Everybody likes to laugh, right? OK, there are some who seem to have the upside down smile permanently affixed to their sour puss, but most people enjoy a good chortle now and again. For the Keeton family of Clark County, practical jokes appear to be the favorite tool to deploy when they want to induce the giggles in each other. But as with most things, you have to to know where the line is between a good idea and going a little too far. . .
For instance, Tammy Keeton thought it would cause an absolute falling-down yukfest if she put a fully-dressed mannequin holding a toy shotgun on her cousin Rebecca’s front porch. The problem was Tammy did too good a job with the set-up and Rebecca thought the stranger holding the pump-action was real. So she called the local sheriff. From wect.com:
“I’m scared to death,” Keeton told the dispatcher.
Within minutes deputies had Rebecca’s home surrounded and were attempting to negotiate with the armed man.
When he didn’t respond, they drew their weapons and went in through the back of the home and confronted the suspect.
That is when they discovered it was a dummy armed with a toy gun that had been placed on Keeton’s front porch by her cousin, Tammy Moore.
Oops. Rebecca’s son Kyle defended Tammy, telling the cops that she didn’t mean any harm and that practical jokes were kind of a family thing with the Keetons.
“I think this will put a hold to it. It lets them both know you can’t do whatever you want with a joke. No guns,” Kyle said.
Probably a good guideline. Unless they enjoy having the local boys from SWAT deploying around your home on a regular basis.
I think it’s hilarious!
I guess no one thought it was strange that he didn’t respond to anything?
How long where the cops sitting there looking at the mannequin to realizing that it wasn’t moving, blinking, or breathing????? and no one had binoculars or a rifle scope to see a plastic face?????
or shifting its weight or, scratching his nose.
we are talking OHIO here
Mrs. Keeton should be very grateful that her dogs, cats, guinea pigs , goldfish and pet rock are not pushing up daisies now. In my small MD county, the sheriff’s ninja squad live for that stuff, and remember, if it may possibly save one deputy from having the chance of maybe being hurt or mildly exhausted, it is totally worth breaking through your doors and shooting everything in sight, because they just want to go home at night.
And of course, we’re not going to discuss those cases where a member of the SWAT team trips (officer down!) or has a ND (shots fired!) and the whole thing turns into an all-friendlies firefight.
Tmc this sounds like the kent county sheriffs dept.
i know in my county (PG) swat teams have busted into people’s houses and shot Labradors dead over less.
I’m surprised the local SWAT team doesn’t have a thermal equipped sight (considering their budget these days). Would have been fun to watch them try to taser him.
Since owning guns and carrying them on your own property is not illegal, why isn’t there some sort of screening process for these calls?
Caller: “There’s a man sitting on his porch with a gun”.
911 Operator: “Well is he doing anything with it or is he just sitting there?”
Caller: “No. He’s just sitting there holding a shotgun or something.”
911 Operator: “Well, You know that’s not illegal right? Please call us back if he threatens anyone with it or points it at anyone.”
Caller: “But he has a GUN!!!”
911 Operator: “Have a nice day and thank you for calling 911. Would you like to take a survey?”
If a guy’s camped out on his own porch with a shotgun, it’s legal. If a guy camps out on MY porch with a gun . . . .
Ban mannequins.
There is no legitimate reason to own one, after all.
And they probably cause countless deaths each year. I mean, I’ve never counted.
Probably more dangerous than dryer lint. Better get rid of ’em all, just to be safe. If it saves one child…
I heard that the po-po actually fired 73 shots at the suspect. Fortunately, the dummy was uninjured, but six passers-by and a migrating robin met an untimely demise.
I always thought that the “Keystone Cops” series was fiction. Little did I know.
Send in the armored SWAT car and deploy tear gas canisters. On second though just plug him with a .308 from the roof across the street.
Maybe the SWAT Team was part of the joke? Hmmm?
It would have really been funny if the cops had lit up this dummy.
Lol. Like to see ’em try to argue that the perp made a “threatening/sudden/furtive motion”.
When I was in the Air Force I lived off base (thank God) and shared a house with three other flyboys. Every year we had a huge Halloween party. One year we took a pair of jeans, stuffed it with t-shirts and stuck boots in the leg ends. Then we rolled my car up over it out front of our house. It looked great. By great I mean it looked like a person was laying under my left rear tire with their legs sticking out in the road.
It took about ten minutes for someone to call the cops the first time. They came by, yanked the stuff out from under my car’s tire and threw it up on our front yard. Now anyone who has been in the military knows what we did next. The second time they came to the door and asked us to please knock it off. Or there would be fines/arrests involved.
Third time? They took the stuff, threw it in their car’s trunk and brought it back the next morning.
It makes me sad to think that if we did that now who knows what the hell would happen to us. Nothing quite so considerate I’m sure.
That’s called an illegal search and seizure. You should have sued ’em.
The Dummies are attacking the Dummy?
I wonder if he would ward off bad guys?