# I don't see what this guy did wrong. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 7, 2010, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-see-what-this-guy-did-wrong/552865 "2010-09-07T01:17:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-see-what-this-guy-did-wrong/552865/1 "2010-09-07T01:17:48Z")
A private citizen catches a large group of teens outside a rural cemetery late at night. Suspicious, he detains them, and demands they wait until the cops arrive. Seems reasonable to me. Cemetery’s are sometimes vandalized. It is private property. No one should be there real late at night. Legitimate family visit graves in the daytime. Yes the guy had a gun. Apparently he fired a warning shot. This is a whole group of 16 to 19 year olds. What is he supposed to do? Spit at them? All he was doing was holding them until the police could get there. Now he’s facing nine counts each of aggravated assault and false imprisonment. I don’t get it. If he had been an off duty cop would he handle it any differently? Nine teens coming out of a cemetery late at night. Wouldn’t he detain them until backup arrived? I think it’s reasonable that the teens needed to answer a few basic questions. I’ve been stopped by cops when I was much younger, late at night. Why are you here? What’s going on? There’s no harm in that. the story > **[Tennessee high school teacher arrested after teens say he held them at...](https://www.foxnews.com/us/tennessee-high-school-teacher-arrested-after-teens-say-he-held-them-at-gunpoint-at-cemetery)** > > Police have accused a high school teacher of holding teenagers at gunpoint after he found them ghost-hunting in a Tennessee graveyard. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-see-what-this-guy-did-wrong/552865/2 "2010-09-07T01:19:21Z")
I don’t think private citizens can detain other people. Besides, were they actually doing anything wrong or did he just not like the cut of their jib. ETA, I just read that article. So…He found some teens wandering around in a cemetery minding their own business, blocked the exit so they couldn’t leave (by car), held them _at gun point_ and fired off a few rounds (to scare them I assume) and you really don’t understand what’s wrong with that scenario? If he was really concerned he needed to get their license plate number and call the police. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-see-what-this-guy-did-wrong/552865/3 "2010-09-07T01:24:52Z")
The charges are entirely appropriate. He has no evidence of a crime and has absolutely NO FUCKING BUSINESS discharging his firearm as a threat against them. Hell, when I was a teen we used to get high and go visit cemetaries late at night on occasion. We were never vandals, we were just out having a good time. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-see-what-this-guy-did-wrong/552865/4 "2010-09-07T01:27:41Z")
I’d say he did something wrong. Call the police if you want, but don’t hold a group of kids at gunpoint. It’s not up to this guy to determine whether this group of people is “Legitimate” or not. As far as I know, walking in a cemetery at night is not a crime. On re-reading your OP, perhaps I’ve been whooshed. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-see-what-this-guy-did-wrong/552865/5 "2010-09-07T01:30:07Z")
I’ve seen vandalized cemetery’s. Kids think it’s funny to spray paint the headstones or even kick them down. It’s a big problem. Especially in rural areas where there’s no houses near by. Nine teens, late at night is suspicious. I think any responsible cop on patrol would have questioned them. No harm done if they hadn’t done anything. Ideally, calling 911 is the best solution. But, there wasn’t time because they were already trying to leave. Detaining them was the only solution. The guys mistake was firing a warning shot. He shouldn’t have fired. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-see-what-this-guy-did-wrong/552865/6 "2010-09-07T01:32:15Z")
I think it’s pretty understandable. After all, the dude’s name is Stacey Swallows. Gotta have a lot of anger issues pent up over that one. He should be commended for not actually beating any of them to a pulp after a lifetime of ridicule. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-see-what-this-guy-did-wrong/552865/7 "2010-09-07T01:32:16Z")
He should have called the police, and let them deal with it; not held them at gunpoint. What was he doing in the cemetery? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-see-what-this-guy-did-wrong/552865/8 "2010-09-07T01:36:06Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’ve seen vandalized cemetery’s. Kids think it’s funny to spray paint the headstones or even kick them down. It’s a big problem. Especially in rural areas where there’s no houses near by. > > Nine teens, late at night is suspicious. I think any responsible cop on patrol would have questioned them. No harm done if they hadn’t done anything. > > Ideally, calling 911 is the best solution. But, there wasn’t time because they were already trying to leave. Detaining them was the only solution. The guys mistake was firing a warning shot. He shouldn’t have fired. He didn’t even have any evidence of a crime, much less a violent one that might have called for use of force/a firearm! When I was a teen, I went all over the place with friends and we never vandalized anything, including walking around cemeteries because they were cool/quiet. Know what else he could have used instead of a gun? A camera. Take some pictures, let the cops see them as evidence if there was actual, recent damage done. ---
**Author:** ![firstname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7ab992/32.png) [@firstname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/firstname)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-see-what-this-guy-did-wrong/552865/9 "2010-09-07T01:38:19Z")
If it had been a group of adults would you think this is acceptable? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-see-what-this-guy-did-wrong/552865/10 "2010-09-07T01:41:09Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’ve seen vandalized cemetery’s. Kids think it’s funny to spray paint the headstones or even kick them down. It’s a big problem. Especially in rural areas where there’s no houses near by. But he had no proof whatsoever (I assume) that they were doing anything wrong. > [@](#): > > Nine teens, late at night is suspicious. I think any responsible cop on patrol would have questioned them. No harm done if they hadn’t done anything. A responsible cop on patrol would have questioned them…probably. An irresponsible idiot would hold them at gun point. > [@](#): > > Ideally, calling 911 is the best solution. But, there wasn’t time because they were already trying to leave. Detaining them was the only solution. The guys mistake was firing a warning shot. He shouldn’t have fired. He blocked the entrance with his car so I assume he was close enough to catch their plate number. He could have called 911 and given them the info. I assume the cops could have tracked the plate back to the parents of one of the kids and gone from there. Hell, if he was really dead set on nailing these kids, he could have just kept his car parked right there until the cops showed up. If the kids weren’t doing anything wrong they probably would have just waited it out just to prove him wrong. My guess is that by the time the cops got their the kid’s parents would have shown up as well and there would still be a false imprisonment fiasco. But no matter how you look at it, he had no right to pull a gun on them. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-see-what-this-guy-did-wrong/552865/11 "2010-09-07T01:42:12Z")
Your poll has little to do with the particular facts of this case. The options are too broadly and vaguely worded. Should a citizen get involved if he suspects a crime is taking place? Depends. Is the crime murder, or trespassing? Big difference. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-see-what-this-guy-did-wrong/552865/12 "2010-09-07T01:44:41Z")
I’m curious why the guy risked his neck to protect the cemetery too. He may live close by. One of our neighbors heard a commotion outside his house. His dogs were going crazy barking. He got up and found some druggies breaking into the house across the street. They had pried open the front door and were carrying out the tv’s and other stuff. He fired at one of them and two took off on foot. Leaving their car behind. They were caught later that night. We all thanked our neighbor. The couple that lived in that house were away visiting their grandkids. Turns out those punks had burglarized several houses in our area before getting caught. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-see-what-this-guy-did-wrong/552865/13 "2010-09-07T01:44:44Z")
The guy was **way** out of line. Even calling 911 would have been something of an overreaction on his part; there’s no emergency here. A call on the regular local police number would be sufficient… though there’s no mention that the kids actually did any harm. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-see-what-this-guy-did-wrong/552865/14 "2010-09-07T01:45:57Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’ve seen vandalized cemetery’s. Kids think it’s funny to spray paint the headstones or even kick them down. It’s a big problem. Especially in rural areas where there’s no houses near by. > > Nine teens, late at night is suspicious. I think any responsible cop on patrol would have questioned them. No harm done if they hadn’t done anything. > > Ideally, calling 911 is the best solution. But, there wasn’t time because they were already trying to leave. Detaining them was the only solution. The guys mistake was firing a warning shot. He shouldn’t have fired. .Comon!! He has no right to detain them at all just because he thinks maybe they did something. At gun point? And firing warning shots? Extremely wrong and stupid to boot. I think if he saw them doing something against the law that’s one thing but not just because he thought they might have. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-see-what-this-guy-did-wrong/552865/15 "2010-09-07T01:46:05Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Nine teens, late at night is suspicious. I think any responsible cop on patrol would have questioned them. No harm done if they hadn’t done anything. Being detained at gunpoint by some nut who’s not even in law enforcement when you’re just walking with some friends through an open cemetery (and\* leaving _to boot) is “harm.” I cannot believe there is even a debate about this. You don’t hold innocent kids at gunpoint because they_ may \*have done something wrong. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-see-what-this-guy-did-wrong/552865/16 "2010-09-07T01:49:05Z")
By the way voters, You do not call emergency 911 because you think someone may have done something wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-see-what-this-guy-did-wrong/552865/17 "2010-09-07T01:49:35Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I don’t see what this guy did wrong. Nine counts of aggravated assault, and nine counts of false imprisonment. [Cite](http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/09/06/tennessee-high-school-teacher-arrested-teens-say-held-gunpoint-cemetery/?test=latestnews). . ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-see-what-this-guy-did-wrong/552865/18 "2010-09-07T01:54:23Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > By the way voters, > > You do not call emergency 911 because you think someone may have done something wrong. Understood, but I think the poll question, when divorced from the OP, implies you have good reason to suspect a crime is being committed. In which case, a call to 911 would be appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-see-what-this-guy-did-wrong/552865/19 "2010-09-07T01:56:17Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m curious why the guy risked his neck to protect the cemetery too. He may live close by. > > One of our neighbors heard a commotion outside his house. His dogs were going crazy barking. He got up and found some druggies breaking into the house across the street. They had pried open the front door and were carrying out the tv’s and other stuff. He fired at one of them and two took off on foot. Leaving their car behind. They were caught later that night. > > We all thanked our neighbor. The couple that lived in that house were away visiting their grandkids. Turns out those punks had burglarized several houses in our area before getting caught. There’s a difference between seeing someone breaking into a person’s home, and seeing some kids walking around a cemetery. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-see-what-this-guy-did-wrong/552865/20 "2010-09-07T01:56:50Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > By the way voters, > > You do not call emergency 911 because you think someone may have done something wrong. That’s totally not true and very dependent on location. In my smallish town if you call the non-emergency number at night you’ll almost always get the answering machine. On the rare occasion that you do get a person, it’s the 911 operator. So, let me ask you this. You see some kids walking away from a car with broken windows, one of them has bloody knuckles. It’s late at night. You think they may have been the ones who just smashed out the window. Who do you call? According to you, not 911. So do you just ignore it? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-see-what-this-guy-did-wrong/552865.md?page=2)