Intimidation Involves a Lot of Wasted Public Resources: Sarah Knysz

[XLFD]

Today, Sarah Knysz, wife of alleged MSP Trooper shooter Eric Knysz, was at the Mason County Courthouse for a final conference before trial.  The 7 month pregnant 20-year-old has been charged with accessory to murder after the fact and unlawfully driving away a motor vehicle in connection to the Sept. 9, 2013 fatal shooting of MSP Trooper Paul Butterfield. 

Her husband, also housed at the Mason County Jail, has been charged in Mason County with murder of a police officer, and a host of other charges noted in this article.

 

At 3:30 PM, she was taken to the courthouse on East Ludington Avenue, and her hearing was big news, at least four TV stations at least 70 miles away came to view the proceedings, WZZM, WOOD, FOX 17, and the Upnorth Live mobile.  What struck me as odd, however, was the amount of police presence at the courthouse for this afternoon event.  Looking into the courtroom, the court was lined with somber uniformed officers behind Sarah Knysz's back.  Outside, the police presence was remarkable.  Even during the Baby Kate trial, I never saw this many police vehicles.  In the back parking lot of the court there were 5 vehicles (numbered and indicated below with arrows) from city, county, and state law enforcers. 

A Mason County Sheriffs' car, which was used to bring Mrs. Knysz to and from court, was parked within feet of the building across the inner sidewalk, effectively blocking the courthouses handicapped entrance and exit.   Fortunately, no bomb threats or fire alarms were active during the 75 minute proceeding.

 

Finally, a look to the western parking lot (the news dogs and others were entrenched in the east) finds three more police vehicles.  You will note then, that the nine police vehicles in the three pictures were evenly distributed.  That is three vehicles each from the state police, the county sheriff, and the Ludington police.  I even seen Chief Barnett of Ludington drive off in uniform, in a personally -owned vehicle.  So minimally there were ten law enforcement officers present at the final conference-- even though none of them appear to have been needed there to testify from the state police or LPD. 

Was the large presence really needed there, with the MSP vehicles having to travel at least the better part of an hour to get to the courthouse, and then go back later?  Why were at least three LPD active units at the courthouse for this, along with Chief Barnett, when they were not really involved at all?  I'm noting about a thousand dollars of salaries and transportation costs from these two agencies being there when they are on the clock and should have better things to do. 

For Sarah Knysz effectively was pressured into taking a plea deal, calling for her to serve 12 to 24 months on accessory after the fact and to serve 0-11 months for unlawful driving away of an automobile.  Furthermore, the deal stated her Manistee County charges would be dropped, and mandate that she would testify against her husband and any other defendants in the case, which may entail her mother-in-law, who is alleged to have also aided her son in trying to elude authorities. 

According to the City of Ludington Daily News:  She told the court the trooper came up to the truck she and Eric were in (Eric was driving) and Butterfield was in mid-sentence asking the couple how it was going when she said she heard a shot. She said Eric drove off and when she looked back, she saw the trooper lying in the road.

She said Eric brought the guns to Ludington that day so he could sell them. She said he sold some, but not all of them and there were still some in the truck behind the seat, plus a handgun in front when they were pulled over. Knysz said she didn't know why they were pulled over.

She told judge Richard I. Cooper that Eric had threatened to kill her in the past. She said she didn't run because she was afraid of him and was seven months pregnant.

The problem I find here is that she is likely to spend a couple of years in jail for doing nothing other than happening to be in the same car with her husband when he committed a serious crime.  If we take what she says as the truth, and it does seem plausible enough and the prosecution is taking it as such, the State is creating another victim here.  Is it a crime now for a woman being afraid for herself and her baby to obey some psychopath who has just shot a state trooper, who has threatened her in the past, when she can still smell the gun smoke, and is in shock from what she has just witnessed?

 

The intimidation worked.  Because Sarah Knysz was still with her husband a couple hours after the event, whether she was willing or not, seems to not matter to the local justice system as to her guilt on two counts which her sworn testimony debunks. 

 

When Sarah was led out of the courthouse, she had two deputies escort her to the Sheriff's Office's SUV that was blocking the handicapped entrance/exit.  Two.   Obviously, the Ludington and Michigan State Police were there because they figured that Sarah Knysz could easily be intimidated by men with guns, and be led innocently into a situation that is dangerous to her well-being.  

[Johnny]

Um...I dont have any police training actually.  I work for a company based out of Kalamazoo, MI, so I am not sure where you get Police Training out of my recent statements.  Is it because I support law enforcement officers?  You don't have to be a law enforcement officer to respect them.  I shall leave reading and commenting on here since I have different opinions on current events in your town.  Its embarrassing that you blame me opinion and feelings of certain comments on here make you jump to a conclusion that I have "Police Training."  I couldn't do their job, way to much stress and to hard of work for me.  Like I said, I respect them, as everyone should I FEEL.  If you don't and want to just criticize everything they do, so be it.

[AQUAMAN]

That's what makes libs like Murph so hard to discuss subject matter with in an objective and mature manner. As a matter of fact, there is, or was, an LPD officer here named Eric Murphy, so, what am I expected to believe of your posts sir. I too respect LEO's for their service, duty, and hazardous work, as long as they are serving the publics' best interests. This thread was originally about how a number of 8-10 officers were on the clock, when they attended the court house hearing, most likely for intimidation purposes, and to nose-in on stuff that will be reported in detail later anyhow. The ONLY criticisms of police on this forum, at least to my knowledge mostly, is when they go over the top in one extreme to another, mostly brutality, or wastes of taxpayers resources, that's it imho. Question: why come on here if you don't know Ludington, and always jump into the cop-thread with both feet? And you also don't know what actually happened?

[XLFD]

E Murph,

I don't think you support law enforcement officers, at least the good ones.  With the power of hindsight, you fault Sarah Knysz for not getting out of the car and running, likely dooming both her and Paul Butterfield.  Whenever you seem to comment on threads, it always seems to be in defense of questionable police procedure, where you encourage more unpolicemanlike behavior. 

I support good policeman, people that take pride in their service to the public, use reason before force, and who question why other police seem to increasingly behave against public service, and cover-up their peers' misdeeds. 

It's hard to tell what you support, but as Aquaman says, you always seem to appear when someone critiques the actions of local law enforcement, and you absolve them with blanket statements while wondering how could we not support fully our police, even when there are serious questions you seem unable to actually discuss with any reasoned facts or opinions.

[AQUAMAN]

Too many of our liberal/touchy-feely/politically correct types, are all too speedy to rush to judgment on their fellow citizens. If you Dare to critique, criticize for positive purposes, question authority, question anything of the status-quo, then of course, you must be a danger and hater of these others. What folly and nonsense! Minds like this are dead from the shoulders up imho. Nothing is further from the truth, at least if you like to learn in life, and experience, not automatically accept bs. Who knows Murph and others of likeness, it may just make you wiser for the effort. And of course, as I see it, this is what appears to put the most fear in their warped minds in life, THE REAL TRUTH!

[XLFD]

Sarah Knysz receives a 2-5 year sentence.

[AQUAMAN]

How many LE vehicles there today? Only 5, 8, 10, 12?  While this young kid, pregnant w/child, may not be totally innocent, I don't believe she's any Bonnie Parker either, which is what I expect some want to portray her as.

[XLFD]

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get over to count light bars and cherrytops, but the police were well represented in the courtroom, as can be seen in pictures from the local and semi-local media.  I've always thought that the case against Sarah was weak and based almost solely on authorities wanting to send a message that should be well understood:  that you don't shoot other people for no good reason.

Because the 'other person' in this case is a MSP trooper acting within his official capacity and the murder was in cold blood, the prosecution says putting the shooter in prison for life is not enough, we also have to throw everyone else that was involved in whatever capacity into prison as well. 

We know what a knave Eric Knysz was, how his own uncle took out a PPO on him.  We also should know Sarah's journals and others that know these folks seem to document a pattern of her being dominated and abused by her hubby before this incident.  In a more enlightened society, she would have been the second victim here, with what we know.

But the meme goes forth that she committed the heinous crimes of being in the same car as someone who shot a trooper, that she didn't warn the trooper (even if the shooting surprised her), that she didn't run when she had the opportunity (if that opportunity ever happened is immaterial), and that she was found with him when he was apprehended (her lack of active assistance to him, her lack of gun and her absence of fleeing when found, notwithstanding).

Or maybe they will tack on that she took off the battery in her cell phone, and 'discussed' where to go, how to disguise themselves, etc., even when these were all dictated to her by Eric Knysz, cop shooter and wife dominator.  Here's a few comments from the COLDNews Facebook site:

[XLFD]

The Mason County Press also had people calling for life sentences and death for her.  Is this what the masses have become?:

[XLFD]

So this is one thing I don't get with "equal justice under law", when I look at the clearly recalcitrant Sarah Knysz crying and explaining her innocence and victimhood in a court filled with police officers that are pulling for the maximum sentencing, which she effectively got.  Why aren't these same officers looking at the dash cam recording showing current Sheriff Officers Matthew Warmuskerken, Oscar Davila, and Derek Wilson tackling a citizen as innocent of any wrongdoing as Trooper Butterfield was, and repeatedly tasering him as he lies helpless on the ground, then listening to their depositions while they admit to tasering that citizen again at the hospital when he peacefully denies treatment of superficial injuries and is handcuffed to a gurney and calling for justice for that citizen and admit there was no reason for detaining him in the first place?   Let's just give them awards instead when they shoot at another citizen, because other officers unwisely escalated a domestic situation into a shootout (Davila and Wilson pictured):

[easymoney]

Wow, where's the fitness standard for Ludington Law Enforcement?

[XLFD]

They ate it.  To be fair to the LPD's athletic standards, these two are Mason County Sheriff deputies, but they are based in Ludington.  Perhaps the stress of not living up to their oaths of office they swore to has weighed heavily on them at some level.  They were thinner in 2009 when they were taking McAdam down.

[wildfire]

This sounds like another falsely accused case,  If her husband is driving she couldnt get out of the car because of his threats, he might of killed another one  who knows,  n why was that cop having them stopped anyways? did he just want to make some brownie points n just pick on whoever he wanted sounds like some loop holes in this case ,