Stupid people of the week

Lady Drops Her Phone in an Outhouse, Tries to Retrieve It and Falls in — Says the Fire Department

Sometimes, your day goes to crap. Such a description seems apt for a woodsy woman who recently had to dial 911.

The lady and her dog had gone for a hike in northwest Washington’s Olympic National Forest. At some point, she sensed nature’s call.

Fortunately, an outhouse was on hand. Presumably, she played with her phone while camping on the commode.

But then, natural disaster struck. Perhaps it was frustration with an app or the result of digestive difficulty; but whichever version of logging in was the cause, somehow, she dropped her electronic device.

Error is par for the human course, and the toilet tank allowed for a hole in one. Call it a Michael Jackson move: Surely she Screamed at the very Bad sight of her phone splattering into a putrid pile of Human Nature.

The phone was ABC and PYT — About to be Buried in Crap by Progressively Yielding to Turds.

Seconds mattered, and she was quick on her seat: She partially disassembled the toilet top and fashioned a fishing line from her dog leash.

She reached in head-first…

In the words of Brinnon Fire Department Chief Tim Manly, that “didn’t work very well, and in she went.”

For a reported 10-15 minutes, the hapless hiker struggled as a potato trying to escape its stew. At some point, she determined an emergence was impossible.

Though she was trapped and treading water in the crapper, one thing had gone swimmingly: Her phone was still working and had service.

Hence, she was able to reach out for help.

Both Brinnon Fire Department and Quilcene Fire Rescue crews responded.

Courtesy of the Kitsap Sun:

Firefighters passed her blocks to stand on to reach a harness, which they used to pull her out of the vault. The Brinnon department reported that the woman said she was uninjured and requested no medical transport.

“I imagine that she was probably very fortunate,” Manly said. “I don’t have any experience with that kind of a rescue, except for now, but I know that is not a good place to be.”

Reasonable advice was offered, but she wasn’t in a receptive mood:

The woman was washed down and “was strongly encouraged to seek medical attention after being exposed to human waste, but she only wanted to leave,” the department said.

However — per a Fire Dept. Facebook post — she “thanked the responders and continued her journey back to California.”

The Department noted her good luck:

The patient was extremely fortunate not to be overcome by toxic gases or sustain injury.

That’s all well and good, but they may have overestimated her snappy survival skills. Depending on where in California she lives, she may have simply been operating in her element. She might’ve merely been floating in what’s familiar:

Source; Red State

‘Nothing wrong’ with letting convicted felon work like a cop, chief says

T.J. Boyd works for the Grantville Police Department. He has worn the uniform, carried a gun and driven a department patrol car. But Boyd is not a police officer and has no law enforcement training. Instead, he’s a police chaplain and the police chief’s pastor. And he’s a convicted felon.

The scenario came to light this week after a former Grantville officer tipped off a local news station. That officer, who asked to stay anonymous, says he saw Boyd driving a department patrol car. The former officer took pictures of Boyd and shared them with Channel 2 Action News.

“I saw T.J. Boyd get out of the car. My jaw dropped. I’m like, ‘Why is he in a police car?’” the former officer told Channel 2. “You know, a citizen could have needed help and he wouldn’t be able to respond properly.”

Apparently, it was the chief’s idea.

“I handed him the keys myself. Yes, sir,” Chief Steve Whitlock told Channel 2 reporter Justin Gray.

“Can you see where there’d be confusion?” Gray asked in the report.

“Yes, sir. I do. But I still see nothing wrong with it. He helps us on any kind of activities we need. So, I don’t think there’s a problem with it,” Whitlock said.

According to Whitlock, the City of Grantville had been contracted to provide two off-duty officers to work security for a film production. They were an officer short, so Whitlock allowed Boyd to fill in. Boyd was carrying his own firearm, Whitlock said. Boyd was convicted for making and distributing meth, according to Channel 2.

“The man knows that he’s not a police officer. At no time was anybody ever told that he was a police officer,” Whitlock said.

An investigation is now underway by the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, a state office that certifies and disciplines police officers, according to Channel 2.

“Everything about this is concerning,” said Mike Ayers, director of Georgia POST. “I think that this is one of those instances where, quite frankly, we got lucky nothing bad did happen.”

Ayers said a POST investigator met with Whitlock to advise him that it was inappropriate for Boyd to appear as a police officer. Ayers said he believes the situation has “been resolved at this point,” but said further action could be taken later if the issue continues.

When asked by Channel 2 if he would do something like this again, Whitlock responded, “Yes, sir. I would.”

Source; Police One

Couple electrocuted after attempting viral wood-burning art technique

A Wisconsin couple was electrocuted attempting a popular but dangerous wood-burning technique, law enforcement officials said.

The “fractal burning” technique creates lightning-like etchings by using jumper cables and disassembled microwave oven parts to run high-voltage electricity through a piece of wood soaked in a chemical solution. It yields patterns known as Lichtenberg figures, named after the physicist Georg Lichtenberg, who discovered them in 1777 as he was experimenting with static electricity.

The technique is gaining popularity through viral videos on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, but woodworking experts caution that it is extremely dangerous and can be deadly.

Tanya Rodriguez, 44, and James Carolfi, 52, were found dead in a house fire April 6. Their bodies were in the garage of their home in Marathon County, Wisconsin.

The couple had died before the fire started, and the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office initially described the cause of their deaths and the fire as “suspicious.” The mysterious circumstances prompted weeks of arson and homicide investigation, Wisconsin Public Radio reported.

The sheriff’s office, fire marshals and the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory found that Rodriguez and Carolfi died by accidental electrocution when they attempted the dangerous wood-burning technique. The couple used a disassembled microwave oven for a power supply. Authorities believe the equipment that caused the electrocutions also caused the fire, which started in the garage before it spread, the sheriff’s office said in a statement last week.

“Foul play has been ruled out, and the deaths are found to be accidental in nature and believed to be caused by electrocution from fractal wood burning,” Chief Deputy Chad Billeb said at a news conference Thursday.

Fractal burning DIY videos abound online. Some fractal burning art is crafted by professionals with experience as electricians and access to proper equipment. But many attempting the popular craft take apart microwaves or car batteries to use as power sources.

Even with proper equipment and experience, fractal burning carries risks. At least 33 people have died from fractal burning attempts since 2016, according to the American Association of Woodturners, including an experienced electrician. The group banned the use of fractal burning at all of its events and forbade articles about the practice from appearing in any of its publications to discourage attempts.

Phil McDonald, the executive director of the woodturners group, told Wisconsin Public Radio that he believes the “proliferation” of viral videos about fractal burning has contributed to rising numbers of injuries and deaths.

“The equipment can’t be made safely, and the real issue here is that there are not enough safeguards once those home-based systems are built to ensure that they can be operated safely,” McDonald said.

Billeb said that while the patterns created by fractal burning are “very pretty, quite frankly, the dangers of the craft cannot be ignored.”

“Taking advice from YouTube or any other social media site in order to a do a craft … is not safe when you’re dealing with electricity,” Billeb said.

Source; NBC News

Sheriff: Mom stopped feeding baby, called it annoying

Investigators in Florida arrested a young mother on child neglect charges and said her 8-month-old old baby has suffered neglect since the day of his birth.

The investigation into Haylee Kent, 21, started earlier in April when doctors at Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville began treating her child for life-threatening injuries.

According to the Baker County Sheriff’s Office, the boy’s grandmother took the child to the hospital where doctors described him as gravely ill due to life-threatening starvation. At 8 months old, the baby had the average weight of a 2-month-old baby. In addition to the severe malnourishment, the sheriff’s office said the baby had previously suffered a skull fracture.

Investigators said Kent did not visit the hospital or cooperate with the Department of Children and Families. After her arrest, she told deputies that she sometimes felt annoyed over the way her baby needed to be fed, so she stopped doing it, the sheriff’s office said.

Kent’s baby is now recovering in foster care and gaining weight. She is facing multiple counts of child neglect with and without great bodily harm.

Source; KATU

Elderly suspect in Gig Harbor fires gun at man he thought was stealing. He wasn’t

A 70-year-old man was arrested Saturday night outside a grocery store in Gig Harbor after police say he wrongly confronted and fired his weapon at a man he thought was shoplifting.

The victim, 40, was shot in the neck, according to Gig Harbor police. He was conscious and alert after the shooting and was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma for treatment. He was later released and gave a statement to Gig Harbor detectives.

About 11:20 p.m. Saturday, police were dispatched to a store in the 4800 block of Point Fosdick Drive after a report of a shooting.

According to witnesses, the older man confronted the victim as he was exiting the store with store merchandise.

“The suspect wrongly believed that the victim was stealing the merchandise and blocked the exit with his grocery cart and body,” a news release reads.

The two began to fight, then the older man pulled out a 9mm handgun and fired the weapon at least twice, according to police. One bullet struck the victim, the other the store’s glass door.

When police arrived, the man identified himself as the shooter and complied with officers.

He was booked into the Pierce County Jail on suspicion of first-degree assault.

Source; The News Tribune

Category: "Teh Stoopid", Stupid Criminals