# Cop killer called himself a 'chaotic patriot'



## Cloud Cover (20 Feb 2007)

Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.

A sad story, we only get a piece of it here, but I wonder if all the warning signs of a lunatic were already known. Perhaps this is more justification for the 2 man car.




Cop killer called himself a 'chaotic patriot'
Story Highlight's Death penalty hearing begins Tuesday for Steven Bixby
• Bixby, 39, convicted of gunning down two cops in a property-rights dispute
• Trial is being watched closely by property rights advocates

ABBEVILLE, South Carolina (AP) -- Steven Bixby considers himself a patriot and a prophet with no regrets about gunning down two law officers at his parents' home, according to hundreds of pages of letters written after his arrest.

The letters, each signed "chaotic patriot Steve," also reveal his personal demons and ironclad beliefs, and in one he questions his own sanity.

The 39-year-old man was convicted Sunday, after a five-day trial, of murdering the two officers. On Tuesday, the penalty phase of his trial begins; the same jury that convicted him has a choice of sentencing him to death or to life without chance of parole.

His family was upset because the state wanted to take about 20 feet of land near their home to widen a highway. Witnesses said Bixby and his father, who is awaiting trial on murder charges, had threatened to gun down any officer who set foot on their land.

During deliberations that lasted less than 2-1/2 hours, jurors asked to rehear some of the letters to a former girlfriend in which Bixby described how he took one wounded officer's gun, handcuffed the dying man, dragged him inside the house and read him Miranda rights.

"I started to cry but I got refocused on the job," he wrote to former girlfriend Alane Taylor. "If we had wanted to, that whole day would have been an entire bloodbath."

The officer, Abbeville County sheriff's Sgt. Danny Wilson, was dragged into the house after he was gunned down while standing on the front porch, authorities said.

State Constable Donnie Ouzts was sent to check on Wilson and was shot when he stepped out of his patrol car. Ouzts died on the way to a hospital.

Police surrounded the house for the rest of the day in a standoff with Bixby and his father that didn't end until after hundreds of rounds were fired.

Steven Bixby and his father, Arthur, who was wounded, were charged with murder.

Public defender Charles Grose said Bixby composed more than 1,500 pages worth of letters to Taylor in the first year after his arrest that day in 2003. In them, Bixby is steadfast in his belief that the shootings were justified, calling them "right and correct in God's eyes."

"We the people are a majority," Bixby wrote. "The laws were made to protect us from the police."

On the stand for the defense Saturday, Bixby's mother agreed. "He has the right to protect his property by any means necessary," testified Rita Bixby, 74.

Although she wasn't home during the gun battle, she was charged as an accessory because authorities say she knew her husband and son planned to harm police officers.

The 20 feet of land the family refused to give up has since been used to expand a highway that runs near the now-vacant home.

The letters include ramblings about the significance of some numbers, including mathematical equations involving his birth date, age and length of jail time.

He says God "wants all the evil to be exposed" and mentions a premonition of the shootout: "I saw this in a dream about a month before it happened."

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


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## MPIKE (20 Feb 2007)

Yes a tragic story..

I don't know why we would need further justification for a 2 man car?  We have plenty of our own examples as well and not just the tragic but countless daily encounters that just happened to work out awkwardly well.

Having now worked two different departments systems,  I truly feel the 2 man scenario is much more effective. Though the long debate over the two systems continues.  Is it as simple as convincing some in the front line that it works?. For some, mandatory manpower minimums vs time off has been too constricting to their lifestyles..  For the management side playing the Shell game, one man cars still provide their guaranteed coverage of zones.   Unfortunately, until the following stops such as the front line putting the personal gains of a one man car in front of the small inconvenience of mandatory minimum staffing and leadership playing to politicians, we will continue to read more about these cases.

Keep Safe!


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## FastEddy (21 Feb 2007)

PIKER said:
			
		

> Yes a tragic story..
> 
> I don't know why we would need further justification for a 2 man car?  We have plenty of our own examples as well and not just the tragic but countless daily encounters that just happened to work out awkwardly well.
> 
> ...




Yes indeed, a Partner does provide a number of benefits and safety in a great number of instances. But it can just as well be said, that in instances of this Nature you would be providing more targets.

In the ABBEVILLE incident, it seems apparent that even if two or more Officers had approached the residence, they would have been fired on, resulting in a greater loss of life. Definitely before they could seek cover. It is apparent that even the Tactical Team ran into a hail of fire. And they were prepared and had cover.

The key here, would be what Intel the Authorities had on the BIXBY's, if any, and the Command decision to dis patch lone Officers.

I personally agree that I have felt much safer and in control in two man cars than on my own.

May those Officers RIP who have now joined the Long List of Men and Women who have made the ultimate sacrifice Serving and Protecting.

God Bless.


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## zipperhead_cop (22 Feb 2007)

Useless redneck scum.  I hope they have the death penalty there.   :akimbo:


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## JesseWZ (22 Feb 2007)

I'm going to have to agree with Zipperhead.


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## Yrys (23 Feb 2007)

the sentence :

http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/02/22/sc.standoff.ap/index.html

 Jury takes just an hour to return death verdict



> BBEVILLE, South Carolina (AP) -- A man convicted of gunning down two law enforcement officers during a dispute about his family's land was sentenced to death Wednesday a little more than an hour after jurors began deliberating.
> 
> Steven Bixby, 39, showed no reaction as he was condemned for the murders of sheriff's Sgt. Danny Wilson and State Constable Donnie Ouzts.
> 
> ...


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## Mike Baker (23 Feb 2007)

Good riddance.


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## FastEddy (23 Feb 2007)

Michael Baker said:
			
		

> Good riddance.




"YOU SAID IT !", appeal what F...ing appeal, strap EM in and slowly increase the voltage so they fry nice and slow and painfully.

Too Harsh, if they can Murder in cold blood two LEO's over 20 feet of inconsequential land, just think what they could do to a innocent family that pissed them off.


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