Retired Oklahoma Firefighter Killed; Shot After Intruding into Police Officer's Home

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ROBERT MEDLEY AND MICHAEL KIMBAL
The Oklahoman

YUKON - The retired firefighter who was shot and killed Tuesday as he barged into a Piedmont police officer's home may have been hallucinating and confused, his son said.


Devin Nemecek, 47, was killed about 8 a.m. as he pushed into the Yukon home of Jack Neumann, 37, and attacked him, Yukon police spokeswoman Klare Ly said. Neumann lives at 317 Sunrise Drive, and Nemecek lived a few houses down at 409 Sunrise Drive.

Neumann returned home from work as a Piedmont police officer to find Nemecek banging on his back door and trying to get inside, Ly said. Neumann told him to leave several times as the man barged into the house, and Neumann shot him.

Nemecek was holding a piece of metal and struck Neumann several times, Ly said.

Nemecek used an oxygen tank because of lung and heart damage from injuries suffered while fighting a fire two years ago, his son said.

Garrett Nemecek, 23, of Oklahoma City, said his father sometimes had hallucinations when his oxygen levels were low, and likely thought he was trying to enter his own home when the incident occurred.

"Last night he was having some trouble with his breathing treatments," Garrett Nemecek said. "Once his oxygen gets down to a certain level, he just doesn't know where he's at. He doesn't know his name. ... He would not be himself at all."

Nemecek said his father would never harm anyone under normal circumstances and was an upstanding member of the community who will be missed by his family and friends.

The family is working to set up a memorial of some kind to remember Devin Nemecek.

Garrett Nemecek said he didn't know why his father was outside Tuesday morning, but he had been doing yard work Monday evening and could have been doing more yard work Tuesday.

Neumann told investigators his wife and children, ages 3 and 4, were inside the home at the time of the shooting, Ly said. She said Neumann did not know Nemecek.

"As you can imagine, someone banging on the door trying to get in who is incoherent, you can understand they would be scared," Ly said.

Police release frantic 911 call

A frantic woman's voice can be heard on a 911 call released Tuesday by police. The woman was crying as she told a 911 operator a man with a crowbar was trying to break into her house.

"Shoot him," the woman yelled during the call, apparently to Neumann. A man's voice can be heard shortly thereafter yelling, "Get back!" before a gunshot rang out.

Piedmont Police Chief Jerry Koester said Neumann will be on paid administrative leave until the district attorney rules on the shooting. He described him as an "exemplary" officer who feared for the safety of his wife and two small children.

None of the officer's family members were injured.

"They are obviously shaken up and scared," Ly said.

Copyright 2011 The Oklahoman, All Rights Reserved
April 20, 2011

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and that is why I love you training chief ben !!!


and as far as "not being my decision"... since when did that ever stop me... or you...


.
p.s. HAPPY EASTER !!!
I appreciate you doing some research and learning that there are some good and bad cops.

I believe that is the core of what the other men were saying. They just wanted you to acknowledge both sides of the matter, instead of just saying all cops are bad.

I personally know a lot of good cops... and only 2-3 that have bad behavior.

Some of the other men who have spoken sound like they know a lot more police officers, including themselves working in that job. They have much more knowledge than I certainly do, and maybe even you on this topic - at least related to their individual police departments.

It may be time to say - it is ok to disagree on this matter, but we do not need to continue to fight - since we each have our own individual experiences... and everyone else may never fully understand your viewpoint or agree with your viewpoint, but you have made your point and expressed your concerns.
I didn't mean to offend... I just hate "gun control" laws. I don't agree with them at all. I do agree with background checks for them. The problem is no bad guys seem to care about the laws, that makes law abiding citizens easy targets...
I am just pissed off every time that a cop shoots a criminal, that the world turns against the officer. No one ever says, good for the cop, glad that piece is **** criminal isnt going to hurt any more innocent victims. I don't like seeing someone who has been arrested 23 times get treated like a victim.
I lived in the UK for almost 30 years and I have travelled extensively around the world. I have never felt safer any where in the world as I do living in the US. Yes, you might have a higher chance of getting shot here, only because of the amount of firearms. But, the violence I have seen in other parts of the world is way more intense. I have seen bar fights, where people have been stabbed, had pint glasses and ash trays smashed into faces, bar stools used as clubs, and even someone trying to throw someone else under a moving bus during a fight. So, owning a gun doesn't create crime, it is the criminals using whatever they can get their hands on is the issue.
If someone tried to break into my home, he would need to get passed my dogs first, then if he did that Mr Smith and Mr Wesson would have a few words with him afterwards.
In reality, this has little to do with the shooter being a cop. It could have been just about any citizen who is prepared to protect his family.

It would have happened the same way in my home. I have 2 dogs, if that doesn't scare someone away that wants to get into my house, the next sound they won't hear is a 12 gauge being fired at them. Where I live, I don't have to retreat, either. It's my home and if someone is breaking in, they will pay the price.

Yes, it's different, but don't think it's that out of the ordinary. Besides, it's what helps keep our politicians somewhat in line.
There are so many guns in the U.S. and more pouring across the U.S.-Mexico border via the drug gangs that the "don't have a gun in the first place" is not a reality nor will it ever be.

The only thing gun control in the U.S. will do is to disarm the law-abiding citizens and ensure that many of the criminals won't just outgun the legal gun owners, they'll essentially become a firing squad if they wish.

As for self-defense techniques, in the U.S., "Your home is your castle." is a legal principle. In other words, if someone breaks in to your house and attacks you or a family member, you instantly have the legal right to defend yourself with lethal force.

In the U.S., no one is obligated to risk death or severe bodily harm in order to avoid shooting someone who breaks into your home and attacks you.
That's your choice and you have the right to it. You do not have the right to either force that choice on anyone else or to claim any kind of moral superiority over those who disagree with you.
Did you somehow miss the fact that many NYPD and PAPD officers died along with the EMS providers and FDNY firefighters on 9/11?

Your post is nonsensical.
I'm going to disable them as well. Permanently.

You're dreaming if you think what you propose will work in real life.
{LIKE} {LIKE} (LIKELIKELIKELIKE}
Everyone has the right to defend themselves with lethal force from armed intruders inside their homes. Your off-kilter wishful thinking won't change that. It is unfortunate that someone with a mental distubance broke in the house in the first place, but one he was inside, his state of mind doesn't matter - only the occupants' legal right to self-defense matters. What part if "It was completely legal" don't you understand?

As for your continuing accusations of cops "high 5ing" and "patting each other on the back" it's time for you to either put up or shut up. If you have any evidence, post it. If you don't, then we'll just accept that your position is completely bogus no matter how much you post your unsupported opinion.
Yes, the officer did the right thing. You continue to blame the victim while giving the offender a free pass. You have things exactly backwards here.

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