"At that time I was not left with any reasonable alternative but to fire at Mr. Fudd, which I did."
By Glen Simmons Staves: Sendup.Com Senior International Correspondent
Telling his side of the Jan. 3rd fatal shooting of Elmer J. Fudd for the first time publicly, National Park Law Enforcement Officer, James Ray described the rabbit hunter as an angry-looking man, with his jaw clenched, showing signs Ray thought might have indicated an oncoming attack based on his department training.
Ray gave commands for Fudd to “drop the birdgun” — one with a sixteen inch, side-by-side barrel, when Fudd passed near his mounted unit. Ray said that the second time the hunter, who he thought was an absinthe addict, turned toward him, he noticed Fudd’s gun quickly raise to his shoulder and said the man showed signs that he was searching for something to shoot.
“And at that point, I don’t think there was much I could have done to stop him from shooting at something, or someone,” Ray told an inquest jury. “I was not left without any reasonable alternative but to fire at Mr. Fudd, which I did.”
During much of Ray’s testimony Tuesday, done late on the second day of the shooting inquest, he looked toward the six jurors and two alternates — a group with six men and two women.
Ray, who started on patrol in early 2009, said he hadn’t met Fudd before, but had many contacts with people and animals in the forest he thought were threatening. Ray testified he thought the incident would end with a conversation, but “it became pretty serious pretty fast.”
