“A female hostage kidnapped during a Northern California bank robbery was killed by police in an ensuing chase and shootout, likely during a final gun battle where the lone surviving suspect used her as a human shield,” mintpressnews.com reports. “The results of a preliminary ballistics report show that police in the city of Stockton fired the 10 bullets that struck Misty Holt-Singh, 41, and all her wounds likely came during a final burst of gunfire, Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones [above] said at a news conference.”

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138 COMMENTS

        • @Jimmy,

          It was the game warden that found the guy and initially shot him in Polk County. Judd’s boys were just contagious fire. Given Judd backed the Gun Control lobby last session and went after Marion Hammer, eff him. Plus, he went after Scott and even put himself as a write in in Polk County in a passive way to try and help is buddy Charlie out. Judd isn’t Nick Finch.

      • As I recall, the robbers, (not one guy) had lots of firepower and were unloading at the cops as they were traveling down busy streets in the middle of the day. It was amazing a lot of bystanders didn’t get hit. I haven’t read an in depth report but they had a real difficult decision to make. Blast them or let them continue to shoot up the area and risk a lot of other casualties.

        • Ya some real heavy firepower…an AK and three semi auto pistols(sarc). Think the police need to use some common sense in situations like this. You don’t go guns blazing with a hostage involved that requires a much more precision armed response.

        • How about following them only with a helicopter or letting them get away for the time being? You know sometimes police should stop the chase when it becomes dangerous for the public. They don’t need to catch the criminal at the expense of the innocent people the police are said to be protecting.

        • Isn’t this the justification that the SWAT team uses to send members to sniper training?

          And what about the rounds the police were spraying randomly around the community? Those didn’t pose a danger.

          I guarantee you LA has members of their tactical team who have aerial marksmanship certification. Put a couple of rounds of 7.62mm through the engine block, establish a cordon, and let the ground team engage with precision fires once they aren’t mobile.

          Or you could just have an adrenalin dump then spray and pray, like these guys.

      • Yeah, because any critiquing of police = “police hater”

        Those police who can’t stand honest criticism are like feminists who scream “woman hater!” if you point out flaws in feminist ideology.

        And like Leftists who scream “racism!” if you object to the president’s policy agenda.

    • This sounds cold, but if criminals know they will get shot up even if they have a hostage they will probably learn to stop taking hostages since it gets them nothing… just saying

      • If I may, I will politely throw the bs card out. We don’t negotiate with terrorists either, but that doesn’t seem to stop them.

        • It did change how they operate, though, and that’s the point here.

          When was the last time a hijacked airliner was used to extort money or prisoner releases or some such? That was a big thing when I was growing up; now, not so much. (Or I’m not hearing about it.)

          A bank robber is much more akin to the terrorist/extortionist who wants the planeload of people to get a payday, not the one who wants to use the plane as a manned cruise missile.

        • Sure we do. The WH exchanged five Taliban commanders for one Army Sgt that walked off his FOB. I’ll give you two guesses as to how much more dangerous going on a patrol through downtown Kabul has become (ignoring the obvious IED threat, of course). They would LOVE to snatch one of us as we draw down forces (make that capabilities) and continue to follow through with another campaign compromise, er, promise. Good thing we’re not starting any other wars. Oh, wait….

        • Funny, I noticed a distinct drop in the number of airplanes hijacked after the US and world made it very clear that the hijacking terrorists would meet their 72 virgins at the hand of 20mm cannon fire.

        • Tex300BLK, Hijacking was pretty much over when the 9/11 hijackers destroyed the illusion that if you cooperate you just might survive. Now some passengers on any airplane are likely to fiercely fight, and not be terribly intimidated by box cutters and nail files.

        • Fair enough. I see your point, but isn’t this overkill? I don’t think you would see it the same way if you were taken hostage and the police start filling you with lead.

      • Repeat after me “sucks to be a hostage”. Maybe if commiefornia didn’t insist on disarming their subjects, sorry “citizens”, they would have a chance to defend themselves

        • Eh, this is nothing new. Decades ago in our County we had a hostage situation during a bank robbery. Police Chief used his shotgun on the perp and the hostage. “Eh, she only got a couple pellets and it ended the standoff” seemed to have been the attitude.
          So, cops have been doing stupid stuff for a long time – not they just have more bullets and head brass that distance themselves.

        • If my wife was the hostage, that piece of shit would have been dead before he got to the front door… so.

      • Any cop that fired their gun is is no better then the robber, and everyone but the victims in this case is a piece of shit. Just saying!

      • No, they are getting the gun of Rambo: M60E. If the midget hypocrite can wield it so well this should be a perfect fit for them.

        • If they have the vehicle isolated as appears to be the case here, and they are going to kill everyone inside, why not a well placed RPG and be done with it? Sure would save on ammo and be safer for the community at large.

      • Well, apparently some departments have actually got Humvees complete with .50 cal MGs mounted on them and operable from the feds, so I suppose we’re yet to see this.

    • The guy with the flamethrower was very disappointed when it was over before he could get within range.

    • Bingo! disarm the people but let the cops”do their job”. I say arm citizens and disarm the cops.

  6. I don’t care how much money he took… it is not worth a womans life! Back off and follow him. If needed wait until you can set up a sniper and take him with one well placed shot. 600 shots fired at him! Outrageous. They should all be put on unpaid leave. We don’t want nor need gun happy police “protecting” us. Who was watching out for that woman that day?

    • You must not remember the story. There were three robbers in the vehicle and three hostages. The chase went on for miles, first in Stockton, then down the highway to the next town, and then back to Stockton, lasting over half an hour. Two hostages were dumped out, both women and both of whom had been shot by the robbers. The other two robbers died. I suspect that a majority of the shots fired were before the final shoot out (during which there was quite the fusillade that can be heard on one of the vids taken close by).

      • Yea, I remember the story.

        It sounded to me as tho the dispatcher wanted to get SWAT involved (hey, gotta justify all those toys and that all that operational operator training, tactics and the ninja costumes, right?) instead of putting up roadblocks and spike strips.

        The chief said that “we’ve never seen something like this before.” What a load of bullcrap. There have been hostages taken in bank robberies, getaways and so on for almost 100 years now.

    • That’s what I don’t understand. Police ask for more funding all the time for better weapons, better training, more tools and they eventually get it. Then when something like this happens they line up like it’s the civil war and just start blasting away. I don’t know much about this particular PD, but when it’s a call for a drunk on the street they bring out the MRAP and SWAT but for this they leave all the “dynamic tactics and maneuvers” at the station.

      Then again a Rem700 isn’t that expensive.

    • And hey, at least there’s no report (yet) of any dogs that were killed by the cops in the pursuit and final shoot-out, so there is that upside…

  8. yep thats commifornia, communists do what they want and have absolutely no regard for the civilians.

  9. Yeah they riddled the innocent victim with 10 bullets…..
    ….. but all 33 cops felt comfy and safe when they got home that night.
    That’s the important thing!

  10. It’s okay they have a badge and a lot of extra ammo to get rid of. Glad I don’t go to Cal. any more never did like that state.

    • That must have been one of the dumbest things I’ve seen in a movie. But hey, apparently it’s all the rage with the cops.

      Let’s see…I’m in Jersey. If I as much as do some bow shooting in my back yard, I’ll get a not-so-friendly visit from the cops and, worst case scenario, get arrested for discharging a weapon. But cops get to shoot people and, worst case scenario, take paid vacation if their captain gets really really mad at them. Heroes my a$$.

  13. We should hold LEOs to the same standard we hold civilians to. If a CC had done this, they would be charged with murder, reckless endangerment, unlawful discharge of a firearm, etc.

  14. Yet we lowly subjects are legally responsible for every shot we fire… 600 counts of all sorts of charges. California has a wealth of enhancements to apply to firearms related charges. Regular Joe would be sent to the spice mines, never to be seen or heard from again.

  16. How many holes in nearby houses and cars?? and……………..and……………………..and………………………and…………………………..Dogs?

  17. ZERO justification other than….TO SERVE THEMSELVES (live weapons training) AND PROTECT THEIR PENSIONS (we had to shoot her to save the public). F**K that police chief hiring third party investigators. He should hold a press conference, admit zero leadership with Stockton PD, hand her husband a huge check (can’t because the city is in bankruptcy) and resign without pay or a pension.

    • Better yet, all 33 officers who opened fire should contribute their pensions to the female hostage’s family. That kills three birds with one stone:
      (1) It provides real accountability to the officers on the street.
      (2) It guarantees that the hostage’s family actually receives compensation.
      (3) It doesn’t put the bankrupt city of Stockton further into the red.

  19. What do you think the amount of rounds fired would have been if it was a cop that was the hostage??

    I really feel for the family. Kind of obvious but I’ll say it anyway, nothing can compensate for this

    • If it was a cop they would have gotten the whole states police force and others to continue on that chase for 2 months straight…

  20. What the Stockton Police did there is absolutely disgusting. How much cash could the bank robber have had? Maybe $20,000??? All 33 officers who opened fire have to be imprisoned for murder and conspiracy to commit murder, no ifs, ands, or buts.

  22. Imagine 10…5…15 (enter a number) concealed carriers stopped a bank robbery suspect, and because of the way we (most of us) are, we didn’t fire a single shot. OR one of us had the perfect shot to take the idiot out with 1 well placed shot to take out said idiot. You know that we would be vilified as “mercenaries”, “dangerous”, “wannabe cops”, “reckless” or any of the other number of names that we could be called! Who “in their right mind” would fire SIX HUNDRED ROUNDS into a vehicle containing a hostage that was LIKELY to be hurt? The key words are “in their right mind(s)”. They SHOULD be charged with manslaughter and reckless endangerment AT A MINIMUM. Whomever gave the order to fire should be relieved of duty and charged with the same! This is a PITIFUL excuse for “police work”.

  26. Instead of giving the 33 officers a month of paid vacation while the incident is ‘investigated’ so that they can all be cleared of any wrongdoing, I have a better idea – take each and every one of them out and shoot them in the foot. Every last one of them, then say, ‘See! Hurts don’t it!’ Then place them on desk duty until they are fully physically recovered from their wounds. And before they are let back on patrol, make sure they know that next time you’ll be aiming a little higher. That should cut down on these kinds of incidents.

  27. The police wanted to make sure they could add a forest degree murder charge.
    In CA when to police kill a hostage they get to charge the kidnapper with first degree murder.

  28. Collateral damage? Or “guilty by association”?

    When one cop shoots, all cops shoot. They don’t want to be left out of the fun.

  29. Well, that averages out to about 20 rounds per officer, probably two mag dumps. That is a hell of a lot of shooting, however. What the heck happened to hostage negotiations?

  30. Sadly, again, still, seems the Dorner Syndrome has become SOP in ceratin LEO depts. Reference the pizza delivery drivers barely surviving the hundreds of rds. fired into a suspect vehicle.
    Officer Safety goes home at night. Regardless of the flash bang thrown into an infants crib, hail of bullets,…
    Sad. Shows a lack of professionalism they tend to brag about.

  33. I had to re-read the title again but I just couldn’t grasp the number. 600 bullets. Six hundred. Nope, still can’t seem to get a grip on it.

    I’m trying to picture 33 policemen going cyclic, looking at their gun in surprise because it’s empty, reloading, and going cyclic some more. (Remember the recent post about ‘suppressive fire?’ How much suppressive fire was going on here?)

    I’m starting to have real fears about the state of American policing. The more I read about incidents like this one, a general impression of lack of accountability and an us/them ethical construct, and a definite up-arming of police (MRAP anyone?) I really start to question our system of law and order.

    • That’s what pisses me off the most. Seeing reports of hundreds of rounds fired. I can’t conceive of firing tens of rounds in a situation like that, much less hundreds, but then again, I’m actually going to be held responsible and liable for every round I fire. I’m likely to be sued for missing, never mind hitting a hostage. I’m not going to get a paid leave, a union rep to argue my case and then get restored to my prior job with all the free donuts I want to pad onto my waistline after a screw-up like this.

      This is what has become of American policing. First, they hire from only average IQ’s – no smart people need apply. Then they don’t teach them anything about marksmanship. It’s just “dump your magazine in the general direction” tactics now.

      So you get what we have here: hundreds of rounds expended, the bank robber in the car lived, the hostage was killed by cops, houses/cars/property all around the pursuit caught rounds, and the cops are doling out the facts as slowly as possible, trying to find a way to not have to pay damages for taking an innocent life and avoid culpability.

    • Remember, cops get full auto assault rifles with 30 round clip thingies. Because they have the training to use them responsibly.

      • And they get to wear body armor and look as operator as &^*%, while we “civilians” have legislators complaining about “shoulder things that go up.”

      • I haven’t found that yet, but I’ve found this footage from a chopper which gives a nice overview of the scene, the armored vehicle the cops used in the final pursuit and how many cop cars are surrounding the scene.

        http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=5b2_1413047587

        This isn’t police work. This is purely amateur hour stuff. There are stories in the past of common citizens responding to bank robberies with their own guns, guns from hardware stores, etc, where fewer rounds were expended, and with similar results (innocents hit, etc). The difference is, those scenarios of “amateurs” running in sheriff’s patrols, etc were cheaper for the taxpayer than this padded, pensioned cluster-foxtrot of “professionals.”

        We’re paying for “professional law enforcement” and we’re getting results that rival those from pure, trigger-happy amateurs.

    • There were two other robbers dead in the vehicle, and two shot hostages dumped along the way–although the police claim that the robbers shot the hostages, one can never be sure. I think the survivor took at least one hit, but nothing serious, amazing given the number of shots poured into the vehicle when it was finally stopped.

  36. Hey all you people in California. A Fast and Furious weapon? That’s right I’m asking if Obama armed the bad guys.

    Keep voting for gun control, this killing will seem minor to the Sh– Storm you have asked and voted for. Do you even think about this stuff when you disarm the victims?

    To the police, get a grip!

    To the parents of the victims, my condolences.

  38. ten for six hundred…but but police officers are super specially trained unlike the average citizen.

    • We don’t know how many the other two robbers absorbed. But it is also true that at the scene of the final shootout (on video somewhere), many of the shots fired were through windows, into the top of the window frames, or over the vehicle completely.

  40. I wonder if the po po paid to repair the multiple rds that damaged bricks, siding, windows, and doors with the “shootout” involving the Boston bombers, where there was only one handgun involved with the bro that was run over by his bro.

  42. We need more sympathetic firings, but they need to come from the H.R. department, not sidearms.

  43. WTF talk about well trained cops…..this is insane…..where the hell was this guy going to go? A hostage and they fire enough bullets to kill a company of armed troops….nuts just nuts.

  45. I’m still stuck on the fact that the cops killed 3 people, including a hostage, and they’re charging the survivor with the murder.

    • Didn’t you hear the government has a monopoly on violence? They can do whatever they feel like doing.

    • It is called the felony-murder rule, and I suspect every single state had its own version. The essence of the rule is that any person committing or participating in a violent felony is liable for the deaths of anyone who is killed during the commission of the crime, including the deaths of any coparticipants. In the classic (true) case taught in law schools, the getaway driver was convicted of murder and sentenced to death for the death of one of the two utes who actually entered the corner liquor store to commit the robbery and was killed in a shootout with the store owner, despite the fact that he was unarmed and did not leave the vehicle. The other ute who entered the store copped a plea and got 5 to 15.
      As applied here, the surviving robber has been charged with 4 murders, two hostages and two other robbers.

  46. Wow 600 rounds. Where are the cop defending thugs now? Police should be issued billy sticks. God forbid you get in there way when they all think they are john rambo

  47. Apparently it’s more dangerous to be a law-abiding citizen than a criminal, in CA. Delivering newspapers? Get shot up. Taken hostage? Get shot up.

  48. Look, the big story isn’t 600 hundred rounds by 33 officers–anyone who’s been LE trained knows that’s easy. The big story is that they had a helicopter in the air and failed to follow standard pursuit protocol–and freakin’ common sense. It was like a feeding frenzy. I can’t believe anyone was truly in charge of what was going on.

    • That is standard response by police these days. Any time they get a chance to fire their gun they will take it. Seems psychopathic to me.

  49. The robbers were using AK47’s, the cops were returning fire. They went through the city of Stockton, down 2 separate freeways and ended up stopping and being cornered by police. They fired at police while using the woman as a human shield. This rattled the area, even my city which is only a 10 minute drive from there.

    They left a lot of information out of this but the police must still be held accountable. Bad situation all around, but stockton police aren’t known for handling these situations the best or being the least corrupt.

    • Just one AK, the other two had pistols. but they did have a large supply of loaded mags–which may be why the lone survivor was not seriously injured.

  50. In MDA’s world this is what happens. In our world the hostage shoots the bank robber with her .380 acp before the police arrive.

  51. Police Firearm Instructor: “OK recruits, when you get scared just pull out you sidearm and make it go bang, bang, bang, until it goes click, click, click. Hitting the bad guy gets you bonus points.”

  52. CHARGE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE GOVT TERRORIST MOTHERFUCKERS WITH 1st DEGREE MURDER. PERIOD!

    Stockton goes #Ferguson in 3…2..

  54. Modern police are not here to protect the public. They are here to enforce government decrees regardless of the damage they cause to the innocent public.

    Public safety be damned!

  56. This is a slice out of context of a much larger story … that has been poorly covered in my opinion. I can see a possibility for circumstances where the police will not be found liable for this shootout scenario. I read that the shootout involved “AK-47 style” rifles, but they didn’t say who was using that rifle … the criminals, the police, or both? I’m open to the possibility that if the threat hadn’t been stopped the way it did, that maybe more innocent lives would have been lost. I’d rather wait to hear from the outside party that will investigate this event.

    • On the flip side of that, every flat foot in the area was running up and down the Freeways in a run and gun battle with the bank robbers.

  58. Are you kidding me? I can understand 33 police officers reacting simultaneously to an aggressive action firing a few rounds each, but an average of 18 rounds per officer over a period of X minutes. This sounds like amateur hour. This resembles gangbanger behavior. Before someone chimes in, I had been a military LEO a few decades ago. I may be rusty, but I still remember a lot from those days. I know I do not know all facts, but I cannot imagine any scenario where this kind of exchange should have occurred unless it was war or a terrorist. This is a recipe for a massive lawsuit. Although there is no evidence to indicate that this lady would have survived either way, I hope the family sues the crap out of this police department and wins, for that is usually the only way to affect change. I have supported civilian police in many controversial incidents over the years. The job does not always look good for the cameras or the TV watching crowd. In this case, how can a person of reasonable intelligence not question their response.

  59. All it should have taken was one .308 or 5.56. That’s it. 600 rounds is just unbelievably indescribably rediculous. They killed the hostage and only wounded the thief. That was enough rounds of ammo to go full cyclic on a Lmg for a minuite straight. Jail em.

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