Spoiling the Milks Homicide Coverage - The Ludington Torch2024-03-29T13:30:08Zhttp://ludingtoncitizen.ning.com/forum/topics/spoiling-the-milks-homicide?commentId=4689834%3AComment%3A355562&x=1&feed=yes&xn_auth=noI wonder why the officer who…tag:ludingtoncitizen.ning.com,2018-02-12:4689834:Comment:3555622018-02-12T20:38:43.381Zshinblindhttp://ludingtoncitizen.ning.com/profile/shinblind
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<p>I wonder why the officer who Milks ordered off of his property the previous year did not come back with a warrant?</p>
<p>If I remember correctly the bus was a 1973 that Milks had an attachment too because he lived in the bus for a period of time when he was in Alaska. If the year is correct that would put the vehicle in the antique category in Michigan. I could not find any requirement that an antique vehicle needs to be stored inside in Michigan. The requirements are that the…</p>
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<p>I wonder why the officer who Milks ordered off of his property the previous year did not come back with a warrant?</p>
<p>If I remember correctly the bus was a 1973 that Milks had an attachment too because he lived in the bus for a period of time when he was in Alaska. If the year is correct that would put the vehicle in the antique category in Michigan. I could not find any requirement that an antique vehicle needs to be stored inside in Michigan. The requirements are that the vehicle has to be 26 years old, and must carry insurance. The plates are good for 10 years and cost $30. Was Milks aware of this? Did the bus actually have antique plates? Is this why no judge would issue a warrant? Could Milks have claimed that it was a pending issue? The fee for late registration is an additional$10.</p>
<p>Also did Milks carry storage only insurance on the bus? Would this be another reason why no warrant was issued?</p>
<p>Was Officer Vansickle aware of this? So many unanswered questions.</p> Curiously absent from the new…tag:ludingtoncitizen.ning.com,2018-02-12:4689834:Comment:3555532018-02-12T18:16:46.337ZXLFDhttp://ludingtoncitizen.ning.com/profile/TheLudingtonCitizen
<p>Curiously absent from the news conference held on June 30 was anything forensically dealing with this case. From the clips available, the prosecutor and new Manistee public safety chief told what appears to be the story of the only survivor of the encounter without telling where everybody was positioned, the ballistics and collateral damage done by the bullets, and anything inside the MSP investigation that differed from the hearsay in the initial reports. </p>
<p>It's instructive seeing…</p>
<p>Curiously absent from the news conference held on June 30 was anything forensically dealing with this case. From the clips available, the prosecutor and new Manistee public safety chief told what appears to be the story of the only survivor of the encounter without telling where everybody was positioned, the ballistics and collateral damage done by the bullets, and anything inside the MSP investigation that differed from the hearsay in the initial reports. </p>
<p>It's instructive seeing that the only one of the original initial reports that said anything about the two talking prior to Milks getting his gun was IPR, and that this was part of the official story. The official story should make anybody wonder why Officer Vansickle didn't attempt to de-escalate the situation, as previous code enforcement officers had done, and leave the property. </p>
<p>Particularly when he wasn't specifically instructed to go to that place. From the code enforcement records I received, there was no complaints registered and noted in 2017, and the complaint concerning the bus had been ongoing for years; if you recall a different MPS officer was ordered to get off Milks property the previous summer and complied. Absent a warrant, Officer Vansickle should have obeyed the homeowner that helped pay his salary. Many modern officers are not as solid in Constitutional rights issues as they need to be. It leads to situations like this, where people like Milks who know their basic rights get shot by those who don't abide by their duty to observe those rights.</p> Good info. shinblind. The pol…tag:ludingtoncitizen.ning.com,2018-02-12:4689834:Comment:3555482018-02-12T15:26:44.427ZWillyhttp://ludingtoncitizen.ning.com/profile/willy
<p>Good info. shinblind. The police should never be involved with enforcing housing and zoning codes. The last thing a citizen needs to see is an armed officer snooping around sonemone's property when no crime has been committed. Since housing and zoning codes are different from town to town the State will not get involved. The trade codes such as electrical, plumbing, etc are standardized throughout the State. As for not seeing the bus from the street, it is my opinion that a neighbor must…</p>
<p>Good info. shinblind. The police should never be involved with enforcing housing and zoning codes. The last thing a citizen needs to see is an armed officer snooping around sonemone's property when no crime has been committed. Since housing and zoning codes are different from town to town the State will not get involved. The trade codes such as electrical, plumbing, etc are standardized throughout the State. As for not seeing the bus from the street, it is my opinion that a neighbor must have made a complaint. I agree, there should be more information on why the front door glass was shattered. The City of Manistee needs to tell the whole story and not keep hiding facts from the public.</p>
<p>Going thru the links posted by X, I found a photo of the bus which can be seen from the street.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1494195306?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1494195306?profile=original" class="align-full" width="559"/></a></p>
<p></p> Found this tidbit.
Building…tag:ludingtoncitizen.ning.com,2018-02-12:4689834:Comment:3556572018-02-12T05:41:47.189Zshinblindhttp://ludingtoncitizen.ning.com/profile/shinblind
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<p>Found this tidbit.</p>
<p>Building Inspection Services<br></br>Effective March 31, 2015 the City of Manistee transferred building inspection services to the State of Michigan.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.manisteemi.gov/94/Departments" target="_blank">https://www.manisteemi.gov/94/Departments</a></p>
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<p>Code Enforcement (Blight) <br></br>Manistee – The City of Manistee Building Inspector is responsible for Code Enforcement (Blight). The City of Manistee does not provide Code…</p>
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<p>Found this tidbit.</p>
<p>Building Inspection Services<br/>Effective March 31, 2015 the City of Manistee transferred building inspection services to the State of Michigan.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.manisteemi.gov/94/Departments" target="_blank">https://www.manisteemi.gov/94/Departments</a></p>
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<p>Code Enforcement (Blight) <br/>Manistee – The City of Manistee Building Inspector is responsible for Code Enforcement (Blight). The City of Manistee does not provide Code Enforcement to other communities. (Note that this was from <span style="text-decoration: underline;">2013)</span></p>
<p><a href="https://www.manisteemi.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1006" target="_blank">https://www.manisteemi.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1006</a></p>
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<p>Seeing that Manistee no longer has a Building Inspector, that they farmed out this responsibility to the State of Michigan why in the name of hell was Officer Doug Van S<span style="text-decoration: underline;">ick</span>le on his property? Shouldn't this also have been farmed out to the State?</p>
<p>Why?</p>
<p>Oh that is right he is the designated blight officer. Interesting. Operating with no court order. He was told to leave the property. He didn't. Things escalated.</p>
<p>On another note while poking along the internet Milks address was 486 2nd Street according to the whitepages.</p>
<p>This house was recently sold. The relators listing is still up in case anyone needs a visual perspective of the incident.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/486-2nd-St_Manistee_MI_49660_M42465-53882#photo0" target="_blank">https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/486-2nd-St_Manistee_MI_49660_M42465-53882#photo0</a></p>
<p>There is no alley at this address. As far as I can tell from the realtors photos and Google satellite maps a bus would be difficult to see from the road.</p>
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<p>Time Magazine had a short piece with a good photo of the Milk's weapon.</p>
<p> <a href="http://time.com/4716542/michigan-fatal-police-shooting-man-73/" target="_blank">http://time.com/4716542/michigan-fatal-police-shooting-man-73/</a></p>
<p>It would be nice if there were photos of the other side of the weapon to see the position of the safety. You cannot chamber a round if the safety is on in this weapon. On the other hand why would someone chamber a round to load the gun and then put the safety on if he intended to use it?</p>
<p>There should be a series of crime scene photos and forensic evidence. Why is Manistee stonewalling their release? </p>
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<p>One other point. When tempered glass shatters gravity will pull most of the fractured pieces straight down where they will hit the bottom sill and scatter more or less evenly in front and behind the sill. Plate glass will move back away from the impact. Again without a photo it is difficult to determine how much glass fell to the inside.</p>
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<p></p> Good coverage of this situati…tag:ludingtoncitizen.ning.com,2018-02-12:4689834:Comment:3554852018-02-12T02:39:36.983ZWillyhttp://ludingtoncitizen.ning.com/profile/willy
<p>Good coverage of this situation X. First of all, if there existed a code violation the officer should have sent out a notice of violation before engaging Mr. Milks. Any anger issues could have been avoided by giving Milks time to abosrb the fact that he may have been in violation of City codes. Secondly, the officer should have left the property immediately after he was asked to leave. This alone would have diffused the situation. But the officer wanted to show he had the authority to…</p>
<p>Good coverage of this situation X. First of all, if there existed a code violation the officer should have sent out a notice of violation before engaging Mr. Milks. Any anger issues could have been avoided by giving Milks time to abosrb the fact that he may have been in violation of City codes. Secondly, the officer should have left the property immediately after he was asked to leave. This alone would have diffused the situation. But the officer wanted to show he had the authority to control the situation.</p>
<p>If the officer is to be believed, Milks made a deadly decision to bring a weapon outside his home to engage a police officer. Chambering a round was his final and fatal mistake. It's possible Milks was suffering onset Alzheimer or some other form of mental problems. If this incident transpired as the officer stated then he may have had no choice but to fire his weapon, thinking he was about to get shot. As I see it the officer escalated the situation by refusing to leave. The police could have dealt with Milks later when things had cooled down. </p>
<p>From what I read the officer fired several shots. Where did those rounds end up. Anytime an officer discharges a weapon they have to be aware of their surroundings so that innocent people are not hit by stray bullets. If this is the training he followed, according to the Cheif, then in my opinion there should be some policy changes and retraining involved.</p> It would be interesting to se…tag:ludingtoncitizen.ning.com,2018-02-12:4689834:Comment:3554822018-02-12T02:08:59.929Zstumphttp://ludingtoncitizen.ning.com/profile/stump
<p>It would be interesting to see the pictures of where Milks dropped dead. Was he dragged to that location? Was he inside the confines of his house standing just inside the storm door when he so called brandished the rifle? Did the officer shoot him and Milks fell through the door knocking the glass outward? Is there bullet holes inside of the doorway of Milks house? The glass is the big question, when did the glass fall, did the police open the door after the shooting and the remaining…</p>
<p>It would be interesting to see the pictures of where Milks dropped dead. Was he dragged to that location? Was he inside the confines of his house standing just inside the storm door when he so called brandished the rifle? Did the officer shoot him and Milks fell through the door knocking the glass outward? Is there bullet holes inside of the doorway of Milks house? The glass is the big question, when did the glass fall, did the police open the door after the shooting and the remaining glass fell ? Storm doors have safety glass, so does the glass shatter from a bullet and stay in place ? only to fall after a door flex from opening?</p>