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Coroner drew gun on neighbor after repo dispute

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  • Coroner drew gun on neighbor after repo dispute

    http://www.postandcourier.com/articl...PC16/150829573

    Dorchester County Coroner Chris Nisbet drew his pistol early Tuesday on a neighbor he said was pointing a gun at a repo man and “reluctantly” dropped his sidearm when police arrived and trained their weapons on him, according to incident reports.
    The early morning confrontation took place after Nisbet drank a few beers on his porch, he said, and chased down his neighbor in his county SUV. One officer smelled alcohol on the coroner, who was handcuffed while officers tried to sort out conflicting accounts.
    No one was arrested, and Capt. Jon Rogers, a Summerville Police Department spokesman, said there were no charges “at this time.”

    The police instead contacted the State Law Enforcement Division, which opened an initial inquiry to determine whether an investigation was needed, SLED spokesman Thom Berry said.
    Nisbet later wrote in a Facebook post that a truck owned by his neighbor, Leroy Fulton, was repossessed. In explaining his actions, he wrote, “Thugs will be thugs but not in front of me.”
    In an interview, he said accusations of racism that Fulton leveled against him were “ridiculous.” Nisbet and the repo man are white. Fulton is black.
    “That poor guy had a gun drawn on him, and I did what I had to do,” he said of the repo man. “I’d rather have (SLED) investigate me than the murder of a hard-working young man.”
    Fulton, 37, denied pulling a pistol on the repo man and said during an interview that he wanted to press charges against Nisbet.
    “He was yelling racial slurs and pointing a gun at me,’” Fulton said. “He was kind of tipsy. I could tell.”
    Fulton’s criminal history in South Carolina consists of a 1997 misdemeanor larceny conviction, along with pending 2006 felony charges of ill-treating animals and second-degree burglary.
    Nisbet, 47, has served as Dorchester County’s coroner for nearly 20 years. Coroners in South Carolina are elected law enforcement officers who could take over for county sheriffs in certain circumstances, but they typically do not respond to police calls or make arrests.
    ‘Leave now or die’

    The events leading to the confrontation between Nisbet and Fulton began after 12:35 a.m. with a knock on the front door of Fulton’s home on North Palmetto Street, according to the 13 pages of police reports.
    Awakened from his sleep, Fulton told The Post and Courier, he hesitated to open the door because of the late hour.
    The reports detailed what happened next:
    Fulton cracked the door and saw John Mauldin, a Holly Hill-based repo man with Premier Recovery Services. As his girlfriend waited in his tow truck, Mauldin said he was there to repossess Fulton’s 2009 Chevrolet Silverado.
    Mauldin later told the police that he “had words” with Fulton, who then pulled a black handgun and said, “You can leave now or die. ... Better get out of here.”
    Fulton later said that he has two green and black .40-caliber Smith & Wesson pistols in his house but that he never pointed one at Mauldin.
    Nisbet, meanwhile, was drinking beer in his pajamas outside his home on nearby West Luke Street. He glanced at his neighbor’s house and saw what appeared to be Fulton pointing a gun at a man’s face.
    Mauldin walked away, pulled his tow truck across the street and dialed 911. That’s when Fulton got into his Chevrolet and told Mauldin that he would shoot anyone who followed him. He drove away.
    About the same time, Nisbet drove up to Mauldin in his county-owned SUV. Mauldin said the coroner identified himself as a member of the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office.
    Nisbet confirmed with Mauldin what he thought he had seen and chased after Fulton. The coroner turned on what he later said were blue lights on his Chevrolet Tahoe. The police said the lights were white.
    While in pursuit and calling the police, Nisbet later told officers, he saw Fulton throw something out of the pickup’s passenger side window. Fulton said he threw nothing from his Chevrolet.
    When Nisbet pulled next to his pickup, Fulton said he recognized him as a Coroner’s Office official but didn’t stop.
    “Pull the (expletive) over,” Nisbet yelled, according to Fulton.
    The two wound up near Doty Park on North Laurel Street, where Nisbet cut his SUV in front of Fulton’s pickup and drew his .380-caliber Walther Arms PK380 before getting out.
    Nervous, Fulton said he fumbled his cellphone as he climbed out of his pickup. He had intended to use it to dial 911, he later said.
    ‘Ended up in cuffs’

    Seven police officers soon arrived, and Nisbet was ordered to drop his gun.
    “Nisbet continued to hold his weapon, not complying with the multiple verbal commands to drop his weapon,” the first officer later wrote in a report. “After about 15 seconds, Nisbet finally complied and placed his firearm on the ground and backed away.”
    Another officer wrote that Nisbet had “reluctantly” agreed to let go of the pistol.
    The coroner was handcuffed. Fulton was not.
    An officer noted that he “smelled the odor of alcoholic beverage” from Nisbet. He was wearing pajama pants and a tattered T-shirt.
    Fulton, meanwhile, was irate about having a gun pulled on him. The police found nothing illegal in his pickup and no evidence that he had tossed out a gun.
    Nisbet gave the police a written statement. Fulton did not. He asked to see his lawyer.
    The officers let them both go home.
    “(I) drew down on him not knowing if he was still armed,” Nisbet later wrote on Facebook. “I ended up in cuffs. What is wrong with people. Pay your bills. He tried to pull the rasism card on me, but guess what? It didnt work.”
    Fulton said he saw his life flash before his eyes during the encounter, and he questioned how the coroner was ever in a position to see whether he had a gun when the repo man came to his door.
    “I was a black unarmed man. You’re reading about this stuff in the news,” Fulton said. “He could have shot me. ... Nobody would know why. A dead man can’t tell his story.”

  • #2
    I am happy that no one got hurt, however this wouldn't have happened if the repo agent had proper education. NOTE TO BOTH AGENCY OWNERS AND AGENTS the CFPB requires continued education and they now supervise non-banks as well as the banks. Take the CRA Course by RSIG, we haven't had a claim like this in a long time, and maybe only 1 or 2 since 1988 because this course deals with laws and case law across the U.S. no time spent on things you really do not need. In this case it is stated in the FDCPA you cannot hit the door at 12:35.

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    • #3
      12:35 am and knocking on the front door.... Mistake #1

      Not hooking up the car, a Chevy Silverado (rear hookup or easy linkage drop) and leaving without breaching the peace...Mistake #2

      Having your girlfriend in the truck...Mistake #3

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      • #4
        http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=9e7_1440629129

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