“Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms special agent Marc Delpit, father of a St. Thomas High School football player, allegedly got into an argument with a fellow team father during halftime in a recent game against Angleton High School,” eagnews.com reports. “Several witnesses allege Delpit punched the man to the ground and continued to assault him as bystanders gathered and attempted to intervene. Houston Police spokesman Kese Smith said Delpit pulled out a pistol and waved it at the crowd before police arrived.” Agent Delpit was unrepentant . . .
From khou.com:
According to Houston police, Delpit claimed he thought he was going to be attacked by the other father and was defending himself. Delpit also said he felt threatened by the parking lot crowd and brandished a weapon to keep people at bay, according to spokesman Smith.
So Delpit beats on a football dad, a crowd tries to intervene and Delpit whips out his gun to defend himself. Because the crowd posed a lethal threat. Allegedly.
“ATF takes these allegations very seriously,” said Senior Special Agent Nicole Strong with the Houston Field Office of the Bureau of Alcohol Firearms and Explosives.
“Pending the outcome of the investigation, the agent in question has been placed on administrative leave with pay and has been relieved of his firearms, badge and credentials,” Special Agent Strong said.
Tobacco! They forgot tobacco! And Really Big Fires!
Delpit is up on an aggravated assault charge; the prosecutor seems to have forgotten that Texas has a Deadly Conduct law. Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 22.05 goes a little something like this [via criminaldefenselawyer.com]:
Using weapons in a dangerous, threatening, or reckless manner is a crime. In Texas, the reckless use of a weapon is known as “deadly conduct” and can be charged as either a misdemeanor or felony offense, depending on the circumstances . . .
You can commit a deadly conduct offense in Texas whenever you engage in any type of conduct that you know, or should know, will place someone else at risk of suffering serious bodily injury. For example, if you point a gun at someone else, you can be charged with deadly conduct even if you never fire the weapon or never intend to fire it. It’s enough that you intentionally brandish the weapon and know, or should know, that such an act poses a danger to someone else.
Anyway, it’s good to know that TTAG’s Irresponsible Gun Owner of the Day will remain on the taxpayer payroll. Methinks Delpit will need some cash to defend himself in a civil lawsuit. Wait. Does the ATFE have a union to defend him? One can only hope. [h/t andypantera69]
Can someone more familiar with Texas statutes chime in? I’m pretty sure that aggravated assault is a more serious felony charge than deadly conduct.
Well, I see from the statutes after following the link that ADW is a second-degree felony, while “deadly conduct” in this case (with no discharge of the firearm) is a misdemeanor. If the firearm were discharged, it would be a 3rd degree felony, still less than ADW.
Well at least he didn’t burn the guy’s house down and kill his kids.
Yet
Come to find out, the guy’s dogs were mysteriously shot.
“placed on administrative leave”
Woo hoo! Paid vacation!
Let’s load up the Family Truckster and head off to Wally World!
At least they took away his badge and his gun, guess that counts for something. To be honest, “taking away” his pay before the allegations against him have been formally disposed of would be akin to imposing a fine on someone for an offense before the trial.
And yet those of us not employed by Uncle Sam would be fired as soon as the boss hears the word “arrested”. No vacation. No pay.
Some pigs are more equal than others.
Got a point there.
Well the atf seems to hire people who aspire to the departmental culture
Departmental culture is a euphemism.
.
… As the thin blue line silently blocks public view and hunkers down until people stop asking questions. In the meantime an ATF agent is on indefinite paid vacation woohoo!
Well, crowds can in fact be deadly.
However, I somehow doubt that was the situation here.
Doesn’t matter. The crowd has the legal protection in this case, not the perp. You can’t claim self-defense while you are in the commission of a crime.
Bingo!
True, but that’s a very fine line, as you can claim self-defense once you’ve disengaged from the attack and are no longer in the commission of a crime.
What his status was at the moment he displayed the firearm is a matter of fact for the jury to determine.
I’m curious to know by what authority he was carrying a concealed firearm, off duty, and a school sporting event. Anyone else would be charged for that, too.
I highly doubt this douchebag flashed credentials when he brandished his weapon. Boy, how I wish a CCW holder was therte, pulled theirs and shot him dead. I bet this asshat was related to this other psychopathic asshat:
How dare the crowd try to stop a government employee from enjoying his felony! He’s a federal agent, so he is above the law. If you need proof, follow this story and you will see nothing of import happen to him.
“… the agent in question has been … relieved of his firearms, badge and credentials …”
Note the plural firearms with an “s” at the end. I wonder what firearms the ATF issued to the suspect and/or what firearms the ATF confiscated from the suspect? If he has his own personal firearms, did the ATF confiscate those as well?
Anyone want to guess just how fast this story would have blown up nationally if Delpit was a mere peon with a permit like the rest of us?
He’ll probably get promoted to White House Aide.
http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2015/08/johannes-paulsen/irresponsible-gun-owner-of-the-day-white-house-aide-barvetta-singletarys-ex/
Now THERE’S a photo to be proud of.
What a jackass, apparently right from the get-go.
Bet he still thinks he did nothing wrong, too.
And he has a kid? I feel sorry for the kid.
The initial attack is likely to obviate any claim of self-defense entirely. But, I predict nothing will happen to him.
Submitted to your “Tips” section of TTAG forums, 3 days ago.
Looks like he will miss his chance at the fun when Hillary gets elected and the FEMA boxcars start to roll.
I guess this ATF agent must have thought he had a “Do-whatever-I-want-and-get-away-with-it” badge? And the ATF (and people like Delpit) think we civilians are not sufficiently trained to be carrying firearms. Let’s have a show of hands. How many here have committed assault and battery and then brandished a firearm to prevent people from stopping you? Yah, that’s what I thought. But somehow, we’re the danger to society?
He is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. They can not fire him or take any other adverse action other than relieving him of duty pending the outcome of his case because it can prejudice a jury. They can still terminate him even if he is not convicted. They probably will. Federal LEOs don’t have a union. Federal employee unions are a scam anyway since they have no negotiating authority as wages and benefits are set by Congress. Their only utility is free representation in disciplinary hearings.
This guy is a walking billboard for birth control.
another incident to underline the fact that the only difference between LEO and gangers is LEOs have those neato shiny badges.
Well he’s definitely a “special” agent, but I imagine you have to be a little special to work for the ATF.
Took away his service weapon. What about his other guns?
I suppose if he’s criminally charged, the judge can order it.
I wonder if Special Agent Delpit will take his time off in Mexico. I understand that the ATF is always welcome south of the border.
This being Texas, I wonder how many of the crowd are thinking:
“If I knew that douchebag was BATFE, I would have shot him when I had the opportunity to do it legally”
Here’s the funny part, St Thomas, a Roman Catholic High school, is located two blocks south of High School for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice.
No, the property is next door and is separated by a fence. St Thomas bought it last year for expansion.
It would be a second degree felony (2 to 20 years in prison) if someone “uses or exhibits a deadly weapon during the commission of the assault”. The state will argue that the assault was over when he pulled the firearm, thus he did not exhibit a firearm during the commission of the assault, being that he is a government employee. Above the law of course.
So they will not present it to a grand jury, and the County Attorney will drop the misdemeanor charges of assault and deadly conduct. But they (the prosecutors of Tarrant County) will make a good show for the news. My opinion.
Oh, to arrest a dirty ATF agent in the commission of a violent crime…you’ve got me daydreaming.
He started it and blames the other people?? Is he going to get paid leave now? The parents should have pulled their cancelled guns. Gun control = TREASON. The school shooting is tragic and about as far away from Texas with its lawful campus carry. Why didn’t this dirtbag go to Texas to show how tough he really is? THIS is why people should not be harassed about carrying guns.
No double standards put DC politicians on Obamacare and SS.Thanks for your support and vote. Pass the word. mrpresident2016.com
Not enough info for me to make a reasonable decision yet, but I’d guess that this won’t end well for anyone involved.
I agree. All LEOs, federal, state, and local, should be forbidden to carry or have any access to firearms in their duties. Let them decent find ways to do their jobs without them.
As far as criminals go, anyone caught in a violent felony should go down for the count.
Much in the way of announcements of crimes, their perpetrators, and their punishments should be done on the media, posters on the street, education in the schools, etc. so that a harmful felon would be forced to admit in court that he or she had fair warning as to the consequences of his or her violent and/or harmful felonies.
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