On July 16, Prosecutor Sue Baur of Cowlitz County, Washington decided not to prosecute Scott Allen Schwingdorf who shot a suspected burglar with a bow and arrow. Baur does not want to encourage citizens to enforce laws themselves, but she recognizes the right of self defense and defense of property. She told the press, “If someone chooses to use force on a fleeing felon, their facts better be right – and the likelihood of that is very rare. So you take your chances, and that’s why we want you to leave it up to the police.”
Last year on December 13, Scott Allen Schowingdorf, 33, heard glass breaking late at night at his neighbors’ home. The home was empty because of a recent fire, and before leaving, the neighbors had asked Schowingdorf to watch the home. Schowigndorf was in his garage when he heard the breaking glass. After telling his mother to call the police, Schowingdorf grabbed his bow and arrow and went outside to see what had made the noise.
Outside, Schowingdorf saw Galen Louis Crayne, 33, fleeing from the vacant home with a brown box under his arm. Schowingdorf chased after Crayne, repeatedly telling him to stop. When Crayne refused to stop, Schowingdorf shot an arrow from 90 feet away. The arrow hit Crayne in the left buttocks. Crayne, however, did not stop. He broke off the arrow, and two blocks away from the vacant home, he escaped in a waiting truck.
Police arrested Crayne in February, and his trial will begin in September. Schowingdorf has been cleared of any charges because of a Washington State Law stating citizens have the right to “use reasonable force to defend property they own or have been entrusted with.” Prosecutor Sue Baur said, “Had Mr. Schwingdorf acted with intent other than to stop a fleeing felon, or had the force used resulted in death, or had any of his assumptions been incorrect, his actions would be outside the realm of necessary or reasonable, and the charging decision would likely be different.”
Crayne’s mother, Jacquelyn Crayne, is not happy that Schwingdorf has escaped any charges. She said, “We don’t want people out burglarizing places. But it is not somebody else’s responsibility to do something about it.” She also told the press, “You should never be allowed to do what that man did. He is by no means trained to recognize or assess a situation properly. It’s not his right.”
The arrowhead stayed lodged in Galen Crayne’s buttocks for almost six months before he had it surgically removed. His mother said, “He still has a limp.”
Sources:
http://tdn.com/news/local/article_119bf892-911e-11df-b2c5-001cc4c002e0.html
