[R/T Performance]

I will do my best to post this without bias.
Monday night 2 Ionia county sheriffs @ 11:50 pm .Went to serve a bench warrant for failure to appear on a misdemeanor offense drunk driving.For Zach Bletz They knocked on the back door {This is in the sticks a farm house}Zach answered the door to 1 police officer then another stepped out from the corner.The officers then realized he had slippers on and told him to go in the house and get shoes.He urged them to stay out side they didn't have a warrant to go in and did any how.as he walked in he was poked in the back both officers had their guns drawn.So of course his dog started barking{good dog}and They told him to shut it up.
Then his Father came out of his bedroom with a 45 pistol.Seeing two men with flashlights and weapons drawn.This is where the story gets fuzzy they where about 6 feet appear .According to the son the officer just fired.according to police rep. they told him"Drop the weapon"twice then fired.approx.6 round one struck his right stomach and nearly passed completely threw.He bled to death.
After the shots where fired his mother came to the kitchen and turned the lights on and was forced to the ground and placed in a cop car.

A side Note Fred Bletz was 56 year old Vietnam vet.
Sorry for the run ons

 

[willbond]

Zach should have gone to court. Warrants get served when people don't. If a Sheriff's Deputy had been shot it would have been Zach's fault as well. And "They didn't have a Warrant to go in"? WTF? They were doing him a courtesy not to stuff him in the car barefoot. Hell yes they followed him in, to make sure he didn't go out the window, or go fetch a shotgun.

Sorry, but I'm extremely biased on this particular subject. :evil:

 

[bd]

I agree Willbond.

But

Is serving a bench warrant at 11:50 pm for a misdomeanor DWI in the sticks a common police procedure?

bd

 

[R/T Performance]

Sorry forgot to add .The son was a local night club DJ was suppose to be they reason why they where their so late{note bars don't close till 2 am here}
Also I would like to thank all armed forces for serving our Country
They often go un appreciated

 

[attackrott]

You got any URL's for this story. Sounds like a bad situation form the start, dark, to men back door with guns. Crap

At first by reading the title I thought it was awakend and they were in the house. Sorry if it was dark in my house and I saw a person and a gun, I am shooting. I would hope an officer would not come into my house with out making every darn effort to inform me of it.

I hope the cops identified themselves properly before firing.

Would like to read some articles on this case though. A lot of gaps.

 

[aiformula]

warrants can be and are served 24/7. A few officers I know who work graveyard will get together w/ detectives once every few months and do a warrant sweep because if you find out where they are staying, it's easy to get them at night.

As to the officers entering the dwelling, once they have engaged teh suspect, they may enter the dwelling to observe the suspect to make sure he/she is not arming themselves or attempting to flee through another exit.

As with all situations like this though, there is inevitably going to be 3 sides to the story... the cops, the perps, and the truth.

 

[R/T Performance]

If you do a google search" Fred Bletz shooting" you will fing a ton of links from all the local stations also look at the Grand Rapids press
I live in a tiny town 2 bars 3 gas stations little grocery store.The drug store is even closing up till two years ago they where the only liquor store before they sold their license
http://www.mlive.com/news/muchronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1115392529296290.xml
http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3305312&nav=0RcdZUxW
http://www.sentinel-standard.com/articles/2005/05/06/news/01news.txt
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1115461088210400.xml

 

[ampleworks]

http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1115308388136550.xml

SARANAC -- The Ionia County officers had already arrested Zachary Bletz on a warrant and let him go back inside to put on his shoes when they were confronted by his gun-toting father, Ionia County Sheriff Dwain Dennis confirmed today.

I love media bias

LEO or not, I wake up in the night, someone is in my house, they'll be stareing down the barrel of something. If they were armed, they best had hope they identify themselves before I start shooting.

The warrant was issued March 7, why'd it take them nearly two months to serve it, if people are "easy to catch" at night?

Something smells like cat food here.

 

[R/T Performance]

If you see the side story about Chuck Prins.He lived about 3/4 of a mile from me.I new him and the township and police always harassed him about his property .blight ordinance so he fenced his yard but the fence was to tall.That was a 3 year battle then a poor cop {real prick}stopped him to arrest him on his way to work and he opened fire with an auto rifle.
The police say he committed suicide later one gun shot to the head.But he also had four shoots threw his body?

 

[R/T Performance]

The more I read the angrier I get just isn't right. :evil:

 

[NExd]

I cant imagine that thre would be a reason why he would continue to point the gun at the cops. The fact he had the concealed carry license, one would think he is a law abiding citizen. To me, this looks like a shoot first ask questions later incident.

 

[R/T Performance]

As to the officers entering the dwelling, once they have engaged teh suspect, they may enter the dwelling to observe the suspect to make sure he/she is not arming themselves or attempting to flee through another exit.

As with all situations like this though, there is inevitably going to be 3 sides to the story... the cops, the perps, and the truth.

Never been to jail but don't they take your shoes any how?

 

[willbond]

Punk doesn't go to Court and subsequently has a Failure to Appear Warrant issued for his punk ass. While having said Failure to Appear Warrant lawfully served on his punk ass, punk is putting on his shoes and in walks his Dad with a .45 and points it at the Law Officers who are Lawfully serving a Failure to Appear Warrant. Dad is fatally shot.

Yep, Zachary should have been his punk ass in Court.

"Just isn't right"? You got that right. :?

 

[R/T Performance]

Why did they take him in for shoes?
No disrespect for loe but one of them involved in the shooting ws a punk [email protected]* prick himself!
And they fired six rounds from six feet suprised thier wasn't three pople killed

 

[nickc50310]

This whole thing stinks to high heaven. The first person with their head way up their ass on this deal is the son, Zach. Why the **** does he still live at home at age 28? Why the **** didnt he go to court? If money was the problem why didnt he go for over 2 months? Why would money be an issue to go to court? Gas? He didnt have gas money in over 2 months? His stupidity caused a horrible tragedy- thats the bottom line.

Theres only 4 people who really know what happened. Maybe the officers said drop your weapon. Maybe they identified themselves, maybe not. This story is just too cloudy to draw any real judgement. Its going to be the sons words against the deputies. Maybe the senior Bletz was in a post traumatic state and did not know what was going on. If the officers did not have a warrant to be inside the house they should not have gone in. If the dumbass Zach jumps out the window and gets away- who cares, they wouldve found him later anyway. They could have had one deputy out back and one out front to make sure he didnt get away. Even if they identified themselves maybe the senior Bletz would not have dropped his weapon from being in a post tramatic state. I think the deputies will probably be cleared. Does it make it right? no. Did they have a right or need to even be in the house? probably not. Did they have a right to shoot? probably, especially if they told Bletz who they were and told him to drop the gun. Is Zach Bletz a ****ing idiot? YES

 

[JimLongley]

The title and the story don't match.

Presented the way the title was, if my dog wakes me up and I suddenly see two armed men, flashlights notwithstanding, they WILL get shot, without time to wait for explanations or anything else.

I NEVER turn the lights on, I do have a powerful flashlight in one hand and a laser sighted .45 in the other.

Presented the way the story was, the father should have known better than to confront armed LEOs while armed himself.

There's plenty enough that stinks on both sides of this story.

 

[R/T Performance]

I just wonder if he would have shot both officers would he have been cleared?
Kingdom rule is pretty clear if you believe your threatened you have the right to defend without retreating in your home.

 

[therooster]

agreed, Zak should have gone to court and none of this would happen.

but.... why did the 2 LEOs draw their guns on him with his back turned and nudge him in the back?

following him inside is one thing, but drawing your gun on him with his back turned while he is following the orders you gave him is a different story.

i feel bad for the old man. he didnt know they were cops. if i were him i would have fired too, unless they made it clear they were cops.... but even then they could imitating the cops (happens in houston all the time).

 

[wJAKE19]

what cop shot Fred?

I know most of the ionia county cops, just wondering who it was.

 

[willbond]

I think a lot of "assumptions" are being made here, many of which are probably incorrect.

Dad didn't know they were Cops

The Deputies didn't have a warrant to enter

The Deputies didn't have a right to be in the house.

The Deputies (and the implication is wrongly, negligently and illegally) "shot first and asked questions later".

The Deputies shouldn't have taken the PUNK in to let him put his shoes on.

Could we hear from LEO's? I've served a few warrants, and I know what kind of idiots I've had to deal with. The kind of idiots that claim it's not their fault. Never has been their fault. It's the Cops' fault. It's their Lawyer's fault. It's the guy who was driving's fault. He didn't know. He didn't mean to. It was someone else's dope. You can't PROVE he did it. Everyone else is as crooked and dishonest as he is, he's just the one the Cops pick on, and for no reason. Everyone else is lying, especially the Cops.

Now it's the Cops' fault they had enough decency to let him go in and put on his shoes before they took him to jail, and his Dad gets pissed because the Cops came in to his house (at the Defendant's request) and he shows them he's pissed with a .45. If he was scared of unidentified intruders why didn't he shoot the officers? I say he probably knew who they were, he just refused to put the gun down and got zapped because the Deputy would rather not be carried by 6.

If they'd have taken him in barefoot his family would be complaining about what kind of asshole Cops won't even let a guy put his shoes on before they take him to jail.

My Two Cents. :evil: