A regular reader writes:
Reading this story [Man who pulled pistol on cop in Home Depot parking lot gets probation] the facts just rub me the wrong way. A man leaving Lowe’s is almost hit by an undercover police officer who was speeding in the parking lot (speeding, because the officer stated he slammed on his brakes). In response to the threat of a vehicle, Barry Pointon, Jr. draws his weapon. The officer shows his badge. Pointon immediately complies. He had no prior criminal record and a valid LTCF [License to Carry a Firearm]. Somehow Pointon pleads out to reckless endangerment and possession of a prohibited weapon in exchange for prosecutors withdrawing other charges including aggravated assault . . .
The cops destroy his pistol. He will not be able to own a firearm or live in a house with firearms under the terms of his probation. With the prohibited weapons conviction on his record, he will be excluded from owning firearms. Distilled: almost get hit by an undercover officer in a parking and draw a weapon = lose your gun rights forever. And the judge says “Maybe this all has a good result. You don’t need a weapon. Get yourself a can of pepper spray.”
ED: A reader has come across this account of the incident from mcall.com, which “paints a very different story from what the LEO’s official account. In this version, Pointon said around 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 15, 2012, he was walking out of the Home Depot on MacArthur Road when a car came screeching toward him in the parking lot and struck him in the legs as his wife and child sat in his car nearby.
“Pointon said as he lifted himself off the hood, the driver of the car began cursing at him and reached for a gun. So Pointon, licensed to carry a firearm, reached for his 9mm handgun and pointed it at the driver. Pointon says the driver then got out of his car, pointing his gun. Pointon says he then realized the man was an officer because he could see part of the word “police” on a vest the man was wearing underneath his unbuttoned shirt.”