Quote:
Originally Posted by bmbilon
And without the videos it would have been purely hearsay evidence. What's your point?
Like I mentioned in my post, 'beyond a reasonable doubt' is a very high standard of proof. Seems like you understand that, but you either didn't read the post carefully or are failing to understand the nature of the scenario that took place and the rationale for why I did what I did.
Even after I confronted the poacher he kept right on rigging a fresh hook, and it wasn't until I had already walked away and he saw me talking on my phone (and probably figured out pretty quickly who I was talking to) that he actually started walking, casually, away. Again, this guy didn't "take off", he was even asking me if I got any pictures of the fish he could have after the whole exchange! Does that sound like someone who was scared off by my raised voice? This was as non-violent a confrontation one could ever imagine.
The F&W officer was very happy with what I did during the incident. So are most of the people on this thread. So if you're not, I honestly could care less, but its important that other people reading this thread understand the need for these actions in certain scenarios. Don't just call in it in and wait and hope the poacher is still in the act possibly hours later when the officer actually arrives on scene. Chances are likely they won't be. Try to get any evidence you can, and yes if you can avoid confrontation with the poacher while doing so, then even better.
But if you're at the bottom of a canyon and the only way you can get a view of the poacher's face is to run up, walk out onto the viewing deck he's casting from, where you literally need to getting within several feet of him (literally into his personal space), then make the call if you're comfortable with the potential risk involved in doing so and act. And yes ghostguy6, you're absolutely right that this kind of confrontation can turn violent. I've been in (fortunately very few) situations where I was trying to help/stop something bad from happening that turned highly violent. Each of those were ended with reasonable force in self defense, and I was fully prepared to fight that day too if I had to. There were other bystanders by this point as well who were aware of what was underway which contributed to my overall safety. I am not promoting confrontation or violence, I'm simply making it known that not every scenario involving a poacher can be adequately addressed with a simple call-and-wait approach. Nor can it always be addressed by doing what I did. Use your judgement based on the particular factors you're facing and do as much as you can as safely as you can. But don't assume that there is a "catch-all" approach you can take that applies to all cases.
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I'm just saying there could have been a better way to approach the situation. You are correct in saying I can not see all the facts because I simply was not there. I can only go by what the videos show and what statements you are making. Perhaps its my 14 or so years working along side with law enforcement and 200+ plus arrests I have made in my life speaking here but, the fact is there are many different ways the situation could have played out.
Dont get me wrong here, I'm glad this guy got caught but looking at it from the courts point of view there is a good chance this will get dropped by a good lawyer. For example there are 2 videos, one shows the fish, the other shows the poacher. The courts want continuity. A lawyer could easily say someone else caught the fish because the first video does not show who's actually fishing. Of course we all know who it was but proving it to the judge without a single doubt could be difficult. Without another witness or confession, its basically your word against his. Even though he basically admitted it in the second video a good lawyer could add some doubt to the situation. I get that situation made it impossible to record the poacher on the first video due to the height from which he was fishing which then required you to ascend the slope before confronting the man. It sucks but without absolute continuity there is room for doubt. Im only adding this bit serve as an example of how little it takes to get charges dropped. I've witnessed 100's of shoplifters but cant make the arrest because I lost sight of them for a second when they go into a different isle. The first thing the police will ask when arriving on scene will be if I can prove the first 4 required steps, if I cant they will let the suspect go. The sad part I could then end up in more trouble than the shoplifter then.
While you did handle yourself well I think there were things that you could have done differently as the potential for that situation to go badly was there. Once again this may be the experience talking but when approaching the guy the way you did, you alerted him to your "negative presence". If you had simply approached him and said something like "too bad your line broke, that was a nice fish" then walked away you could still get your video but he may have not immediately been alerted to you calling RAP, left making it easier for the CO. Possibly even more charge could have been laid if he was caught while directly fishing.
Please understand I am not trying to start an argument or poke holes in your story. Im just simply trying to convey my experiences to make it easier for law enforcement the next time something like this happens. Lets face it, we will all run into another poacher at some point.