Texting in the theater in Florida? I don't think so...
 

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/2...-movie-theater

WESLEY CHAPEL (FOX 13) -

A moviegoer lost his life inside a Pasco County theater Monday afternoon after a dispute over texting with a retired police officer.

According to the sheriff's office, the dispute happened before the 1:20 showing of 'Lone Survivor' had even gotten underway at the Cobb CineBistro at Grove 16 complex on Wesley Grove Blvd.

Investigators say two couples had gotten into an argument over noise.

"The victim was on his cell phone; he was texting. We believe he was making some kind of noise. This noise led to an altercation between the suspect and the victim," Sheriff Chris Nocco explained.

A witness recalled seeing the agitated man -- later identified by deputies as Curtis Reeves -- get up and leave in an apparent attempt to find a manager. When he came back alone, the argument escalated.

Charles Cummings told FOX 13 he heard the victim say he was texting his 3-year-old daughter before Reeves pulled out a pistol.

"Their voices start going up, there seems to be a confrontation, somebody throws popcorn, then bang, he was shot," said Cummings, who was there to celebrate his birthday. "I heard the victim say, 'I can't believe...,' then he fell on us."

"I asked if the guy was OK, and he started gurgling blood and then fell," recalled Cummings' son, who said he ran to call 911.

Both the man, identified by deputies as Chad Oulson, and his wife Nicole were struck by the single shot. Oulson, 43, was hit in the chest and died, while Nicole was hit in the hand when she put her hand up in front of her husband. She suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

An off-duty Sumter County deputy inside the theater was able to grab the gun and detain Reeves until deputies arrived, the sheriff added.

Reeves, a 71-year-old retired Tampa police officer, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. A 2005 Tampa Bay Times article also described him as a former director of security for Busch Gardens.

Moments after he was named as the suspect, Tampa police issued a statement saying Reeves had retired back in 1993 as a captain.

"He was instrumental in establishing the department's first Tactical Response Team," the statement explained. "We are not aware of any contact with the department since his departure more than 20 years ago."

Nocco said his detectives considered if this could be a 'stand your ground' case but decided the criteria did not apply.

"It's absolutely crazy it would rise to this level over somebody just texting in a movie theater," he offered.

"I can't believe people would bring a gun to a movie," added Cummings, a Marine who served in Vietnam. "I can't believe they would argue and fight and shoot one another over popcorn or even a cell phone."

Read more: http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/2...#ixzz2qKGDJNuj
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Retired cop on a power trip. I'm shocked

Texting his three year old? Bullshit.

Doesnt excuse cold blooded murder obviously, the old man pretty much guaranteed he'll die in prison... an old and helpless, retired cop... in prison... justice is served.

FYP

Serves him right. **** movie theater texters.

I don't see the problem.

LMAO I don't disagree except if it was before the movie even started - who cares? I think the old man just lost all common sense

well.. that leaves one less of those mother****ers watching the same movie as I am, while texting. Seriously take care of your business before or after you dumbass ****s. I hope that lady gets her hand amputated so it makes 2!

:#:#

I wonder if anyone got free tickets to a later showing? Bet nobody went in that dude's yard....

I don't either.

BTW have you been living under a rock? Who doesn't go armed to a movie theater anymore (if you legally can)?

Sane people.

I am a sheepdog and I suspect a vast majority of those who are able to carry a firearm legally (such as CCW holders are as well sheepdogs)

Did they drag-out the carcass and let the others get back to the movie? That's really all that matters here!

Movie texter/loud guy being dead = good.

Over zealous ex-cop in jail = good.

Rest of the group gets to see the rest of the movie about killing and mayhem in peace - REALLY GOOD.

DenverChief, I am not sure you know this but the slogan that officer says is on a sign in a California law enforcement agency was actually the slogan of the Rampart CRASH unit of the LAPD.

Not exactly the people you want to emulate when it comes to policing.

I consider myself a hybrid wolf/sheepdog, I don't prey on the sheep but I also don't care about the other sheep outside of my pack/flock.
My carry will never be drawn to protect randoms, it is there for myself and my pack, but there will also be no hesitation to draw/use if my family/pack/flock is involved.

You dirty mofos actually think the old mofo was in the right? Who gives a **** if someone is texting in a movie. If you are watching the mofo instead of other people, would you even notice? What's the big ****ing deal if someone is texting. It could be an emergency for all you know. You all are crazy.......but I am not surprised, I argued with a lot of folks on here about ole Zimmerman......just move to Florida so you can just shoot mofos at random...

LOL at this....


Movie texter/loud guy being dead = good.



seriously dude?

I've never been so proud to be a Floridian...

And emergency that he can't leave the theater for? LOL... Shoot the mother****er and he DOES have an emergency! Wait, the doode did shoot him!

All's well that ends well I say....

Florida? No way.

Just to make it clear, I have no sympathy for the ex-cop. I believe he should be charged with murder and receive the death sentence. I feel bad for the texter and his family, I wish the deceased texter would have shot the ex-cop as soon as he pulled his firearm.

Exactly, there are laws about that shit, right?

Before one gets in a screaming match they better understand that this person may be crazy. Both got what they deserved.

I just don't see how a texter would disturb me at a movie...I guess some people need to get laid or go to a strip club or something.....Or go to Colorado......LOL!!

Texting can be annoying as ****, especially if the idiot is laughing and doesn't have it on silent.

LMAO You're black. You're not allowed to comment on who/what is annoying in movie theaters.

Quote of the year. #UCF for the win!

Hashtag ChargeOn, bitches!

Hopefully the trial will be short and inexpensive, and this perp gets a quick bullett through the brain.

"Google" Colonel David Grossman

You guys think you're funny and it's not. Oh never mind, some of you can't be saved from your badass selves.

:spock: you type mullett too much?

god bless america

edit, it is a movie basically about this.

The statement is humorous with your name.

C'mon. You can't think of one reason why someone might want a gun in a movie theater these days?

I don't care who he is. Anybody who thinks that quoting one of the most corrupt and violent police organizations in the United States makes him sound incredibly out of touch.

Also, his little thing about being the most violent time in society ever is absolutely wrong. Violent crime is actually damn near the lowest in a century.

Ignorance is bliss

Careful, you might not be sane if you do

You say mofo a lot.

HEY, it was mod abuse damn it.

By your argument the Boston Diocese discredits the entire Catholic religion - just because one subset of morons make an ass of themselves doesn't change the basic premise of the church/law enforcement. /rant

Except he used the exact slogan of that unit to support his argument and puff up his chest. A unit that murdered, framed people, stole evidence, and that beat suspects as a matter of policy. A unit that handed out awards for officers shooting people.

If Mr. Grossman wants to glorify that as his sheepdogs, we don't need him or his ilk.

And the child molesters of the Catholic church had a sign hanging on their desk that said "love thy neighbor"

GTFO

Except those Catholics were not the people most people think of when they hear "love thy neighbor", the slogan "we intimidate those who intimidate others" is tied with brutality, murder, and corruption of the LAPDs CRASH division.

So you have two choices to defend your man. Either he is too stupid to actually research what slogan he is using in his article or he thinks that the police acting just as bad or worse then the criminals they are supposed to deal with is okay.

Which is it?

You have a chip on your shoulder - there is no point in continuing this discussion until you can be more reasonable.

Hey Denverchief.. what do you think about those cops in Fullerton that beat the life out of that guy?

No, I just pointed out that the guy you were quoting used the slogan of a notoriously corrupt and thuggish police organization as part of his 'I am a sheepdog' bluster.

You are the one defending him. I just don't like thugs regardless of the fact that they may be wearing a badge.

Stand your ground. This is Florida you know. I'll bet the perp was wearing a hoodie to boot.

And he used it as a part of his speech before the corruption was exposed. The fact they used it as a slogan doesn't change the basic premise of the slogan. The fact that you keep harping on that one finite point means you don't understand the bigger argument - you cannot see the forrest for the trees

I don't know much about it - but on its face it looks pretty bad on their part

Hehehe....."Lone Survivor"

When was that speech made?

If you are looking for good police work then that slogan is also bad. Police work shouldn't be about intimidation. It should be about protecting the rights of the populace. If you are going for intimidation you are hiring thugs and instilling a thuggish demeanor in your workforce. Shows of force and escalating violence become more important than actual good police work and using the least amount of force possible. Not exactly a great way to get the public on your side.

You wonder why people hate cops? The slogan "we intimidate those who intimidate others" goes a long way to explain it.

Wow, a ****ing useless movie-texter gets off'd now we're here.... LOL!

Looks like he just forgot he was retired.

He is used to being able to make the world around him conform to his will.
Probably not the first innocent person he shot. He just wasnt on the clock this time.

:spock: Do you know wheat the first level in the use of force model is?

November 1997 was the speech and Sept 1998 was the first arrest in the Rampart investigation

We bully the bullies (and everybody else)

Yeah. Great reason to kill someone .

You should join the academy bro.

Must have been pretty pissed about the price of popcorn.

I'm sure more than obscenities were yelled, it sounds like one man threatened another without knowing what the other man had in his pocket. On the other hand you could say that the man shouldn't have gotten so heated over his texting being called out in a movie theater. If he would've just stopped texting and gone back to watching the movie, the crazy trigger happy 71 year old man wouldn't have capped him. This story paints the 71 as the bad guy but I'm sure the dead guy is no angel.

I'm sure he wasn't, but neither are you or anyone else for that matter. People have confrontations all the time; a minor tiff such as this doesn't really justify a shooting.

If we're to believe the witnesses, someone threw popcorn then the shots rang out. How does someone with a concealed carry license, and a retired police office no less, let the situation escalate to that point?

I think the fact that he was 71 years old played a lot more into the situation than any other factor. Does it excuse it? NO. But how many 71 year olds do you trust with a Drivers License?

Fry that ****.

It would be nice if all the residents of Florida would conceal/carry themselves out of existence.

More reason why we need more Alamo Drafthouses in this world. You text you talk you get thrown the **** out on the first offense.....

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/1L3eeC2lJZs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

But the simple reality is we'll probably never know the real story in this case, when it comes time to talk to press/court one thing is certain. The wife is going to lie her ass off and the so will the retired cop.

That said there is one telling bit of information in this story....and that's that the wife got shot in the hand because it was between the husband and the cop.

Now that likely happened one of two ways. Either

A...she was trying to hold back her husband because he was going to or was in the process of physically assaulting the retired cop.

Or

B....she was trying to grab the gun out of the hand of the retired cop.

Considering that B is pretty unusual behavior for most people(i.e. more would flee if it's not directly pointed at them) AND a theater is likely fairly dark and it's going to take longer to both notice a gun and recognize what it is.

It's probably much more likely that A was in the process of happening. Now it shuldn't have ever gotten to the point of a physical altercation much less someone being shot but if you're 71 years old and someone starts trying to beat on you in a place where you can't run or get away what would you do? Any significant blow is likely to cause serious injury or death at 71+.

It should never have gotten to that point especially by someone who was a former cop(who reached a captain's rank) who should be trained in how to defuse the situation.

But if you were in his shoes and you're 71 and someone starts hitting you what would you do? You can't run, do you just stand there and get beaten or hope that someone else is going to step in and stop it. Physically he was likely no match for the other guy. What exactly would you have had the guy do if the other guy started beating him?

yawn

No, I am cablanaysian......just like Tiger

Mutha****a........how do you like that?

Lighten up Francis... LOL, the academy!!!

Good on ya' DC...

I'm not defending his actions, I'm just saying maybe the guy said to the retired police officer, "I got a gun and I will not hesitate to shoot you." We don't know everything is my point. The fact is that if this guy would've just stopped texting, he would be alive right now. I'm sure if you could ask him right now he'd say ," I should've just stfu." You don't know what kinds of crazy assholes are out there or who has the ability to kill you in a split second.

I agree.

If ever I'm out and about and someone says something slick to me I ignore them if at all possible. You have no idea what any random strange is capable of..

I was just messing with you, my man. Don't take offense.

You don't get to kill someone for texting.

Everyone in Florida has a gun. 1,000,000 gun owners have a concealed carry permits. Stand your ground law. It has created a atmosphere that its okay to say.........kill a guy for texting.

How do they feel about shooting people who are taller sitting in front of a short person?

If they're gtg I'm moving to Florida to see an unobstructed screen for the first time evah.

Dont go see the Hobbit. They have really pretty feet.

Go ahead and lead by example.

Bad things happen, even in movie theaters, and not just in Florida

http://www.ranker.com/list/most-viol...attacks/joanne

Stand your ground isn't a factor here, they say it in the article, just as guns don't kill people people kill people you can't blame a law for someone's poor judgement. Crazy people are everywhere, they don't care that you said ,"You don't kill me for texting!" They shoot your ass then go to jail for it, but he shot you for texting and someone on a forum somewhere said ," You don't shoot someone for texting!" You do if you have the ability to and a ****ed up head.

Shit, my uncle turned 70 over 3 years ago here with me. I have no doubt that right now, today, he isn't going to shoot anyone over anything. Let's not make it out like 71 is some age where we have to worry about someone going batshit. It's not. He's ****ed up. 71, 51, it doesn't matter. ****ed up is ****ed up. He's not ****ing senile by any means...