http://www.odmp.org/officer/6450-pat...obert-s-hester
Do any of you know much about the above incident ?
We were told about it in the academy and I have done some reading on it. For me it's one of the most sickening and chilling LE incidents I know of.
I do recall that incident when it happened, but the brief NLETS transmission didn't initially include many of the details. Later on, it was the topic of much discussion at a "Choir Practice" one night at the end of shift and I remember telling my guys to NEVER let that happen to me. I assured them that I would rather take my chances with friendly fire than die at the hands of a criminal.
Hostage situations involving cops and correctional officers too often have a history of not ending well so with that in mind, I routinely carried three guns and a knife or two with some contingency factored in for being searched and restrained.
Last edited by 41magfan; 06-17-2016 at 07:51 PM.
The path of least resistance will seldom get you where you need to be.
People always tell me that pot smokers are harmless. I have no idea how big a role the pot played in that awful incident, but I always tell people about it when they say the world is better of with a bunch of cheeto crazy pot smokers.
Hardware is very rarely the deciding factor in the U.S., but when breaking an ambush, large quantities of full auto fire have been the school solution for many years. I wonder if this incident would have played out any differently if those officers had 18 rd 9mm's, and were able to sustain their counter assault longer than the wheel guns allowed for.
In my academy it was taught as example of indecisiveness on the part of the command staff. The point for us was that you have to make a decision and be confident in it.
Maybe I should not ask this, but what actually happened to Hester? My instructor told us some crazy things, but I don't know how accurate it is. He got a few details wrong like location....
I am with 41mag. Death is not the worst thing that can happen. The same goes if my car ever gets hit and I burn up......have mercy and let me die. I believe in a moral God, so I believe in something better than this after death.
With a Glock 17 you have 52 rounds on you. If the officer who went in with pistol and shot gun, you are talking about 23 rounds. I think there probably would have been a difference.
I often hear inexperienced people (LE and non LE) make comments about amount of rounds fired versus hits made. Quite frankly, I have no problem at all in laying a wall of hate that allows others to maneuver towards or away from a threat.
The inexperienced (including administrators) will then make comments about military versus LE. The fact is that conflict is conflict, and bullets don't care about labels. It does not matter one bit if the bad guy is wearing a desert pattern BDU uniform and carrying an AK, or has a .270, holed up in a single wide, and is wearing something from walmart.
If laying a heavy base of fire keeps the bad guy's head down and allows wounded to be rescued, or allows others to flank a position, and push an objective to control space, I am all for it. Sheet metal and drywall are relatively cheap as compared to the life of a citizen or an LEO who has been taken hostage or is wounded. I would rather push the fight, box them up and achieve the objectives, if possible.
If my memory serves me correctly, both officer's were lured to the location under false pretenses and didn't sense the danger until it was too late. They were overpowered by a dozen men, disarmed and Hester subsequently held hostage. During the "negotiation phase" of the incident is when Hester was killed and there was reportedly clear evidence that they should have acted quicker.
The only upside to the incident is that they took no prisoners, but several of the offenders that were involved initially escaped before the stand-off occurred. Ironically, the thugs were practitioners of some fringe cult-religion ..... imagine that.
The path of least resistance will seldom get you where you need to be.
Yea imagine......pot, victim status, and bad religion. What could go wrong ?Originally Posted by 41magfan
I think he was tortured (burned & cut, perhaps ... I'm just not sure) but IIRC he died from head wounds inflicted by his own metal flashlight.
ETA:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg6WojIBPdM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKOUEwpsSRo
Reportedly, there's a film documentary on the event. https://vimeo.com/157733857
Last edited by 41magfan; 06-17-2016 at 09:39 PM.
The path of least resistance will seldom get you where you need to be.
I think the film has been made. Not sure when it's going to be released.
Yea I've listened to those.....it's like an old horror movie. You can feel the evil.
I was told he had his eyes poked out, teeth pulled.....again not sure how true.
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