Dead Men Eating

I've come across a curious blog called Dead Men Eating which is, as you'd expect, a chronology of executions and what the soon to be decedent had for his last meal. Nothing hugely interesting there.

What hit me between the eyes was this story, and I reprint it here with some emphasis.

INDIANA LAST MEALMICHAEL LAMBERT

June 15, 2007

Lambert had no final request.

Lambert, 36, was executed for shooting a police officer.

Muncie police officers were dispatched to a traffic accident and observed an abandoned utility truck. The truck was towed and Lambert was found nearby crawling under a vehicle. Lambert had spent most of the night getting drunk and after telling officers he was trying to sleep, was arrested for public intoxication.

He was patted down and placed into the back of a police car driven by an officer for transport to jail. A few minutes later, the police vehicle was observed sliding off the road into a ditch.

Lambert was still handcuffed in the backseat and the officer had been shot 5 times in the back of the head and neck.

A .25 handgun was found laying on the floorboard. It was later learned that Lambert had stolen the .25 pistol from his employer. The officer died 11 days later.

Vehicle stops are damned dangerous. But in this case, a search of one of the town drunks not carefully enough done cost the Muncie officer his life.

It's dangerous enough out there without getting casual about the job.