Classic Liberal Blog

Michael A. Housley, a 52-year-old resident of Arnold, Maryland, took his wife to the hospital for a "psychological evaluation" on the afternoon of July 12, 2009, before finally heading home around 7:30 pm. If you ask me, it sounds like Mr. Housley had a long day already, but things were about to turn violently worse.

Back at the hospital, they weren't sure if Mrs. Housley had been properly discharged, so they called the men in blue requesting a "safety check." Soon after, police arrived at Housley's door, upon which he asked for authorization. When they couldn't comply, he refused to let them in his house and asked them to leave. The last thing a sick person (or innocent citizen) needs is to be hassled by police.

But instead of leaving, Officer Doyle Holquist chose to grab Housley and attempt to detain him, from which Housley broke free before running inside his house, locking the door, and calling 911 for help.

Not being allowed to enter a private home without a warrant, the officers didn't know what to do. So they decided to call 2 different supervisors for advice. One supervisor advised there was nothing more they could do, but the other said to go ahead and bust through Housley's door. Guess what happened next.

If you answered that 3 armed intruders broke into Housley's home and violently attacked him, you are correct.

Once they broke through a glass door, Holquist immediately set his sights upon Michael Houlsey, dousing him with pepper spray. But Housley bravely fought back against the intruders, even managing to get the second assailant, Cpl. Jeffrey Bauer, in a "bear hug." Unfortunately, Bauer was able to reach his Taser and shocked Housley with it twice. Under attack by 3 armed and violent intruders, Housley picked up a wooden chair to swing at Bauer (who had just electro-shocked him twice), then Holquist drew his gun and shot him twice in the neck.

Michael Housely was in critical care for several days while his wife Leah was barred from visiting him too. Mrs. Housley says her husband was the "victim" of a violent crime, and she's right too.

Housley was charged with 2 counts of second-degree "assault on a police officer," 2 counts of "obstructing a police officer," one count of "resisting arrest," and one count of reckless endangerment. A jury acquitted him of all but 2 counts of obstruction. I guess, the first for "absorbing Bauer’s Taser strikes, the second for allowing his neck to impede the path of Holquist’s bullet?"

After the trial, jurors said even though Housley shouldn't have shut the door on the officers, they "doubted the police officers' claim that Housley was trying to attack an officer with a chair after he was pepper-sprayed and struck twice with a Taser in his home." Suspicious of police testimony, they also believed the situation had been "needlessly escalated and found the shooting of Housley to be a troubling use of force."

Judge Philip T. Caroom fined Housley $500 and offered to expunge his records after a serving a brief probation period. But Houlsey, who has suffered several reconstructive surgeries on his jaw and mouth, refused the deal in order to appeal the verdict. Good for Housley! There's also a $700,000 civil lawsuit pending.

Assistant State's Attorney Thomas Mitchell wasn't happy with the verdict either, saying Housley's attempt to protect his home and family from armed intruders "rose to the level of criminal conduct."

Stupid peasants, don't you know you're supposed to obey your masters?

Police violence is a growing problem in America. Add that to our increasingly authoritarian State and we've got ourselves a real problem. This time it was Michael Housley, but next time it could be you. We Are All Criminals now.