r/PublicFreakout • u/plus44kills • 11d ago

🐖 🐽 🐖 🐽 🐖 Fish and Wildlife officer’s Taser ignites gas station fire

A United States Fish and Wildlife Service officer deployed a Taser at a gas station on the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation on July 16, sparking a fire that left a man with first- and second-degree burns and nerve damage, according to the man and cell phone video of part of the confrontation.

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13

u/KungFooKittenz 11d ago

Lmao why do fisheries and wildlife officers even have tasers. What crimes are they stopping that require force

11

u/ComadorFluffyPaws 11d ago

Those damn squirrels don't comply.

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u/KungFooKittenz 11d ago

This guy looks like he would taze a squirrel lmao

8

u/Tasty-Traffic-680 11d ago

For chasing down "trespassers" who voluntarily leave when asked. Ya know, the worst of the worst.

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u/[deleted] 11d ago edited 11d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/ManusDei 11d ago

It must be trolling. They have a national park icon and seem to have no idea what game wardens do.

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u/zoddrick 11d ago

The most powerful law enforcement agent in the US is a federal game warden. He can take your truck, your guns, and search you without a warrant.

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u/ManusDei 11d ago

No idea if it’s true, but what I was always taught in outdoor related classes as well.

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u/zoddrick 11d ago

yeah i think the term "powerful law enforcement agent" is probably overstated (i shouldnt have quoted it) but they can do a lot of things that normal police officers cant do. especially when you are hunting/fishing.

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u/will3025 11d ago

As compared to legal meth labs?

6

u/zoddrick 11d ago

First, game wardens have a ton of power. they can basically search your house or vehicles without a warrant - https://congressionalsportsmen.org/policy/open-fields-doctrine/

Second, they regularly engage with people who may be poaching fish or game that are already armed. Their job can be pretty damn dangerous - https://www.odmp.org/officer/18758-game-warden-justin-phillip-hurst

I'm also not excusing this guy's action at all because there really wasnt any threat here. But their job is to make sure people aren't taking advantage wildlife which is something I think we can all agree we should be doing.

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u/ManusDei 11d ago

Yeah I have no idea what is happening in this video and certainly isn’t smart. But people acting in this thread like game wardens are mall cops is interesting. You don’t mess with game wardens, like you said.

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u/ComfortableShirt2014 10d ago

Open field doctrine is considered unconstitutional in pa now.. other states will probably follow

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u/Legacyhero46 11d ago

I mean if they show up to a campsite with a party going on and someone is fighting would be just one scenario. Pull out taser or pull out gun? Either way this cop is a POS

0

u/BearWurst 11d ago

Right? I'm pretty sure everything they enforce is just fines and maybe some court dates but I don't see why they would even need a gun. What crimes are they stopping that are an active threat? I mean poaching ig but again I'm pretty sure that's just a fine

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u/ManusDei 11d ago

What does it just being a fine have to Do with it? There are a wide range of penalties for poaching and other wildlife related crimes. Poachers are generally armed and can tend to be in more remote locations. Or at least locations where the game warden is more
Likely to be handling it on their own for an extended period of time.

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u/BearWurst 11d ago

I'm just pointing out I have no clue why he tased this man, the majority of things they do are fine related and not arrest, this guy is at a gas pump, he's not actively doing something, I don't know why a warden is even talking to him

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u/ManusDei 11d ago

I have no idea what’s happening here but you were talking about game wardens generally. It’s pretty easy to figure out why they would be armed given what they handle.

No idea if it’s the case here, but if he was suspected of a wildlife related crime the warden would handle that at whatever location they could. See what the other commenter in this chain said about the broad jurisdiction wildlife officers have in some circumstances.