Police Kill Army Reservist During Standoff

Soldier In Maryland Said To Be Upset Over Redeployment Fired At Cops While Barricaded In Home

(AP)  An Army Reservist despondent about being sent to Iraq was killed by police during a 14-hour standoff that began Christmas night when family members told authorities he was armed and threatening to kill himself.

James Emerick Dean, 28, had barricaded himself inside his father's house with several weapons Monday night, family members told police. He later told officers he would shoot anyone who entered the house. His father was not home at the time.

Around noon Tuesday, while police were preparing to use tear gas to force Dean out of the home, Dean came to the front door and pointed his weapon at an officer, St. Mary's County Sheriff Tim Cameron said. Another deputy shot Dean once, killing him.

Dean had already served 18 months in Afghanistan and was despondent after learning recently that he would be deployed to Iraq, family members told police.

During the standoff, Dean fired several shots at police, including one that struck a car where a deputy sat. The officer was not injured.

Cameron did not know what reserve unit Dean served in.

Wanda Matthews, who lives next door to Dean's father, told the Washington Post she knew the young man was depressed about heading to Iraq.

"His dad told me that he didn't want to go to war," Matthews said. "He had already been out there and didn't want to go again."

[cantshutup]

This is tragic...Look at what bush's policies are doing to us...I would be freaking out too, being sent back into that hell by a leader whom IF he had actually had the decency to serve his country would not be someone you'd want guarding your back...I hope the whole lot of them are impeached or even better, the same fate as Sadahm...

[rharrin1]

Just another example to prove what most troops think of trying to serve democracy to people that do not want it.

He would have pulled a bush but didn't have anybody to pull strings for him.

[nothappyatall]

"His dad told me that he didn't want to go to war," Matthews said. "He had already been out there and didn't want to go again."

Well MAYBE he shoulda thought of that scenario BEFORE he signed up dontcha think! Once you sign up they have you for life in their database as one WILLING to go to any callups they choose, even after you serve your contract time out they can still call you up.
No doubt we will see many more of these instances when the battle scarred troops eventually come home- the psychosis, stress syndrome etc.

[bluestardad]

maybe just wanted college money and went in to get it then this NUTJOB Ruler we have now started war with someone that was not threat to us.

[michaeld361]

Looks like President "ChuckleNuts" has no qualm about killing off Americans at the hands of Terrorists. In my 56 years of existance, this person who is in office is the worse and deadlist president I have ever seen! If he were to just disappear today...it wouldn't bother me in the least! The only bad thing that would come of this would be Cheney as President (talk about the blind leading the blind). I can only hope that he is held accountable for his dumb *** actions in this war he started. And you can't forget his sidekicks...Cheney, Rice....and of course Rumsfield! Bush has screwed over this country and its people long enough. What a dip ***!

[creeper00]

Vietnam vets will tell you that for most of them the only thing that got them through it was the knowledge that if they survived for a year they were out of that hellhole. Today's troops have an open-ended committment to spend however long in Iraq the president deems necessary.

I can't imagine what it's like to have NO idea when you'll get out of there for good. Talk about living your life in limbo...

[mrvolleyba11]

Contrary to what everybody in here is saying (and on TV) NOT everybody believes IRAQ is wrong! There are 100's of thousands of soldiers, sailors, and airmen who have and are proudly serving in IRAQ or will soon be in IRAQ. When you count the American deaths with the total number of service men and women who have been there the odds of you getting killed are actually very low, there are probably some areas in American cities that are more dangerous than Iraq but you don't hear the press mention that. All we hear every day is death, this many or that many killed so of course it sounds bad. But the majority of the deaths are Iraqi civilians, they are the ones living this nightmare and if we leave with these current conditions what do you think this country would be like in 6 months, a year???
And get off the Bush never served ***! Bush was a fighter pilot in a reserve unit that did not deploy during the Vietnam War; there were 100's of units that did not deploy (active duty, reserve, and guard units). Bush had NO control over his units deploying or not deploying you idiots. And as far as never fighting in a war, neither Did Clinton (who was busy smoking pot at the time), Reagan, or Carter. The last president's whom actually fought in combat were Bush Sr (Shot down in WWII) and Ford (May he rest in peace).

[mrvolleyba11]

I shudder to think what the situation would be if Kerry was in charge! He married money and has been sitting in congress for over 2 decades and can not produce one significant piece of legislation that he is responsible for! and this is a man that said he had all the answers!!! I guess he is keeping then to himself for a 2008 run???

[mrvolleyba11]

Additionally they don't keep you in a data base forever or mark you as willing because you served. You hear about people saying they served their 4 years and got out to be called up but you really don't know the facts in regards to this either (thanks to our great press). individuals have an active duty commitment any where from 2-6 years and then they have an inactive commitment where they are subject to recall. This inactive commitment can very based on the active duty time served. example: 4 years active and 4-years inactive, or 2 active and 6 inactive.
Don't buy every word you read in the press, they are a business to make money and write their stories accordingly (to increase $$$). It the little parts that they don't mention or leave out that tells the whole story!

[petesis]

Cops are becoming more and more trigger happy in this country. It seems they shoot first and hope for the best in having their butts covered by their comrades, This guy was a pretty good shot and he could have killed people if he had wanted to. I was not there. But it seems lately more and more the cops come out and someone gets shot.

[mrvolleyba11]

Idiots, the president doesn't say how long they will serve in Iraq! That determination is made by each branch of service based on the mission!!!
Iraq is mostly ground troops so the Army is the one that determined how long they will be there and if/when their unit will return. And that's BS about Vietnam, they are a lot of people that volunteered and served multiple times in Vietnam! The ones who did only one tour were typically the drafted personnel.

[mikeyy53-2009]

Petesis,

so it's the cops fault the the reservist is dead...Let's see he barracades himself in the house, threatens to kill anyone that comes near him...After all that he stands on the porch and ends up dead after pointing a weapon at a deputy..He got what he wanted, to die. Petesis, neither you or I were there. The liberal media will not give you the truth. I used to work in that field, half the stuff is made up. Remember Y2K..thank you media.

An officer has 2 seconds to make a decision in a shoot off, is it me or him(or her)? Does the officer want to see his wife and kids at the end of their shift? you bet!! Do a ride along for a shift and see the *** they have to put up with. A vast majority of the officers are no different than you or I. Their are still some cowboys out there, they don't last long!

I am not a cop nor is any member of my family a cop. I have however gone on a ride along, its very interesting(especially Friday & Saturday Nights, cheap entermainment)

[petesis]

mikeyy53
I stand by what I wrote. And as evidence I refer to the recent story in Raleigh about the cop that shoots the family dog and the recent shooting gallery in New York City. There have been many instances. Alot of cops like to shoot first and I suspect this guy did not have to die if they could have talked to him. But you nor I were there so we are both welcome to our own opinions. I retain mine. I have ears and eyes with which to form them.

[allgood34]

Having served in Iraq myself I know how much it sucks over there. I don't know all the reasons behind this case but for me I wouldn't want to return to Iraq if I were still in. I believed in the war when it first kicked off and I was there as it did. As our government showed the world they had proof of stockpiles of WMD in Iraq that we were tracking by satalite along with other means. What happened to those stock piles? We invaded that country on lies our government fed us and the rest of the world. Being a soldier at the time of the war and knowing a lot of soldiers I can tell you most of those I have come in contact with do not support the war and do not believe in the reasons they are sent there. They go because it's their duty to do so. They do not speak out publicly on their thoughts of our leaders and their mission there because they cannot without putting their career in jeapordy. I do not condone this soldier's actions in any way but a small part of me can feel his pain.

[allgood34]

Petesis,

Apparently you have never served in either law enforcement or the military. Tell me why it is you and many others feel someone can shoot at the police or the military but if either return fire and kill those who fired at them first they are wrong. I fully believe if a cop tells you to stop and you continue to run or if they say drop your weapon and you do not they should have the right to shoot. If you're not doing anything wrong why are you running? If you do not intend to shoot why are you refusing to drop your weapon? Why should the cop or the soldier wait until they are fired upon (which could be the end of their life) to take action against those who threaten harm against them? If the crook or the enemy is a good shot (or just a lucky one) the soldier or the cop is dead without a chance to do anything but say halt. That's total BS. Those who volunteer to protect our freedoms should be able to protect their own lives when threatened not only after the threat fires upon them. The soldier was wrong in this case. He said he would shoot if anyone came in the house and he opened fire on the police first. He was wrong the police had every right to return fire to protect themselves and others.

[jn122736]

mikeyy53 said:

%u201Cso it's the cops fault the the reservist is dead...Let's see he barracades himself in the house, threatens to kill anyone that comes near him...After all that he stands on the porch and ends up dead after pointing a weapon at a deputy..He got what he wanted, to die.%u201D

I agree he got what he wanted but not necessarily what he deserved.
Evidently this young man was alone in the house and unless his parents asked the police to remove him they could have left him alone, perhaps long enough to get his mind straight.

They were preparing to use tear gas to force him out before he came out. The fact that he fired shots hitting a police car means he may have forced the issue anyway but we will never know now.
Too many times I have heard %u201C he pointed a gun at me%u201D as the excuse for killing the victim. It has been stretched so far now that they have even claimed %u201Cwe thought they were trying to find a gun%u201D as in the case of the recent shooting where 50 shots were fired into an automobile with an unknown number of passengers inside.

The saddest part of all is the terrible stress these soldiers are now under.
It is also sad that we never hear about the ones who object unless they do something drastic.
I suspect there are far more soldiers who feel about the Iraqi fiasco as most other Americans do but are pressured not to complain.

[fascistusa]

Fascist America.

What more proof do you need?

[str8phoenixg]

Any life lost is tragic. It's a bitter pill to swallow when we look at the nation we have become, far less than our great potential.
We are raising children to cheat the system, hedge their bets and pitch a fit when they get caught on the wrong side of the choices they made. We have taught our children to blame someone else, its too difficult to own up to our choices, unless of course it will get us lots of fame and fortune. Does the End justify the means?

[str8phoenixg]

It was and is an honor to serve this Great Nation. I don't agree with the reasons why we got into this war, I don't agree with the leader of our country right now on much of anything. My son, myself and all the service men and women before us though, swore an oath to the "Office of the President" his appointed (by our peers) position and power. As service men and women we are sworn to protect and to uphold the Constitution of this Country. All of us who serve and who have served "Join" freely for many reasons selfless or self serving. Regardless the motivation to join, ours is not an army of conscripts, slaves or children, as so many other nations so shamelessly use.
Look in the mirror my fellow Americans, and Quote JFK not Ms Nasty Jackson. Ours is not a perfect system yet. Still it is a system, a process of a collective. With out it we are surely doomed to chaos, misery and destruction. Instead of throwing stones from outside, come in and roll up your sleeves and help repair and build this system, our Nation into something we all can live with.

[str8phoenixg]

Maybe this nation needs a collective New Years Resolution. Say it with me...
I John Doe non Hyphenated American (not African-American, not Asian-American, Mexican-American, etc...) Will start 2007 by raising my kids to respect this country and all of its people. To stop and realize I am not the most important person in the world (when was the last time anyone heard the Golden Rule recited) and that being kind to my fellow man is a strength and not a weakness. I will stand up and take responsibility for my actions and not try and blame them on someone else. I will stop complaining about my elected officials and start participating in the process that so many young men and women have and are dying to protect.

I don't know just a thought...

[cantshutup]

It's one thing to follow a code based on your duties and honor, it's another to continue to follow it once one finds one was duped...Should we refer to the Constitution???

[allgood34]

cantshutup,

You don't have much choice once you take the oath. You can

a. continue to uphold your oath.
b. go to jail for failing to uphold your oath
c. kill yourself (or force someone to kill you).

Going with options b and c aren't options most people are willing to explore.

[petesis]

Allgoode

I was in the military if that even matters. Why is it that all you patriotic flag wavers are the first ones to defend the police (and by inference the police state). You like law and order or you like freedom but don't kid yourself that you can like both because they are opposites. You like safety and someone to tell you what to do is what you like. The police nowadays in many cases regard the Constitution as an impediment to their job. They have the full support of so called freedom lovers like yourself. You wouldn't like real freedom. It is too free for your mindset.

[agnim]

"Well MAYBE he shoulda thought of that scenario BEFORE he signed up dontcha think!

Posted by newster1 at 12:51 PM : Dec 27, 2006"

With that comment, you've proven yourself to be an unthinking a.ss

[dumbfounded6]

It's pretty sad when something like this has to happen to a young man probably confused and scared and who could blame him? No one knows what he was feeling for sure. The death count is 2978 (well that's what we're told) and probably just went higher as I'm typing this. This whole war in IRAQ is a frickin' joke. Too bad Bush doesn't have any feelings or maybe he'd understand what he has done to America and it's young soldiers and their families. He sure wouldn't know what it was like to serve in the military... Chickenshtgeorge.

[fascistusa]

It's all about the Rich.

Fascism. Nazism.

It's all a TRICK. The easiest way to get the Labor/ Wealth from a vast Majority while keeping power/control over that majority of people.

You say work towards a Future. I say REVOLT against a sick, evil Ruling Class.

The police are STORMTROOPERS/ Clones. Cheney is the EMPORER. BUSH is Darth Vader.

What does that make me?

[allgood34]

Petesis,

I do not fully agree with the police and defend their every action. In fact there have been many times I've wished someone would police the police but I do tend to side with the ones that uphold the law and aren't just power hungary fools abusing their powers while hiding behind their badge.

During your time in the military did you deploy? Did you have to uphold the BS rules of engagement that pretty much say you cannot fire until fired upon even if the enemy is walking around waiving guns in the air? If so do you remember how threatened you felt while knowing there wasn't much you could do about it? i remember that feeling all to well. If a citizen isn't breaking the law and doesn't want to be shot drop the weapon and show no signs of aggression. Get a good lawyer and work it out in court. Shooting or threatening to shoot cops or anyone else isn't the way to handle any situation whether you are wrong or right and just misunderstood.

[petesis]

Dear Allgood
I deployed alot let me tell you and I did not like the rules of engagement. I got out because of things like that. (I joined to fight for the USA, not ARAMCO) I voted with my feet. I agree with your intent of what you say but I say that lately it seems the cops shoot first and ask questions later. Much more than they used to. That poor guy did not have to die. I live near Pensacola and they have a swat team that when they come out, someone is getting shot. Heck, they dress like turkey hunters. It is a big outing for them. A vast majority of these standoffs can be solved peacefully through patience but patience seems to be something they do not want to exercise.

[bobbyzworld]

Being a soldier who has been to war myself (Desert Storm), I have love, respect, & sympathy for every soldier who is deployed in Iraq or anywhere else at this moment, but especially Iraq. I say this because, if you have read or watched anything about this war in Iraq, we (as a country were lied to, misled, led astray (you get the picture), as to the reasons to go to war in Iraq. Saddam, tyrant that he is/was, apparently had nothing to do with what happended in America on September 11. But G.W. lied, Congress didn't challenge the information as much as it should have, & now we're in a lose lose situation. Yes, our military is now all volunteer, & yes, unlike most recruiters will tell you, the purpose main purpose of the military is to fight wars, BUT THAT IS NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN UNDER FALSE PRETENSES!

If "weapons of mass destruction (WMDs)" are a reason for us to go to war, then why haven't we invaded Iran, or North Korea (COUNTRIES WE KNOW FOR A FACT THAT HAVE WMDS)?!?!? Riddle me that Batman?

My point is if there were no war in Iraq, this soldier might still be here.

[nyckate]

perhaps its time to face some tough facts about America today - war is much tougher than the movies portray it - and also we have a president who has totally mismanaged both iraq and afghanistan. This mis-management doesn't just have political ramifications - its a direct threat itself to our soldiers who are the ones faced with the very real consequences of the mismanagement and lack of armour, etc. We have soldiers battling there for reasons that no longer make sense, without proper gear and with little or no arabic translators - they don't know who is friend or foe - they are ending up training those who turn around and attack them - suicides rates of US Soldiers(those reported anyway) are twice as high and the injury rate is astronomical.

Many US soldiers are on their 3rd tours in Iraq - its tough on them and on their families especially as the nation was left unprepared for such extended foreign action as was the military. I remember Mr. Rumsfeld opining that he though it might take 6 weeks never 6 months - now we are in Iraq longer than we were in WWII.

[delta5243]

allgood, well said....couldn't agree more.

[sharncedar]

I guess it was another of Bush's sacrifices. Now we have to give him more sacrifices to justify that one and so on.

Something's really wrong when one man can murder so many Americans. We have got to take away the excessive power of the presidency. We should only go to war when the American people are behind the war, and authorize the war through Congress.

If there are honest liberals out there, please understand that Clinton smashing the War Powers Act during his Yugoslavian adventure is the direct precursor to this young man's death. You need to be consistent, not just bash Bush but do something to help America. Which means to punish and censor the Clintons for their role in the casting of president as warrior-in-chief. It isn't courageous to attack one's political enemies, it is courageous to oppose ones allies when they are abusive of power.

Democrats, are there any heroes amongst you? Are there any who love this country more than selfish spoils? Now is when America needs your leadership. Not to bash Bush, he bashes himself, why even soon God will bash him until there is nothing left of the man but a cowering pile of fear, mark my words. But speak out and defeat the abusive tendencies in your own party, the laziness that seeks a king or queen rather than a democratic government. Stop worshipping Hillary, or Obama, or any of them, and demand a logical, reasoned, democratic government with the proper checks and balances in place.

[rharrin1]

mrvolleyba11

When the draft was in effect if you did not live up to your obligation you were supposed to be inducted into the service automatically.

Bush did not take a required physical he should have been inducted but wasn't only because of string pulling.

Cheney five deferments Quote===I had better things to do. These are your real heroes.

[maaburne]

Agnim,

Maybe the army reservist who was killed should have thought of that scenario before he joined, but we aren't a society of thinkers. Our initial enthusiasm about engaging in an unneeded/unwarranted war make that clear.

[markbrookhar]

Saddam is being hung in less than a month for his presidental part in sending his troops to fight againt less than 300 kurds who he said plotted to over throw him (I recognize there are other charges). No question that he has done wrong. But consider...Our president's war on terror has resulted in the deaths of almost 3000 US soldiers, & tens of thousands of Iraqi non-combantant civilians, women, and children, many, many directly at the hand of US military because of the "rules of engagement." But he has done no crime against humanity.? Posters be careful, it is criminal to speak against the president in this current war on terror. PS. Why did WT7 collapse?

[dev1in]

One thing to remember...These heroic men and women in our military signed up of their own accord, they were not drafted. They knew they were signing up for a very dangerous job where they could have a very real chance of dying in combat. There are STILL people signing up in fact!

If we didn't go to war and oust the murderous dictator and you heard of all the massacares, murders, and torchers he was commiting you'd be whining that we should do something to stop him.

Theres no satisfying you whiney liberals!

Oh and "mrvolleyba11" President Bush DID serve in the military. After serving he recieved an honorable discharge.
Before you shoot off your mouth research your facts.....