MINT JULEP

One of these days I gotta try one of these.

Looks cool and refreshing, huh?

If you look closely into this next one, you can almost see Dionysus staring back at you. Just imagine what three or four of them might actually do to you.

This derby day is the third of May. Unfortunately, I can't attend (although they are having simulcast s of the event at Keeneland in Lexington. 

But for health reasons, alas, I should probably wait for another time.

Or maybe not. 

 

From Northern Kentucky and The Kentucky Post comes the story of the death of a teenage girl, Samantha Stewart-

 

who may have died for absolutely no reason whatsoever, but we can look here at three possibilities, all of which are almost equally senseless.

Her mother understandably wants answers. We should all want answers.

First, she was a part of an alcohol, and I'm guessing marijuana, field party on River Road in Boone County.

The officer, having been informed of the group of young party-goers by a drunk he had come across in the course of responding to a separate and seemingly unrelated call, pulled up to them with the intention of checking their sobriety.

While one car was being checked, Samantha started to drive away, along with the three passengers in her vehiclel, one of only three. Depending on what story you believe, what followed was-

1. She ran into the officer, the impact hurled him up on the roof of the car, whereupon he drew his gun and shot into the windshield.

Or, maybe-

2. As she was leaving, the cop jumped up on the roof of the car and then fired into the windshield.

Or, maybe-

3. We haven't been told this, but Samantha uttered an obscene threat, possibly encouraged by the others in the party, the officer felt he was being disrespected, and lost his temper-or maybe just his nerve-and shot the girl out of anger, fear, or frustration.

Granted, one thing is for sure. Samantha Stewart certainly can be said to have totally fucked up when she tried to leave the scene without the permission of the cop, who probably is, granted, a blundering dunderhead.

 

We also have to wonder if the testimony of the others at the scene might be interpreted as a desperate attempt to hide whatever contraband they may have been carrying.

Or, maybe not. I'll be looking out for the toxicology reports.

In the meantime, here is a picture from the crime scene, of the car, with what looks to be four bullet holes shot point blank range into the driver's side of the front windshield. It looks almost as if the cop was purposely gunning for the driver. Click on the picture for a full-sized view.

 

However, 

1. It looks to have been too slow and deliberate-calculated, if you will-to have been a simple matter of a split-second act of self-defense.

2. It certainly doesn't look, despite the story the cop told the investigator (check the video interview on the web-site story), that the cop fired his gun into the roof of the vehicle, or even FROM the top of said vehicle. It looks as though he shot at point blank range.

At any rate, according to the same story it would appear that the police have a different standard of self-defense than they allow for the rest of us. 

In an earlier incident, not too long before this one, a Northern Kentucky cop killed a man in self-defense. What had the man done? Well, he threatened the cop. Verbally!

Try entering that in your typical murder defense trial and see how far you get.