Off-Duty State Trooper Mistakes Dog For Deer, Shoots Woman

January 1, 2012 11:59 PM

Police on scene after a woman was shot by an off-duty State Trooper.

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NORTON, Mass. (CBS/AP) — Police say a 66-year-old woman walking her two dogs just after sunset on Saturday was shot and wounded by a hunter who claimed that he thought she was a deer.

The hunter is State Trooper John Bergeron who was off-duty at the time.

Police say the woman was on a wooded path Saturday evening when Bergeron fired a single shot at her.

State Police said in a statement that Bergeron, an experienced hunter who lives in the area, did not see the victim, and mistook the tails of her two dogs as the tail of a deer.

At this point, investigators believe the shooting was accidental and no charges are expected.

“The incident occurred while he was deer hunting while off-duty. He was properly permitted, in-season, and in an appropriate area for deer hunting,” the statement read. “Upon immediately realizing what had happened, the trooper called the incident in himself and administered medical aid to the woman until EMS arrived.”

The victim, Cheryl Blair, was taken to Rhode Island Hospital, where she is recovering from surgery for a fractured pelvis.

Norton, state and environmental police officers are still investigating the shooting.

State regulations allow deer hunting until 30 minutes after sunset.

Sunset on Sunday was at 4:21 p.m.

Police say the shooting took place around 5 p.m., but did not give an exact time.

Investigators seemed to indicate that they believe the shooting took place before 4:51 p.m., which would mark the end of the hunting day.

Both Blair and Bergeron are neighbors in Norton.

State Police also wished Blair “a full and speedy recovery.”

(TM and © Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

firemanmark

First of all;hunting after sunset is illegal.Secondly,and most importantly,if the ‘hunter’ mistook a person for a deer he is a complete moron.Take his guns away from him and give him a dope slap! I hope the poor woman survives and recovers.

naia

OOps, clicked on the wrong button. Someone needs to start a petition on Care2 that this guy is charged. This is flat out negligence and also the woman should sue. This man should not get away with this. If he does…it sets a precedence in this stupid country!

Peg

His guns should be taken away period. He broke the law-no hunting after sunset.
Willow

Don’t hunters see what they’re shooting at first before firing. Thank God this woman survived her injuries.
Doc Dad

Of course he wasn’t charged!
P

Moron should have his FID card removed for life.
P

ABOVE THE LAW!
M.P.

Sunset was 4:22pm on Saturday. Hunters are allowed to hunt from 1/2 hour before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset. If the shooting actually occurred at 5:00pm as stated, then the hunter BROKE THE LAW and should be charged, as well as having his license revoked. NOT above the law. Besides, common sense should prevail here…if you cannot SEE, you should not SHOOT. We should be frightened that a man with such poor judgment is in charge of our protection, never mind given a license to hunt.

Nab71

I had to chase hunters off my property who were still shooting at 6:00 PM on Saturday. They were probably jacking deer. And the speed of the shots tells me ithey wasn’t black powder rifles. As in everything else, the idiots will ruin it for the responsible ones.
Robd

Read the story. It happened AROUND 5, not AT 5. The key is in the words, which you used wrongly, making your whole argument invalid. Sorry bub.

The whole “half hour after sunset” nonsense is a guideline for legality issues. I can guarantee you that you had NO CLUE when the “official” sunset was last night. Now if this were around 7PM, I can call it on your side, but this was damn near close to the official/legal cutoff time, and for that I say…Oh well. So he went over a couple minutes. The margin of error being allowed here is way too slim.

Now, the time thing, in my opinion, should be thrown out. Maybe it was dark out, but I wouldn’t call him hunting past the time he should have been. In my own opinion, +/- 10 minutes is fine (morally).

HOWEVER, that does not excuse the fact that he lacked the respect for his firearm and lacked respect for his target.

All things told – accidents happen. This was an accident, but it is NOT an excusable accident.

John

An accident would have been if the gun fell out of his hands, this was a mistake, he intentionally pulled the trigger on the wrong target.

You will go through life hiding and never owning up to anything if you don’t learn the lesson between an accident and a mistake.
firemanmark

Wow! You can guarantee that M.P. had NO CLUE what time the ‘offical’ sunset was? Try reading the newspaper.It doesn’t matter if it happened 2 seconds after sunset.The shooter is a complete moron and should be assigned to a desk job for the rest of his career.Rule # 1 is identify your target BEFORE discharging the weapon.I believe this trooper should be relieved of any and all firearms he may possess.Most people have to go through a competency course to get an FID card.Yet,no charges will be brought by Mass.State Police.Excuse me if I’m wrong but,did this take place in Norton or on RT 495? I don’t see how the Staties have one iota of jurisdiction.The Norton Police need to man up and charge this guy with reckless endangerment.What if it had been a kid walking their dog? They would have bled out before they had a chance.
Martha, spouse of hunter

Actually, any hunter DOES know exactly when sunset is for that day, and should stop hunting with plenty of time left not to push it. Not to mention the fact that it’s actually getting dark ‘around 5pm’. Really, there is no excuse for him to still be hunting at that time and actually take a shot at something that he obviously couldn’t be POSITIVE was a deer. He’s definitely irresponsible and selfish and a moron for this and should have his hunting license revoked if he doesn’t retire it voluntarily. I’m sure he feels horrible and that would be the right thing to do.

jean

Once again the state police are involved in a coverup. They should release the name of the officer who can’t tell a woman from a deer. The public has a right to know.
Dave Francis

Please, for the love of God, DO NOT LUMP ALL HUNTERS INTO THE SAME CATEGORY AS THIS MORON!
Ron T

It’s hard to believe that seeing two tails, belonging to the two dogs, could be mistaken for a single deer!

The actual shooting time, seems to be questionable, too, as manipulated just enough to be barely in the legal window!

The storys last paragraph, seems to just gloss over the seriousness, with a “speedy recovery” wish, as if was just like getting over the flu!

I didn’t read about any remorse from this horrible mistake, either!
JMS

Of course he won’t be charged — he’s a good ol’ boy. Of course he doesn’t feel bad; he probably thinks he should’ve been able to romp through the woods shooting at animals and the woman was wrong for walking her dog in his precious hunting grounds. I really worry about a police officer who kills things for “fun” in his off hours.
Jessica

Deer have different tails than dogs, which dont wag, are shorter, and stick up when alert. Upon receiving a hunting license, the hunter, state trooper or not, is educated to identify its target before shooting. Hunting after the allotted time frame is also reviewed. This person, once again state trooper or not, should have their license revoked, name publicized, and be fined for the two laws he broke. I appreciate the work state troopers do, but being a law enforcer does not mean you are above the law. Rules are rules.
http://www.lab-retriever.net/board/fire-hydrant/7388857-state-trooper-shoots-women-walking-her-dogs.html#post1964971617 State Trooper shoots women walking her dogs…..

[...] Trooper shoots women walking her dogs….. Off-Duty State Trooper In Norton Shoots Woman He Mistook For Deer CBS Boston How is it that you mistake two dogs and it's owner for a deer… Maybe it was dark ? Seems the [...]
B. MAGUIRE

IF THE OFFICER DID IN FACT SHOOT THE WOMAN WITH A SHOTGUN HE SHOULD BE CHARGED WITH USING A WEAPON OUT OF SEASON. SHOTGUN SEASON ENDED 3 WEEKS AGO. IT WAS WHAT IS CALLED PRIMATIVE ARMS SEASON AND ONLY, MUZZLELOADERS AND BOW AND ARROW ARE ALLOWED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT.
RICHARD

DEER SEASON WITH A SHOTGUN ENDED ON DEC 10 WHAT IS HE DOING USING THIS TYPE OF WEAPON WHEN ONLY A MUZZLELOADER IS ALLOWED UNTIL DEC 31 WHEN ANY PERSON SHOOTS THEY NEED TO BE SURE WHAT THEY ARE SEEING NOT JUST A TAIL OF AN ANIMAL THIS PERSON NEEDS TO BE PUNISHED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW AND BEING A PERSON WHO IS SUPPOSE TO BE PROTECTING US MAKES IT EVEN WORSE
Reds on Fire

Thank you Mr. Above the law another bad hunting story to make people dislike hunters even more……thank people like him for posted properties…. and shooting after dark to none the less take his hunting permit and fire arms
woodsman

I don’t care who this guy is the FIRST RULE of HUNTING or POLICE WORK is to kow your target before you discharge your firearm, I hope she recovers.

redneckjoe

i agree with you woodsman; i’m from south carolina as a former hunter & license to carry a wepon, always see what your target before pulling the trigger and (never) hunt at dark !!!

Sherri

Hasn’t anyone ever heard of an accident. Not to diminsh what happened to this lady and hopefully she will make a full recovery! Did anyone stop to think how the hunter feels…I would think pretty bad. He has probably been told not to comment because of how quick the media and readers are to assign blame. My prayers go out to everyone involved.

ellen

it is not an accident if rules or laws were broken
Ed Burkhead

This was NOT an “accident.” It was CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE! Shooting at a large animal (or small one) that you cannot CLEARLY see and IDENTIFY is criminal negligence.

I would so charge him.

This person does NOT deserve to continue as a law enforcement officer.

1010SGT

If there is anyone that should be absolutely positive they are shooting at a proper target it should be a Massachusetts State Trooper.
These chumps have been in the recent press for Drunk Driving, Bribery, Prostitution and now shooting little old lady’s. Good job selecting the best of the best for your cops . The Massachusetts state police are not only the oldest state police organization… They are also the dumbest…
Good luck getting respect from anyone now.
Becky Corbett

OK… so two sides to every story. Yes- dumb to shoot at dog’s tails. On the flip side- I live by woods and there is no way in hell you would catch me walking my two dogs in the woods as it’s getting dark! Poor judgement on both sides…

ellen

this was still her back yard don’t forget
why would hunting be allowed on personal property to begin with?
beenworkingsinceage10

The only poor judgment was that of the shooter.Since when did walking your dog become illegal? Shooting a person,however,is illegal.I guess if I drive like an ahole and get stopped by a statie I can use the” sorry it was an accident excuse?” It was in no way that woman’s fault.The hunter screwed up and the MSP don’t have the marbles to charge one of their own.He’s probably related to a higher-up or some politician.Anyone else would have been held over for arraignment on Tuesday morning for such a idiotic move.

seeley

It was the state policeman so we know it was her fault!!
chris

First off, legal hunting ended at 4:51. This trooper was clearly hunting after legal hunting time had expired. Secondly, it is my understanding that the woman was shot within 50yards, or 150 feet, from her house. It is against the law to discharge a firearm within 500 feet of a house in Massachusetts.. There is the second law that was broken. The trooper failed to properly identify his target. According to the law, this constitutes criminal negligence. His negligence resulted in serious bodily injury to another person, a victim. I am disgusted that law enforcement is going to brush this under the rug and not charge this trooper. He has broken several laws which ultimately caused serious injury to someone “mistake” or not… Just one more example of how police are still above the law. As citizens none of us should tolerate this. I myself have called both the Environmental Police demanding he be charged as well as the Norton Police demanding the time the call came in, which is public record. Do the same.

robd

Where did you get the 50 yards from? I would like to know, because I saw none of that in the article. It would be great if you could point out your source instead of fabricating a lie in your favor.

Now I’m on your side, I think the “hunter”/”officer” should be charged and arrested, but I’m not going to go around assuming things about the story to make up more charges.

If you can prove that it was within 50 yards of the home, or withing illegal boundary lines of the home, then go ahead. Until you do that, you just look like an idiot, not helping your case at all.

ellen

it was her back yard robd whether it be 50 yards or 150 yards that is her private property
Robd

@ ellen – where does it say her backyard?

“Police say the woman was on a wooded path Saturday evening when Bergeron fired a single shot at her.”

I have trails behind my house that I’m in every day. I don’t go out a mile and say “Oh, this is my backyard”, and I certainly do not assume that this woman was in her back yard.
Robd

“Police say the woman was on a wooded path Saturday evening when Bergeron fired a single shot at her.”

Where do you see “back yard” or “private property” anywhere.

chris

I really wish the news would probe into this further… Not to mention it would benefit the station that does.. Afterall, an obvious police coverup is far bigger news than a woman being shot.

Ajay

chris,
I’d like to see that as well. But we both know that it won’t happen. Whenever police are involved, we only get the ‘party line’. The official statement always answers the questions, enen if nobody has asked them yet. He was off duty, hunting in season, within the time, on an allowed property.

Of course, there’s no chance that he was just another drunken cop firing off his gun on New Year’s Eve. Was he in ‘hunting’ garb with other hunters when it happened? Had he been drinking? What sort of gun… a hunting rifle? or his pistol? Police are always to-the minute when reporting times. Why is this one around sundown…or 5 pm? What time was the 911 call made? Or was his first call to his union rep?

Its good to be a cop. You’re always well above the law.

Garry Burke

Isn’t the foot a better target than a women walking there dog?
buddy

Hmmm, Maybe he was under the influence? Perhaps he was out in the woods with Jamesson to keep warm. Regardless he should not be alowed to carry a gun whether it be on the job or in the woods.

I can’t wait to see the outcome of this? I guarantee that no charges are filed at all. What will his excuse be when he shoots another human? What a complete idiot.

Funny you don’t see any comments by cops on this. Only when it doesn’t go in their favor is when they all jump on the band wagon and wah wah this is mwhat the law states. Well read the law regarding hunting.