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US Marshals fall as second-story deck collapses while they try to make an arrest
August 20, 2026, 10:33 PM
tatortoddUS Marshals fall as second-story deck collapses while they try to make an arrest
Yikes! There is a video in the link.
quote:
US Marshals fall as second-story deck collapses while they try to make an arrest By SCOTT BAUER AP logo
Wednesday, August 19, 2026 4:47PM
Dramatic body camera footage shows nine members of a U.S. Marshals Service task force falling to the ground as a second-story wooden deck they were standing on suddenly collapses.
The video shows the deck collapsing on July 21 as the officers, several holding firearms, stand in a line just outside an apartment door in Huntsville, Missouri. The officers fall straight down within seconds. None of their weapons discharged.
The officers were there to arrest a 26-year-old man for failing to register as a sex offender. The Randolph County Sheriff's Department said the task force included members of its office, as well as the Moberly Police Department and the North Missouri Drug Task Force. They were serving an arrest warrant in coordination with the U.S. Marshals Service, the sheriff's department said.
Seven officers were treated and released from the hospital for injuries "consistent with a pretty serious fall," including broken bones, Steven Lewis, U.S. marshal for the eastern district of Missouri, told KMIZ television in Columbia, Missouri.
The man officers were seeking was taken into custody later that day, U.S. Marshals Service spokesperson Abigail Meyer said in an email Wednesday.
Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity
DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer. August 20, 2026, 10:41 PM
FenderBenderYou need 9 guys in full battle rattle to arrest a sex offender for not registering, on a deck with one exit?
Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.
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Proverbs 3:31 "Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways."
August 21, 2026, 05:02 AM
McGregorTo my untrained eye it sure doesn't look like that deck was properly supported.
August 21, 2026, 05:52 AM
Bulldog7972quote:
Originally posted by FenderBender:
You need 9 guys in full battle rattle to arrest a sex offender for not registering, on a deck with one exit?
Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.
Better to have the nine and not need them rather than not have them and need them. You never know who and what's behind that door.
August 21, 2026, 06:32 AM
trapper189Definitely needed more guys to hold up the deck.
August 21, 2026, 07:28 AM
gjgalliganquote:
None of their weapons discharged.
No Sig 320s ?
Integrity is doing the right thing, even when nobody is looking.
August 21, 2026, 07:43 AM
chellim1quote:
Originally posted by FenderBender:
You need 9 guys in full battle rattle to arrest a sex offender for not registering, on a deck with one exit?
Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.
I'm starting to see the "Defund the Police" point of view...
The Feds always seem to need overwhelming militarized force for everything.
If only they would use all that power to round up and drive the illegal alien invaders back across the southern border...
"Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible."
-- Justice Janice Rogers Brown
"The United States government is the largest criminal enterprise on earth."
-rduckwor August 21, 2026, 08:14 AM
RogueJSKThis was a preplanned operation, not a spur of the moment situation like getting called out to an active emergency.
Therefore it represents a failure in basic operational planning. The visibly rickety deck hazard should have been identified and accounted for beforehand, just like any other known, identified, or foreseeable issue.
This is Warrant Service 101 stuff.
August 21, 2026, 08:17 AM
AllenInARquote:
Originally posted by McGregor:
To my untrained eye it sure doesn't look like that deck was properly supported.
Glad I'm not the only one thinking that.
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The artist formerly known as AllenInWV
August 21, 2026, 10:15 AM
old rugged crossAbout six to many wanna be GI joes. At least they weren't in their patrol vehicles watching flock video (stalking) their wife's cheating on them
"Practice like you want to play in the game"
August 21, 2026, 10:58 AM
RichardCor ...
August 21, 2026, 11:25 AM
r0guequote:
Originally posted by Bulldog7972:
quote:
Originally posted by FenderBender:
You need 9 guys in full battle rattle to arrest a sex offender for not registering, on a deck with one exit?
Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.
Better to have the nine and not need them rather than not have them and need them. ….
Not in this case!
August 21, 2026, 11:28 AM
FiveFiveSixFanquote:
I'm starting to see the "Defund the Police" point of view...
The Feds always seem to need overwhelming militarized force for everything.
About 15 years ago, a deputy U.S marshal was killed in south St. Louis serving a warrant with a team of around 10-12 if I recall correctly. Two other team members were wounded by gunfire but survived.
All of a sudden, a team that size doesn't seem all that large. Someone has to call for and coordinate the safest arrival routes for multiple EMS units, multiple team members have to move the injured team members to safety and provide medical aid until EMS arrives leaving precious few to engage the gunman and secure potential escape routes which include city streets and alleyways.
As Bulldog7972 said, better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them.
August 21, 2026, 11:38 AM
goingbrokeGeronimo!
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"A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition." - Rudyard Kipling
August 21, 2026, 11:39 AM
slosigSometimes overwhelming force is safer for everyone, including the “client”. The individual who might “try it on” against one officer or two is unlikely to do against nine.
Clearly, for a planned operation, they could have looked a little harder at the structure. From the video, while the posts on the outside weren’t oversized, they seem to have been enough and there was no failure there. What appears to have happened is that the builder counted on the structure of the house to hold up that side of the deck (not entirely unreasonable), but instead of putting up a plate and lag bolting it to the house structure, they either just nailed the plate to the house, or worse yet, didn’t even install a plate, just toenailed the the joists of the deck to the wall of the house. In any case the construction was *much* less than stellar. Perhaps whoever planned the arrest should have consulted with a structural engineer first.
August 21, 2026, 11:41 AM
chellim1quote:
As Bulldog7972 said, better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them.
From an officer safety perspective, I can understand safety in numbers.
From a citizens perspective, I'm uncomfortable with the idea of large, militarized units roaming the streets.
A large show of force sends a message that the government controls the people rather than the people control the government.
"Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible."
-- Justice Janice Rogers Brown
"The United States government is the largest criminal enterprise on earth."
-rduckwor August 21, 2026, 12:11 PM
old rugged crossThose kinds of statements in situations like this are just stupid.
They could watch the guy and arrest him while getting out of his car going to Burger king or
the grocery story.
But that is too easy and they do not get to be nearly as impotant.
and pat each other on the back incessantly.
It is kind of like the public officials lined up on stage to take care credit for doing their job. It is the same sort of mentality that these people have.
Doing your job and going home isn't good enough for these people. They have to show the rest of us the heroism and superiority the rest of us need to see. It is a disease.
"Practice like you want to play in the game"
August 21, 2026, 12:43 PM
Bytesquote:
Originally posted by Bulldog7972:
Better to have the nine and not need them rather than not have them and need them. You never know who and what's behind that door.
I am in 100% agreement with you on this one!
August 21, 2026, 12:50 PM
220-9erquote:
Originally posted by McGregor:
To my untrained eye it sure doesn't look like that deck was properly supported.
The attachment to the building looks like the problem.
The posts on the outside held and the building itself was likely plenty strong, but for some reason the connection to that building wasn't up to the job.
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Avoid buying ChiCom/CCP products whenever possible.
August 21, 2026, 01:12 PM
trapper189quote:
Originally posted by chellim1:
The Feds always seem to need overwhelming militarized force for everything.
In reading the article, it seems the nine guys were locals from three different agencies.
I don’t understand the armchair quarterbacking about the number of guys when we don’t have any clue about the guy they were arresting except that he is a sex offender.