On 11/27/14, 2:56 AM, J Burns wrote:
On 11/26/14, 7:37 PM, trader_4 wrote:
Another good example of an unarmed white guy getting mowed down.
And AFAIK, there was no investigation into who fired the first shot
that started it all. It certainly wasn't the bomber, because as you
say, he didn't have a gun, was already wounded and just hiding in the
boat. I'm not sure if they even gave him an order to surrender and
come out.

How about Mal Evans in Los Angeles in 1976? Three deputies went up to
his bedroom, where he was unarmed, drugged, and probably asleep. Two
fired 6 shots, hitting him 4 times and killing him.

A woman purporting to be his girlfriend had phoned, saying he was
confused from valium and in his room with a 30-30. The cops reported
that he pointed it at them. They told him several times to drop it. He
refused several times, so they shot him. It was an unloaded BB gun.

The newspaper called him the out-of-work former Beatles manager. It
neglected to say that he'd been active in the business since the breakup
and, for the last several months he'd been writing a book about the
Beatles. He was excited because it was scheduled to go to the publisher
in 4 days. It neglected to say he'd been presented with a badge as an
honorary LA sheriff.

John Hoernie said Evans had hired him as his co-author. He neglected to
say he was a Capitol executive; Capital had the American rights to all
the Beatles songs and an ongoing contract with McCartney. Before
joining the Beatles, Evans had been an electrical engineer. He'd
published articles in journals. He could write, and he'd kept diaries
while with the Beatles. It's not credible that he would have hired a
Capitol executive, with little direct knowledge of the Beatles, to
co-author his memoirs.

Hoernie said the girlfriend had asked him to come over because Evans was
despondent and groggy. He helped Evans upstairs to his bedroom. Evans
picked up a BB rifle. Hoernie wrestled him for it, but Evans was
bigger, so Hoernie had the girlfriend call the cops.

Hoernie knew it was a BB gun. Reporting it as a 30-30 strongly suggests
murder by cop. If she'd called Hoernie to take charge, why hadn't he
been the one to call the cops? Why call them about somebody in his room
with a BB gun? Did Evans, 40, even own a BB gun as a British visitor
living in a motel apartment?

It's not credible that Hoernie tried to take the gun from Evans, who was
6'6" and known as a gentle giant. The Beatles had asked him to be their
road manager because he was big enough not to need violence as their
bodyguard and chauffeur. He was always kind, good-natured, fun-loving,
and cooperative. He'd had lots of contact with many friends lately, and
all had found him in good spirits.

He'd sung and played instruments in several Beatles recordings, and he'd
written some of their hits. His diary noted that at one point they'd
promised royalties for one of his songs, but they reneged. They were
making millions, but he had to support his family on miserly wages. He
stayed because he loved the business.

The Beatles and Capitol had untold millions at stake in maintaining
their image as supreme songwriters and musicians. It seems they'd
claimed the work of better songwriters and musicians hired under
nondisclosure agreements. I think Hoernie offered his services so he
could send copies of the manuscript to McCartney. Evans may not have
known he was revealing secrets, but McCartney said publication had to be
stopped by any means. I think Hoernie spiked a beverage with valium,
took him to his room, and had him sit in a chair facing the door. When
he passed out, Hoernie got the BB gun from his car, turned off the
bedroom light, and had the woman sic the cops on him.

Nobody claimed Evans had threatened anyone. He hadn't harmed Hoernie in
the alleged fight. He was alleged to be a groggy man in his room with a
deer rifle. The logical solution would be for an unarmed friend like
Hoernie to call his name from the hallway. If there was no answer, the
apparent danger might be that Evans would shoot at the door in his
confusion. So, without standing in the doorway, you push the door open
and listen. In a minute, it should be reasonable to peek. If there had
been a sign of hostile intent, that sounds like a case for teargas.

Having cops with guns bust in sounds like terrible police work. They
certainly didn't tell him several times to put down the rifle as he
aimed it at them. They would have had a split second to decide to
shoot. If his rifle was pointed at the door, it would already have been
too late. That approach sounds trigger happy.

Around here lately, a man on his way home from work stopped at a
convenience story one afternoon. A state cop pulled in behind him. When
he got out, the cop demanded his license. He said it was on the seat.
The cop told him to get it. He leaned in and got it. When he stood
back up, the imaginative cop started shooting, screaming at the wounded
driver on the pavement with his license in his hand. The dash cam
showed it all. I guess it was cops like that who killed Evans.

Naturally, the LA sheriff wouldn't admit that his cops had been fooled
into participating in a murder. He didn't ask why they'd been told it
was a 30-30. He didn't investigate the origin of the BB gun. The cops
hopped into bed with the murderers.

Uh-oh, I was wrong in saying the cops hopped into bed with the
murderers. They immediately arrested the alleged girlfriend as a
material witness.

Most of the published information seems to come from Hoernle, and it's
inconsistent. It was dangerous to intrude in a bedroom where an
allegedly confused men allegedly had a deer rifle. Who knows what she
told them that made it seem necessary?

Harry Nilsson, immediately bailed her out, took her home, gave her
Valium, and sent his wife with another woman to clean out her 4-bedroom,
4 bath apartment. In the morning, he put her on a plane to
Philadelphia, had Evans cremated, and mailed the ashes to England. That
explains why nobody was at the funeral. Nilsson cremated him before
they knew he was dead.

Like Hoernle, the alleged girlfriend worked in the LA recording
industry. If two women could fetch her belongings, it sounds as if she
owned very little for a woman renting such a big apartment. If she was
giving up her job and her home, skipping out on bail must have been
pretty important. If she flew to Philadelphia the morning after the
shooting, she could have been on a plane to Europe before the
authorities could stop her. If she had made all the statements that led
police to shoot Evans, I guess the authorities couldn't prosecute others
if she skipped the country.

I wonder if it's possible to dig up police statements about the shooting
that stopped the publication of Evans' book.