Combat veteran convicted for hitting someone in the nose; Scott Walker is not issuing pardons

[RandySF]

he transition from decorated Iraq War veteran to felon happened in an instant for Eric Pizer.
A night of drinking. One punch. A broken nose. A felony charge.

Pizer wishes he could take back that moment in 2004 just two days after he returned to Wisconsin from the war.

He can’t......

During his four years in the Marines, the 6-foot-2 former high school wrestler and football player excelled, earning two commendations and the rank of corporal.

Pizer served two tours of duty, one in Kuwait and one in Iraq. During that deployment, he faced peril on refueling missions from bombs hidden along the roads and from rocket-propelled grenades fired into the Al Asad Airbase, where he was stationed.

One night, Pizer said, a grenade hit the wall just outside his tent, blasting him out of his bunk.

His second deployment was voluntary, said Tim Woods, a fellow Marine who is now an officer for the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department in Bridgeton, N.J....

The only option Pizer and his attorneys see now is for Walker or a future governor to issue a pardon. That action would not erase the conviction but would restore Pizer’s right to possess a firearm, which he needs to become a police officer.

But the governor, who has sole discretion over pardons, is not accepting any applications.

Pizer and his advocates haven’t applied for a pardon but stand ready to do so if Walker changes his mind.



http://host.madison.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/combat-veteran-seeks-relief-from-felony-conviction-scott-walker-is/article_6e7714ac-4fb1-5d04-a773-506c65a97ee9.html#ixzz30lvDKkvR

[Jackpine Radical]

1. Walker's saving up the pardons

for his staff & himself.

[phil89]

2. and hopefully the violent goof will stop hitting people.

What a sicko.

[The River]

6. What a Wonderfuly Empathetic Response

You must be some sort of expert in remote diagnosis of combat vets?

I guess no one actually spits on our returning veterans anymore.
They just do it on line from the safety of their computers.

[phil89]

17. Being a vet is not an excuse for bad behavior

Sorry you seem to think so. Lots of people have PTSD and don't act that way.

[MattBaggins]

20. I am a vet who has never hit anyone?

Should others get pardoned as well? Why just him?

[RandySF]

7. One fight makes him a violent goof?

And should ruin his career?

[phil89]

18. Yes of course it should. Should a felon become a police officer??

Plenty of level headed people out there we can hire to be police. Somehow giving a paranoid person with unmanaged PTSD a badge and gun seems like a recipe for disaster.

[ManiacJoe]

3. His lawyer seems to have done poorly with that plea bargin.

[Taitertots]

4. I don't always agree with Scott Walker, but when I do....

It is in favor of keeping dangerous violent people from becoming police officers.

“And I just instinctively reacted ‘cause I couldn’t see his hands. It was a very dark night behind a garage in an alleyway. I couldn’t see if he had something in his hands to stab me with, shoot me with, bash me with. So I just instinctively gave him a right jab.”
Read more: http://host.madison.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/combat-veteran-seeks-relief-from-felony-conviction-scott-walker-is/article_6e7714ac-4fb1-5d04-a773-506c65a97ee9.html#ixzz30m7yIhp6
This man should never be a police officer.

[tblue37]

5. +1. nt

[SQUEE]

8. he has had 10 years to decompress

I and others here know how hard it can be to transition from the day to day stress of a tour, I would with hold judging him based on a single situation that occurred while he was still in a window of time that he could be suffering from PTSD.

I am not a fan of LEO recruiting prior MIL so heavily, but I am also less of a fan of civilians so casually dismissing the real trauma our soldiers experience in the wars we send them to fight.

[Jake Stern]

14. "civilians so casually dismissing the real trauma our soldiers experience in the wars. . . "

Would you be as sympathetic to a non-veteran in the same situation?

[SQUEE]

16. in a possible PTSD situation?

Absolutely, had he lost a spouse or child, been in a major natural disaster or loss of life, yes, yes I would. I recognize that PTSD is not just about combat related stress, its causes can range from a major car accident, to rape, to assault, to war. I do see where it can temporarily change a persons outlook and reactions, it can also do permanent damage as well, I am not giving a pass to this individual, just allowing leeway.

[TorchTheWitch]

9. +1

[JVS]

12. +1

[Jesus Malverde]

21. The facts that certain occupations give bonus points to veterans

only helps to fill their ranks with serious disturbed individuals who would be better off on PTSD disability rather than patrolling our streets.

The 80s phenomena of "going postal" was an example of this.

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. Wisconsin must have different rules than California

the conviction is enough to keep him from a career in law enforcement, and sadly, in this case he might be suited.

Perhaps not, but I guess he should be looking for another career. If he wants to serve, look at the fire department, or any other non weapons involved, even 911 dispatcher.

[Sunlei]

11. No violent felony or violent misdemeanor convicted should be a police officer or own guns.

Sorry Mr. Pizer, act in haste & repent in leisure. You are not police material.

[Savannahmann]

13. I agree with the others

Why would we want this individual to be a police officer?

[Jake Stern]

15. How many who are trotting out the PTSD/Combat tour line

would be a sympathetic to a non-veteran who was convicted of the same felony?

[lumberjack_jeff]

19. Agree with posters upthread

Convicted assailant should have his conviction overturned... so he can become a cop?

I think not.