Zephyrhills officer's restraint commended in BB gun incident

The police chief says the officer didn't know if the gun that was pointed in his direction Sunday was real or not. The man says authorities are making too much out of it.

By CARY DAVIS

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 16, 2000

ZEPHYRHILLS -- Arthur Ripoll said he doesn't understand why authorities gave him such a hard time for pointing a loaded BB gun in the direction of an off-duty Zephyrhills police officer Sunday night.

"I didn't do nothing wrong," Ripoll, 22, said Monday. "I'm angry about this."

Zephyrhills police Chief Robert Howell, however, said Ripoll was fortunate Officer Mike Jones didn't open fire.

"With all the shootings and assaults of police officers these days, that guy is lucky he didn't get shot," Howell said. "Mike showed some very good restraint."

According to Pasco County Sheriff's Office reports, Jones was on his way to work about 11 p.m. when he saw Ripoll pointing a pistol at a man and a woman outside Pat's Food Mart at the corner of Wire and Otis Allen roads.

As Jones called dispatchers to report what he thought was an armed robbery in progress, he noticed that Ripoll had lowered the gun and was talking to the man and woman.

Then, without warning, Ripoll assumed a two-handed shooting stance and aimed the gun at the officer's pickup truck, reports said.

Jones, dressed in his police uniform, pulled into the parking lot, got out of his truck with his service revolver drawn and ordered Ripoll to drop the gun.

But Ripoll, of 38522 Otis Allen Road, ignored the officer's demands, saying it was only a BB gun. For at least 20 seconds, reports said, Ripoll continued to point the gun in Jones' direction, though not directly at him.

Jones, who could not be reached for comment Monday, told deputies he wasn't sure what kind of gun it was until Ripoll finally threw it on the ground, and he had a chance to inspect it. Deputies said the shiny black pistol resembled a semiautomatic handgun.

"It's pretty hard to tell the difference sometimes between guns, especially when it's pointed at you," Howell said.

Ripoll was detained briefly for questioning and released. Ripoll said he was carrying the BB gun for protection.

Deputies referred the case to the State Attorney's Office for possible prosecution.

Ripoll told the Times he never directed the gun at Jones.

"If I had, he would have had to press charges," Ripoll said.

Earlier this year, Ripoll was arrested on charges that he engaged in lewd and lascivious activity with a 13-year-old girl. According to the Sheriff's Office, Ripoll and a 22-year-old woman participated in a sex act with the girl in 1997. Ripoll, reports said, also had sex individually with the girl. The case is still pending, and Ripoll has been on supervised release since his February arrest, Pasco County court records show. It was not clear whether the incident Sunday night violated the terms of his release.

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