In a post yesterday, RF detailed some pretty good reasons why it’s not a good idea to hold someone at gunpoint. Unfortunately, Bernadette Greenwald doesn’t seem to be a member of the Armed Intelligentsia. The Long Islander was the subject of some late night ring-and-run practical jokes that she didn’t really appreciate. And that’s when she got her semi. . .

According to nypost.com, she went outside, fired a shot into the ground and confronted a 17-year-old who was walking by.

[She] was arrested after she pointed a 9 mm handgun at the 17-year-old in front of her N. Forest Avenue home just after 11 p.m. and held him until police arrived — who promptly charged Greenwald with second-degree menacing, reckless endangerment and unlawful use of a weapon, cops said.

Good thing they didn’t put a flaming bag of dog sh!t on her doorstep. She might have aimed that shot a little higher. God knows practical jokers can sometimes go too far. But so can the jokee’s reaction to them. And for hers, we proudly award today’s IGOTD honor to Bernadette.

[h/t Allen V.]

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33 COMMENTS

  2. I thought they managed to legislate guns out of the hands of the irresponsible? This calls for more action from Albany. Looks like the mugshot was taken sans makeup. At least she isn’t bawling her eyes out or flashing tattoos on her neck.

  3. I don’t recall any “good” reasons being offered by Mr. Farago, but this has little to do with that topic and everything to do with this woman’s poor judgment as to when deadly force is authorized in New York.

  4. Sleep deprivation can work havoc on your judgment.

    Just think what a well-positioned canister of pepper-spray, a solenoid switch, and a bit of wire rigged up to the doorbell could do to the pranksters.

    You might have to warn friends & family to knock, though.

      • John –
        Honestly, how is that considered entrapment? And illegal where?

        It is really pulling a prank on a prankster. Pepper spray may cause some discomfort, but is not harmful. Our military folks have to go through worse than that during their training with no damage done.

        I don’t know about wherever it is you live, but here in Texas I’d expect the LE guys to get a laugh out of it. C’mon, it’s better than the old days of a load of rock salt to the hindquarters.

      • I don’t think you know what the term “entrapment” means.

        In short “In criminal law, entrapment is conduct by a law enforcement agent inducing a person to commit an offense that the person would otherwise have been unlikely to commit.”

        A non-government person cannot commit entrapment.

  5. I don’t understand, did she know she was being harassed by teenage pranksters or was she unclear about what was going on.

    Did she have a reasonable belief that she was being threatened in her home?

    Even so, she shouldn’t have shot into the ground and pointed the gun at the kids if she had worked out that they were not a threat.

  6. When I was 17 I had a similar thing happen to me. I lived in a residential neighborhood which had tons of kids aged 12 – 17 living in it. A few of them were screwing around with fireworks and dry ice bombs and it seemed to have arisen the anger of one of my neighbors. He ignored the fact that I was not outside that evening, that I was in the living room with my parents while this was happening, and proceeding to pull a knife on me and threatened to kill me if he heard another bang. If you’re an adult, you should act like one. It’s not worth going to prison over.

    As an aside, this woman is very lucky that the DA didn’t claim that she tried to shoot the kid and missed (attempted murder).

    • Here in Texas that would be a good way to get shot by a Daddy – pull a knife on his kid & threaten to kill him.

      Don’t know about today, but in the past I don’t think the Grand Jury would have indicted the Daddy, not ’round here.

  7. No doubt Bernadette will have learned from this experience. Of course, to make use of that learning she’ll have to move to AZ, apply to have her gun rights restored, and, uh, get herself just a little bit of a tan. Makes for a better mug shot.

  11. I would LOVE to know what was going through the suspect;s mind when her not-glam mugshot was being taken. She looks a bit pissed and annoyed, so it probably wasn’t “OMG! What was I thinking?”

  12. My Grand father on Dad’s side did one better. Mom’s Brother played pranks and made weird noises in the night on Dad’s Father ( who was a WWI vet ). My Grandfather came out of the house with a sawed off shotgun and filled Mom’s Brother’s butt with rock salt.

  14. If you read the reports from her lawyer and also the husbands statement which is convienient,y left out of these reports this kid had been caught casing their house twice before at strange hours. And it’s ok that at 17 year old is out drinking..does that add up? He just happened to be passing the other teen? Come on..and it’s not a prank at 11:30 at night when you don’t have teens living in your house and you and your two kids are already in bed & you are home alone. The cops got this one wrong.

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