TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT

By Sgt. John J. Barker

The 3 p.m. to 12 midnight shift on November 8, 2002, had been slow and uneventful for Sr. Agent Joe Tarver and me. All that changed, however, at 7:30 p.m., just a couple hours after dark.

We were cruising along near Sicily Island in Catahoula Parish, deciding where to eat supper, when we received information over the radio that shots had just been fired in or near a pasture near Rhinehart, a small LaSalle Parish community along the Catahoula/LaSalle line. Based on information received in the past, we believed we were dealing with a rabbit hunter on foot. It was one of those times when things went from 0 to 60 in about 5 seconds.

We rushed to the area at a rate of just a little over 55 mph!?! Knowing several game wardens over the years had been shot by night hunters on foot, Agent Tarver and I discussed the dangers of the situation into which we were about to enter. Little did we know how real those dangers were about to become.

As we neared the location, we slowed down a bit and eased into a hiding spot approximately _ mile from the pasture. After grabbing our binoculars, flashlight, and night vision optics, we exited our unit and sprinted through the dark down a small, pea-gravel paved road.

We had no more than gotten the pasture in sight when we observed a small spotlight being shined in a searching manner. With the night vision optics, we could see the entire body of the subject as he walked, shining the light along a tree line in the rear portion of the pasture.

We watched him walking and shining for just a couple minutes before a vehicle came traveling down the paved road beside the pasture. Just so happened, as the vehicle approached, the spotlight went out. After the vehicle passed, the subject started shining again.

Just a couple minutes later, another vehicle came traveling down the same road. Instead of passing by though, that vehicle pulled into a driveway at a residence directly across the road from the pasture.

This time the spotlight went out and never came back on. I whispered to Sr. Agent Tarver that I figured he would be spooked by the vehicle pulling into that driveway, and that he would probably quit hunting.

Sure enough, with the night vision goggles, I observed the subject slipping across the pasture at a brisk pace in the dark, shining no light. By this time Agent Tarver and I were in the pasture approximately 75 yards from the subject.

I had always said if I got in such a situation, I would be behind a tree when I turned my light on and identified myself as a game warden. The only problem was, in the wide open pasture, there were no trees to get behind.

Using the night vision goggles to watch the subjects movements we approached him at about a 90 degree angle. When we were approximately 20 yards from the subject, I whispered to Agent Tarver "Get ready, get ready!" He already had his weapon drawn.

I had my flashlight in my left hand and the night vision in my right hand when I turned on my flashlight and identified myself as a wildlife agent. I immediately noticed the subject was carrying a shotgun, and forcefully instructed him to put the gun down. The subject immediately turned toward us and began raising the shotgun to his shoulder. As he did so, I yelled out, "Don’t point that gun at me! Put it down NOW!" Fortunately, with the shotgun already about _ to _ of the way to his shoulder, he began dropping it.

Both of us, with our weapons drawn, walked on over to the subject where Agent Tarver immediately secured the 12 gauge shotgun. It was fully loaded with the SAFETY OFF and in the firing position! What a sobering discovery that was!

The subject at first stated he had been shooting at possums and snipes in the dark, and misled us as to where he was living. When all was said and done though, he admitted hunting rabbits, and, at his residence, showed us a rabbit he had killed with the shotgun around 7:30 p.m., the approximate time we had received the complaint.

As we were issuing citations, the subject stated he would never have intentionally shot anyone, but that he was afraid and did not know at first who or even "what" we were.

As we were leaving the area by truck, we realized we were missing the night vision optics, so we turned around and went back to the pasture. When the subject had turned the shotgun toward us, I had dropped the night vision to the ground and drawn my sidearm, not even realizing what I had done. We found the night vision on the ground in that exact location with the power switch still on. Thank the Lord (and our staff) for good training!

You never know in this line of work what you will be faced with from one moment to the next. We must always try to be prepared, use our heads, and be careful, Careful, CAREFUL! In retrospect, it was indeed "Too Close for Comfort."