Its interesting to read through this entire thread from page 1. There are a lot of competing philosophies at play, and yes of course, bias.
My own bias is that law and its enforcers serve the citizenry, not the other way around. I also believe that those who CHOOSE to serve in risky jobs, like a GW, do so knowingly placing their OWN life secondary to the lives of others. I differ from others here, a threat on my life is not grounds for an armed response; but a threat to someone else, particular the innocent and/or defenseless, is another issue entirely. That's why its called a responsibility - not a power. I also do not place wildlife management as a higher priority than human suffering and starvation - I recognize that the deceased was most likely not subsistence hunting when he was killed. So through the lens of my bias, it is plausible for me to imagine that a GW acted inappropriately. I cannot imagine any public servant involved in the death of a civilian that would be cleared simply on the grounds of his/her own statement. I have been eyewitness to several shootings ending in the death of civilians, and all of them were cleared eventually because of good investigation and the testimony of other persons on the scene. The crime here may not have happened yet if an investigation is not conducted.
The issue for me, mainly because I was ignorant of the sweeping powers of the mighty Game & Fish enforcement until recently, is the lack of accountability in place to protect the GWs. Did he submit a transcript of the tip from his informant to a judge to get a warrant to be on that property? Did he somehow "sense" that a crime was in progress (noisy or smelly bait??) which would give him "probable cause"? These are reasonable expectations under the law ... or so I thought. Perhaps the good of this event is that folks like us will get involved in the laws in our areas, and work to ensure that the accountability process is consistent for all badged officers. He is wide open to a civil suit now, which in some ways might be more costly than jail time for a manslaughter.
