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Boy Scout leader under investigation after shooting bear


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http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/56587186-78/bear-anderson-division-leader.html.csp

"A criminal investigation is underway after a Boy Scout leader shot and killed a bear in a Scout camp Wednesday evening.

 

The leader told Division of Wildlife Resources law enforcement officers that the bear was on top of the picnic table eating left-out food at about 8:30 p.m. when it jumped down and began approaching Boy Scouts in a threatening manner, said Jodie Anderson, member of the conservation outreach section of the division. He then drew a gun and shot it three times, killing it.

 

The incident happened at the Hinckley Scout Ranch on the east fork of the Bear River on the north slope of the Uinta Mountains. Anderson said division employees had given a presentation to the Scouts earlier about proper bear safety, including thoroughly cleaning up all food and disposing of any leftovers in bear-proof containers. "Right now, our law enforcement is hoping to finish up the investigation," Anderson said. "Once it’s completed, we’ll turn it over to the county attorney." Anderson didn't want to speculate on what possible charges the leader could face. Anderson said campers in the area had reported a bear had entered campsites the previous weekend, and division employees were working to trap and remove the bear from the area. The deceased bear appears to match the description of that bear. The Tribune will continue to update this story as more details become available."

 

 

 

 

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From that article

"...division (of Wildlife Resources) employees had given a presentation to the Scouts earlier about proper bear safety, including thoroughly cleaning up all food and disposing of any leftovers in bear-proof containers."

 

Thanks for posting. Hopefully another BSA incident report forthcoming that we can all read and learn from.

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The big question is why the leader had a gun in camp to begin with? Certainly is a no-no locally; and we have had people banned from outings in our council due to violation of this rule. Of course, besides the fact the scouts ignored the safety deterrents by leaving food on the tables, was there any attempt to simple scare the bear off and report it to camp leaders? Without the total story of course, we cannot know how great the perceived threat actually was. But it still remains that there were some obvious misjudgments or poor adherence to simple protective actions.

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"The deceased bear appears to match the description of that bear."

 

They can't just leave us hanging. I'd like to see this description. What, six feet tall, black hair? Or was it a brown bear?

That sounds like profiling to me.
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"For the safety of all of our youth, which was about 500, we had to take the bear down," said the Scout Executive, yet the troop was asked to leave? Sounds like the SE was more upset over leaving the food out, granted that is a big issue the bear never should have been shot.

 

From the G2SS:

 

"Except for (1) law enforcement officers required to carry firearms within their jurisdiction, and (2) circumstances within the scope of the BSA hunting policy statement, firearms should not be in the possession of any person engaged in camping, hiking, backpacking, or any other Scouting activity other than those specifically planned for target shooting under the supervision of a certified firearms instructor. (Among the purposes of this policy is to prohibit adult leaders from bringing firearms on BSA camping and hiking activities or to unit meetings.)"

 

Wonder how long this guys is going to be a leader? This is a clear G2SS violation.

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"For the safety of all of our youth, which was about 500, we had to take the bear down," said the Scout Executive, yet the troop was asked to leave? Sounds like the SE was more upset over leaving the food out, granted that is a big issue the bear never should have been shot.

 

From the G2SS:

 

"Except for (1) law enforcement officers required to carry firearms within their jurisdiction, and (2) circumstances within the scope of the BSA hunting policy statement, firearms should not be in the possession of any person engaged in camping, hiking, backpacking, or any other Scouting activity other than those specifically planned for target shooting under the supervision of a certified firearms instructor. (Among the purposes of this policy is to prohibit adult leaders from bringing firearms on BSA camping and hiking activities or to unit meetings.)"

 

Wonder how long this guys is going to be a leader? This is a clear G2SS violation.

Violation, well may be by the book.... but if my boy was under his watch or even at that camp he'd be getting a great big thank you for sure, and all the support I could give him.

Sounds like a stupid rule. Just based on the sketchy details presented here, the guy should be getting a medal not an investigation.

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"For the safety of all of our youth, which was about 500, we had to take the bear down," said the Scout Executive, yet the troop was asked to leave? Sounds like the SE was more upset over leaving the food out, granted that is a big issue the bear never should have been shot.

 

From the G2SS:

 

"Except for (1) law enforcement officers required to carry firearms within their jurisdiction, and (2) circumstances within the scope of the BSA hunting policy statement, firearms should not be in the possession of any person engaged in camping, hiking, backpacking, or any other Scouting activity other than those specifically planned for target shooting under the supervision of a certified firearms instructor. (Among the purposes of this policy is to prohibit adult leaders from bringing firearms on BSA camping and hiking activities or to unit meetings.)"

 

Wonder how long this guys is going to be a leader? This is a clear G2SS violation.

what is G2SS anyway?

 

Apparently it's some sort of rule book that I'm supposed to be following. Funny, I'm "trained" but have never been shown a copy.

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"For the safety of all of our youth, which was about 500, we had to take the bear down," said the Scout Executive, yet the troop was asked to leave? Sounds like the SE was more upset over leaving the food out, granted that is a big issue the bear never should have been shot.

 

From the G2SS:

 

"Except for (1) law enforcement officers required to carry firearms within their jurisdiction, and (2) circumstances within the scope of the BSA hunting policy statement, firearms should not be in the possession of any person engaged in camping, hiking, backpacking, or any other Scouting activity other than those specifically planned for target shooting under the supervision of a certified firearms instructor. (Among the purposes of this policy is to prohibit adult leaders from bringing firearms on BSA camping and hiking activities or to unit meetings.)"

 

Wonder how long this guys is going to be a leader? This is a clear G2SS violation.

It is the Guide to Safe Scouting, http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/34416.pdf

 

There are several mentions of it in the Youth Protection Training.

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"For the safety of all of our youth, which was about 500, we had to take the bear down," said the Scout Executive, yet the troop was asked to leave? Sounds like the SE was more upset over leaving the food out, granted that is a big issue the bear never should have been shot.

 

From the G2SS:

 

"Except for (1) law enforcement officers required to carry firearms within their jurisdiction, and (2) circumstances within the scope of the BSA hunting policy statement, firearms should not be in the possession of any person engaged in camping, hiking, backpacking, or any other Scouting activity other than those specifically planned for target shooting under the supervision of a certified firearms instructor. (Among the purposes of this policy is to prohibit adult leaders from bringing firearms on BSA camping and hiking activities or to unit meetings.)"

 

Wonder how long this guys is going to be a leader? This is a clear G2SS violation.

None of the articles I have read indicate that anyone, youth, adults, staff, etc, were ever threatened by the animal. All of the accounts that I have read state they simply could not get it to leave, and it was rummaging through whatever they had left out, so he shot it.
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"For the safety of all of our youth, which was about 500, we had to take the bear down," said the Scout Executive, yet the troop was asked to leave? Sounds like the SE was more upset over leaving the food out, granted that is a big issue the bear never should have been shot.

 

From the G2SS:

 

"Except for (1) law enforcement officers required to carry firearms within their jurisdiction, and (2) circumstances within the scope of the BSA hunting policy statement, firearms should not be in the possession of any person engaged in camping, hiking, backpacking, or any other Scouting activity other than those specifically planned for target shooting under the supervision of a certified firearms instructor. (Among the purposes of this policy is to prohibit adult leaders from bringing firearms on BSA camping and hiking activities or to unit meetings.)"

 

Wonder how long this guys is going to be a leader? This is a clear G2SS violation.

In summer of 2010, at least two bears were shot and killed at Philmont.

 

http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/environment/bear-shot-after-attack-at-nm-scout-camp

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