UPDATE 03/10/17: The ex-cop tried to use ‘stand your ground’ as his defense. The judge has rejected it, stating:
“Because the defendant’s testimony was significantly at odds with the physical evidence and other witness testimony, this court has considerable doubts about his credibility, and is not willing to come to the conclusion that these circumstances are those envisioned by the legislature when the “stand your ground” law was enacted.”
// ]]>WESLEY CHAPEL — A now-former police officer has been taken into custody after pulling out a gun in a movie theater and opening fire on two citizens. Two people were shot, a husband and wife, and the husband was killed.
It began on Monday, January 12, 2014 during previews, when Chad Oulson was seated with his wife.
Oulson at some point sent a text message to his young daughter before the movie started, according to reports.
Curtis Reeves, the retired cop, was sitting behind Oulson when he saw the texting begin and commanded Oulson to stop.
Oulson explained that he needed to text his daughter, which led to an argument between the two.
The old cop then exited the theater, leaving Oulson with the impression that he was being reported to a manager.
But nobody expected what was about to happen.
The cop suddenly emerged back inside the dark theater, alone, with a loaded gun.
“He came back very irritated,” said a witness, who was sitting nearby.
That’s when moviegoers were terrified — the cop opened fire amid the crowd of over 25 people, according to witnesses.
The text that Oulson sent his daughter would be their last words to each other, as he was immediately shot and executed.
“Blood started coming out of his mouth,” said Alex Cummings, a marine veteran who was present during the shooting. “It was a very bad scene.”
Oulson’s wife, Nicole, was also shot when she put her hand between the cop and her husband to stop the shooting.
Determined to murder, Reeves reportedly shot her hand and the bullet went through her hand and into her husband.
The couple was on a date that night like anybody else, never expecting that they would the victims of a movie theater shooting.
Former officer Reeves was subdued before he could fire any more rounds is now facing charges of second-degree homicide, according to reports.
The movie theater shooting has left communities devastated and has sent shockwaves through a nation still sensitive from shooting in an Aurora Colorado.
Oulson’s neighbor was interviewed by reporters and said “He was always smiling. If I needed help with something he was always there.”
“Always smiling. I’ve never seen him angry,” Bill Costas said. If I needed help with something he was always there.”
It is not yet known whether former Officer Reeves has an attorney.
A spokesperson with the Tampa police department said that Reeves was a former captain in their department and was instrumental in forming the agency’s first “tactical response” team.
Chad Oulson leaves behind his wife Nicole and his daughter.
A commenter observed, “Kind of makes you wonder how many this “good guy” shot, killed, and/or beat during his illustrious career, doesn’t it?”
“Or just plain cruelly abused. Some of the very worst sadistic people (people whom most of you have never even met and did not know even existed) are police officers, unfortunately.”
UPDATE (02/07/14): Cop Claims He “Feared for His Life”
A court hearing recording has been released in which former Officer Reeves claims, after being caught fatally shooting a father, that he “feared for his life.”
“The guy scared the hell out of me,” Reeves said in the recording of a police interview played publicly at the hearing.
Reeves has been in jail for second-degree murder since mid-January for killing Chad Oulson. Chad leaves behind his wife and daughter.
“I had nowhere to go,” Reeves said on the recording. “I kept leaning back, then he was virtually on top of me.”
He added, “I don’t know why he was pursuing something that was not worth pursuing.”
He also maintains that the reason he opened fire on Chad was that he “believed he had been punched,” according to reports. He described feeling pain in his left eye and shoulder.
Witnesses report that Chad never struck or physically touched the former officer.
A prosecutor stated that Reeves should remain in jail, while Reeves’s attorney now claims it was “self-defense.”
Police know that they can get away with killing citizens if they can articulate in court that they thought their life was in danger. Is Reeves taking this standard approach in hopes of getting away with murder?
As one commenter said, “Someone throws popcorn at you and refuses to stop texting, so you shoot them in the chest? Of course this guy was a retired cop, because he showed the typical police mentality: submit to my authority or I’ll shoot you.”
