Hearing Impaired Man Tased by Police

Eyewitness News 12
December 12, 2007
Donnell Williams had just gotten out of the bath tub, wearing only a towel around his waist, when he turned the corner to see guns pointing right at him.

“I ain’t never been so scared,” says Williams.

Police forced entry into Williams home while responding to a shooting, but it turned out to be a false call. They had no idea at the time the call wasn’t real and that Williams is hearing impaired. Without his hearing aid he is basically deaf.

“I kept going to my ear yelling that I was scared. I can’t hear! I can’t hear!”

Officers were worried about their own safety because at the time it appeared Williams was refusing to obey their commands to show his hands. That’s when they shot him with a Taser.

Deputy Chief Robert Lee of the Wichita Police Department says, “This one occurred on the worst of calls, that being a shooting. The first few minutes getting control of the scene are very, very important.”

Once the facts were all sorted out, officers repeatedly apologized to Williams. Police wish it never happened, but with the information they had at the time, their choices were limited.

“Do I wish there would have been some way they were notified in advance this gentleman was hearing impaired? I certainly do. No one is happy with the way it worked out,” says Lee.

Williams was not hurt in the incident. Police say the shooting call came from a cell phone but they still don’t know who made it or why.

The case is being reviewed by the department.

House prices seen falling 30 pct

Reuters | December 6, 2007
Julie Haviv

Housing markets from Punta Gorda, Florida, to Stockton, California, will crash and suffer price drops of more than 30 percent before the housing crisis is over, a report from Moody's Economy.com said on Thursday.

On a national level, the housing market recession will continue through early 2009, said the report, co-authored by Mark Zandi, chief economist, and Celia Chen, director of housing economics.

The report paints a worsening picture of the hard-hit housing sector, which is in the midst of its worst downturn since World War II.

While activity will stabilize in 2009, it will not be until 2010 before a measurable improvement in sales, construction and pricing will emerge, the report said.

House prices are forecast to fall 13 percent from their peak through early 2009. After accounting for incentives home sellers are offering buyers, effective declines peak-to-trough will total well over 15 percent, the report said.

Punta Gorda, Florida, and Stockton, California, are the hardest hit markets in the U.S., with price declines from peak-to-trough forecast at 35.3 percent and 31.6 percent, respectively.

"This is the most severe housing recession since the post-World War II period," Zandi told Reuters.

Full article here.

GUNMAN KILLS CHRISTMAS SHOPPERS

Worst Mass Slaying In Nebraska History Claims 9

KETV | December 5, 2007

OMAHA, Neb. -- The worst mass slaying in Nebraska history claimed the lives of five men and three women, plus the shooter.

ABC News has confirmed with two sources that the gun used at Westroads Mall was an SKS-style assault rifle with two magazines taped together found at the scene. ABC reported that taping magazines together is a technique that allows the shooter to reload more quickly.

That may be why witnesses heard so many shots when Robert A. Hawkins, 20, opened fire on Wednesday afternoon.

Omaha Police Chief Thomas Warren confirmed the rifle style, but would not confirm the magazine detail.

The woman Hawkins was staying with said she thinks he stole the weapon from his stepfather.

Outside of Hawkins' mother's home, Omaha police and a crew from the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were serving a search warrant in La Vista just before 10 p.m. It is believed the gun Hawkins used was stolen from the home. Agents searched trash cans and entered the split-level home through the basement. A K9 dog was also used.

Warren said the shooting appears to be random and without provocation. Warren said officers believe Hawkins acted alone, and that the entire incident took just a few minutes.

Warren said it may be impossible to come up with an explanation for Hawkins' actions, but he believes the act was premeditated.

Omaha police said nine people were dead, including the alleged shooter. Five more were injured, two critically, police said.

Creighton University Medical Center said it had three victims and two were fatalities. The dead were a man and a woman, and no further details were released.

The Nebraska Medical Center said it has three gunshot victims, all wounded but alive. Paul Vaultus, at NMC, said a 61-year-old man was shot in the chest and was in surgery before 3:45 p.m. A 34-year-old man had a wound and was in fair condition. A 55-year-old man had cuts to the face.

Fred Wilson, 61, was out of surgery at 10 p.m. and in critical condition. He is the customer service manager for Von Maur, according to NMC. He is a retired teacher that taught English at St. Albert Catholic High School in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He also taught in Shenandoah and Clear Lake, Iowa.

Dr. Bob Muelleman said Wilson had serious injuries to his chest wall and upper extremity trauma. Muelleman described the wound as one from a high-powered rifle.

A shooting victim said he feels "exceedingly lucky" to have lived through a terrifying scene that played out at Westroads Mall on Wednesday.

Jeff Schaffart was shopping for a dress for his daughter to see Santa on Wednesday night. The child, 2, was not with him, but his wife was. He said he was shot from behind in the finger and the arm. Just before he realized he was hit, Schaffart said, he heard something.

"I heard gunshots. I initially thought they were some kind of balloons popping or construction. Then I heard people starting to panic, and they said, 'Get down. Get down,'" Schaffart said.

He said he went through a women's restroom as his wife hid nearby. Schaffart said he realized he'd been shot when he saw blood on his arm.

"There was a woman there with her baby and we basically stayed there for, I believe, a couple minutes. It sounded like the shots had subsided. I went to find my wife. She wouldn't come out the area she was hiding in," Schaffart said.

Schaffart guessed that he may have heard six to 10 shots.

Schaffart is an attorney with Koley-Jessen in Omaha.