasn't illegal, I'd say that.