# Missouri Arrest Deck Collapse Follow-up **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 5, 2026, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-arrest-deck-collapse-follow-up/1032841 "2026-09-05T14:32:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2026, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-arrest-deck-collapse-follow-up/1032841/21 "2026-09-05T19:01:51Z")
I wasn’t expecting the other extreme of only one officer. That’s ridiculous. Other than that you make very good points. It also just occurred to me that the crew spent the entire day arresting people and some of the earlier violators could have been way more dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2026, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-arrest-deck-collapse-follow-up/1032841/22 "2026-09-06T00:33:42Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Isn’t there a distinction between a gangster with a history of violence and a lone chomo who wasn’t even suspected of additional crimes other than not filing an address change. Don’t get me wrong, he should have been arrested and jailed but it does seem like overkill. I’ll concede that it’s possible that he also had a history of violence that was unreported When you’re going to a place where you know you’re going to arrest someone you take as many officers that are available. Sometimes that’s only one, and sometimes it’s 20. But there is no such thing as overkill when it comes to back up. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2026, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-arrest-deck-collapse-follow-up/1032841/23 "2026-09-06T01:06:31Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > But there is no such thing as overkill when it comes to back up. Sadly, there _is_ such a thing as overcapacity when it comes to structures. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2026, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-arrest-deck-collapse-follow-up/1032841/24 "2026-09-06T01:41:06Z")
Real life is not like TV/Movies. How many shows have you seen where stars show up without backup, without others covering the “back”, or go crashing through doors and down into dark basements alone? Even traffic stops now will have backup. Except in an emergency, law enforcement shows up in preplanned force. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2026, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-arrest-deck-collapse-follow-up/1032841/25 "2026-09-06T04:37:24Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Sadly, there _is_ such a thing as overcapacity when it comes to structures. But that’s a one time accident that no one could have anticipated. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2026, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-arrest-deck-collapse-follow-up/1032841/26 "2026-09-06T16:18:50Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > How many shows have you seen where stars show up without backup, without others covering the “back”, In the last season or two, I notice _Chicago PD_ has figured out to cover the back door. Still - read between the lines in the press release - this was a publicity stunt by the PD or the DA to send out a big task force to round up every possible perp so as to boost their numbers for a press release - “our task force has arrested X dangerous sex offenders and taken them off the streets.” Much as Florida did with the announcement about rescuing 163 missing abducted children; it left the impression they’d found a horrendous child sex trafficking ring, but it was simply a concerted effort to close cases by departments all over the state - two of the people mentioned arrested were for parental abductions, one was a 24yo arrested to rescue a 17yo (which sounds more like a too-young girlfriend and a creepy boyfriend) and the children were found in a dozen different cities. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2026, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-arrest-deck-collapse-follow-up/1032841/27 "2026-09-06T16:39:06Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > That “deck” looked more likely a balcony or awning. Yeah, looking at it before it collapsed, it doesn’t look like there are enough vertical supports, and as it falls, it appears not to have been attached to the house at deck-level at all. Not really surprising that someone with a pattern of bad decision making (sex offenses) wouldn’t make the best deck-building choices either. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2026, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-arrest-deck-collapse-follow-up/1032841/28 "2026-09-06T22:04:53Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Not really surprising that someone with a pattern of bad decision making (sex offenses) wouldn’t make the best deck-building choices either. The arrest subject wasn’t the property owner, and presumably not the deck builder in any circumstance. You may say their lack of good judgement is displayed in moving into a second-floor apartment dependent on such a visibly and obviously inadequate balcony, assuming they were actually living at that address. (Subject wasn’t there at the time of the raid, and was arrested later elsewhere.) ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2026, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-arrest-deck-collapse-follow-up/1032841/29 "2026-09-06T22:41:59Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > Still - read between the lines in the press release - this was a publicity stunt by the PD or the DA to send out a big task force to round up every possible perp so as to boost their numbers for a press release - “our task force has arrested X dangerous sex offenders and taken them off the streets.” Yes. 100% this. It was a naked publicity stunt, and it ended up looking like the Keystone cops, as is fitting. Sexo offender registries do not work. They are just a mechanism by which people who are convicted crimes are further marginalized in our society. To the point that they have to do things like move into shitty apartments with obviously shoddy workmanship, whether they register or not. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2026, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-arrest-deck-collapse-follow-up/1032841/30 "2026-09-06T23:01:01Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > > [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > > > Sadly, there _is_ such a thing as overcapacity when it comes to structures. > > But that’s a one time accident that no one could have anticipated. Why couldn’t you? Most decks aren’t really made for a lot of people to go on all at once. If one officer notices it’s rickety, then maybe be careful and don’t keep adding officers. Don’t just rush the whole thing. Ya got backup, no need to be hasty. The idea that more officers is always better clearly has an upper limit, and this would seem to be one reason why. If you have too many people on an unsafe structure, more injuries occur. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2026, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-arrest-deck-collapse-follow-up/1032841/31 "2026-09-06T23:06:25Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > - this was a publicity stunt by the PD or the DA to send out a big task force to round up every possible perp so as to boost their numbers for a press release But that was a U.S. Marshals operation. The police department, sheriffs office, and local DA have no authority to make them do anything. They were just on a joint mission, probably not calling the shots. What it sounds like to me is a warrant orgy (that’s what we called them). Every so often we’d go out with about 12 deputies and as many warrants and go out and pick up people that Intel told us exactly where they were going to be. We’d hit fast and hard and fill up several wagons. The first guys to get pinched had to sit in the wagon for several hours before getting transported to the jail for processing. The C.O.'s at the jail hated when we did that because all of a sudden we’d show up with a dozen subjects unannounced and pre-book had to expedite the paperwork. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2026, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-arrest-deck-collapse-follow-up/1032841/32 "2026-09-07T21:41:14Z")
OK. I don’t know US law. But aren’t sex offender registries state laws, like the offenses themselves? If so, why would US Marshalls care unless dragooned by the locals? ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2026, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-arrest-deck-collapse-follow-up/1032841/33 "2026-09-07T22:24:32Z")
I don’t know the law either, but suspect crossing state lines might make it federal. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2026, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-arrest-deck-collapse-follow-up/1032841/34 "2026-09-07T22:56:47Z")
I get the impression that the Marshals are much more willing to work with local law enforcement than other Federal agencies. I don’t know why. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2026, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-arrest-deck-collapse-follow-up/1032841/35 "2026-09-08T03:01:33Z")
> [@bump](#): > > and as it falls, it appears not to have been attached to the house at deck-level at all. That’s pretty normal. Floating or freestanding decks are common in areas prone to flooding, so the deck can break away without ripping the house apart. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2026, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-arrest-deck-collapse-follow-up/1032841/36 "2026-09-08T12:14:24Z")
Sure, but I’ll bet they have supporting beams near the house so that it’s basically its own self-supporting structure adjacent to the house. That one appears to have just had them on the outer edge. If you’re going to do that, you have to attach it to the house pretty firmly. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2026, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-arrest-deck-collapse-follow-up/1032841/37 "2026-09-08T12:55:31Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I get the impression that the Marshals are much more willing to work with local law enforcement than other Federal agencies. I don’t know why. The Marshals have several jobs but one of their main functions is fugitive retrieval. Much of their time is spent on fugitives who are wanted on state warrants. Sometimes local agencies request help on locating one specific person. We used them to locate murder suspects. Although that’s very important something like this example is often a better use of resources. A task force formed to get specific groups of wanted people is usually more effective than going one at a time ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2026, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-arrest-deck-collapse-follow-up/1032841/38 "2026-09-08T18:37:01Z")
If you are trying to locate and arrest a suspect with no history of violence, and you have enough people in the task force to collapse a deck - that’s too many people. It’s performance theatre not law enforcement. They don’t mention whether it took 9 people to locate and arrest the suspect later in the day. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-arrest-deck-collapse-follow-up/1032841/39 "2026-09-09T02:01:19Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > The C.O.'s at the jail hated when we did that because all of a sudden we’d show up with a dozen subjects unannounced and pre-book had to expedite the paperwork. Why unannounced? Something like that would clearly require advance planning. Why not let the jail in on the planning? ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-arrest-deck-collapse-follow-up/1032841/40 "2026-09-09T02:46:07Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Why unannounced? Something like that would clearly require advance planning. Why not let the jail in on the planning Because we had no idea if we’d get anyone. Sometimes we’d go out and nobody was at where we thought they were at. When the jail inspector was told we’d be showing up with a dozen or two people and then didn’t they’d be pissed because they held people over on ot for it Either way someone was always pissed off at these things. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-arrest-deck-collapse-follow-up/1032841.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-arrest-deck-collapse-follow-up/1032841.md?page=3)