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Dad Pulls Gun Because Son Sat Bench

1K views 12 replies 3 participants last post by  Malum Prohibitum 
#1 ·
Police: Dad Pulls Gun Because Son Sat Bench

POSTED: 12:29 am EDT October 24, 2006
UPDATED: 6:44 am EDT October 24, 2006

PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia police said a father pulled out a .357 Magnum pistol on a youth football coach because his son wasn't getting enough playing time.

A fight ensued between the man and a referee, and both are now facing charges.

Wayne Derkotch, 46, is accused of pulling the gun Sunday during a game between the Oxford Circle Raiders and the Burholme Outlaws -- 5- and 6- year-olds -- in Northeast Philadelphia. No shots were fired.

Derkotch was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangerment. He did not immediately return a telephone message left at his home Monday.

The referee, Shawn Henwood, said he said he was shocked to see a parent had brought a .357 Magnum with him.

"Everyone started screaming, 'Gun! Gun!' I immediately turned the boys and ran them to the opposite side of the field because the issue happened over this way," Henwood said.

He wasn't the only one who was surprised.

"Why would you take a gun to where a bunch of young kids are ... for no reason," asked Wayne Kohler, one of Derkotch's neighbors.

Derkotch didn't answer that question Monday night or the knock on the door of his home.

The coach involved, whose own son plays for the Outlaws, was willing to talk, but didn't offer much detail other than to say overly enthusiastic parents can be a problem.

"We get parents like that all the time ... just an unfortunate situation," said Coach Jermaine Wilson.

The referee was also arrested on assault charges after allegedly throwing a punch at a man. But police said it's unclear if that fight was related to the first altercation. Henwood was also arrested on simple assault charges.

Henwood apparently was arrested after a fight with Derkotch's brother. Henwood told Philadelphia TV station WCAU that he was upset because he believed he was struck first.
 
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#2 ·
I dont think what the dad did was right, however, the following statement bothers me a little.

""Why would you take a gun to where a bunch of young kids are ... for no reason," asked Wayne Kohler, one of Derkotch's neighbors."

Lets see a bunch of kids in one area, is like sheep for a wolf.
 
#3 ·
Sharky said:
The referee, Shawn Henwood, said he said he was shocked to see a parent had brought a .357 Magnum with him.
:roll:

Um, how about, "I was shocked to see that a parent threatened somebody with a gun over a minor dispute."

Oh, no. The problem is that a parent brought a gun. Obviously, Sharky, people like you are the problem, in a world where actually threatening somebody isn't really enough to be remarkable but bringing a gun is remarkable.
 
#4 ·
MP-


" Oh, no. The problem is that a parent brought a gun. Obviously, Sharky, people like you are the problem, in a world where actually threatening somebody isn't really enough to be remarkable but bringing a gun is remarkable."

I believe either I stated my purpose wrong, which happens, or you took it the wrong way!

I wasnt trying to imply anything other than people dont realize bad things happen everywhere. I read the article as people couldnt believe that somebody took the approach to protecting his family. That in no way had anything to do with his actions which were completely wrong! This guy obviously lost control.

Im not sure why you come after me like that Malum. I dont have a problem! Perhaps they way I said it in my earlier post came out wrong.
 
#6 ·
Sharky,
MP wasn't diggin on you, he just forgot to turn off his sarcasm button. What I believe he was trying to do is show that this guy was putting the blame in the wrong place (bringing a gun to a kids game) rather than where it really belongs (poor judgment on the dad for drawing in an argument).
 
#7 ·
:D

I was being sarcastic!

Obviously, according to the person that was "shocked to see a parent had brought a gun" rather than shocked that he was threatening to murder someone (!) people like you (and me :D ) who carry guns are the problem, not people who commit acts of violence.


I re-read my email, and it seems obvious. I was not "coming after you." :(
 
#9 ·
My apologies, sometimes his sacrasm is hard to figure out. I am sure in person like all conversations, the sarcasm is more obvious.

Thanks for pointing that angle out to me. Makes sense. To bad my choice of words didnt bring that point out as I was kind of trying to say what you just did.

MP-my apologies, and yeah I'm tawkin to you!
 
#12 ·
Sharky said:
I heard on another forum, this guy had a CCW for like 8 years or something.
One news source is reporting the referee said the assailant told him he had a license.

Why is the referee being charged?

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/15832557.htm

Gun at pee-wee football: Sad lesson

Wayne Derkotch is charged with brandishing a .357 Magnum in a fight with a coach over his son's playing time. A referee also was arrested for his role in the incident.

By Natalie Pompilio
Inquirer Staff Writer

A clear Sunday morning in Burholme Park. Two teams of eager 5- and 6-year-olds gathered around learning to play football.

Instead, they received a lesson in life's ugliness: a coach and father fighting over a child's playing time, an angry loser wielding a .357 Magnum at a pee-wee football game.

With the weapon came shouts of "Gun! Gun! Gun!" - and a game dissolved into chaos.

Referee Shawn Henwood shouted for the players to "Come with me!" and they did, following him from the 50-yard line to the far side of the field, then crouching. Screaming mothers rushed toward them. On the sidelines, two men had been fighting, and one had pulled out the loaded handgun.

"Football pads don't stop bullets. They're not made for it," said Henwood, 39. "I think it's disgusting. The whole confrontation. The coach beating up a parent? The parent pulling a gun?"

The blowup between adults at the children's game occurred around 10:30 a.m. at the park in the 7300 block of Central Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia. Henwood and police gave the following version of events:

Parent Wayne Derkotch, 40, began arguing with the coach of the Northeast Outlaws because he felt his son wasn't getting enough playing time. The argument escalated into a physical fight. Derkotch pulled a .357 Magnum revolver from his waistband, an action witnessed by others at the game.

As parents scrambled to protect their children and other spectators dialed 911, Derkotch walked to his black pickup truck, put the gun inside, and then climbed into the cab as if to leave.

Seeing this, Henwood ran in front of the truck, blocking its exit, and began writing its license plate number in his game book. A man Henwood identified as Derkotch's brother slapped it out of his hand. Henwood said that he refused to let the truck pass and that Derkotch's brother did not like that.

"He came at my throat, and I struck him," Henwood said. "It was so unreal. I guess I snapped."

By then, police had arrived. They arrested Derkotch, of the 1100 block of East Wilt Street, and Henwood, of the 7600 block of Brous Street. Derkotch was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, and recklessly endangering another person. He was released on $10,000 bail. Henwood was charged with simple assault and released yesterday morning on his own recognizance.

Henwood said he spoke to Derkotch while both were in custody. Derkotch, he said, apologized for the incident.

"I said, 'You don't have to apologize to me. I didn't have kids on the field,' " Henwood said.

As Derkotch told Henwood, Derkotch had been arguing with the coach when the coach told him to take it to the side so they could "settle this like men." Both knew that meant a fight.

When the coach gained the advantage in the fight, Derkotch pulled his gun. He had had a license to carry a concealed weapon for eight years, he told Henwood.

"He should've put it back in the truck," Henwood said. "That's how men do it. That's how they used to do it."

Derkotch could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Parents behaving badly at children's sporting events is not new: On its Web site, the National Youth Sports Safety Foundation notes that incidents of parental rage are well-documented and increasing. They include fights as well as taunting, yelling, and using profane language or gestures.

In March 2005, a Connecticut man was arrested after striking his daughter's softball coach in the head with an aluminum bat. He pleaded no contest last month and received a sentence that did not include prison time, which outraged some parents and coaches.

Perhaps the most infamous incident occurred after a Massachusetts youth hockey game in 2000, when two fathers began arguing about rough play on the ice. One man died and the other was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to six to 10 years in prison.

And it's not just an American problem. In March, a Canadian man was sentenced to eight years in prison for drugging his children's tennis rivals, resulting in the death of one of them.

This summer, Australian media reported at least three instances where parents came to blows with other parents or officials at children's sporting events. In another case, the father of one soccer player was threatened with a lifetime ban after threatening one of his son's 11-year-old opponents.
 
#13 ·
Why wasn't the coach charged?

What did the referee (Henwood) do wrong? :? Maybe they thought his self defense against the man helping a felon to escape by attacking him was too much?

In most states, slapping something out of somebody's hand is battery!

I wonder what would happen if I did not like a police officer writing a ticket, so I just walked up and slapped the ticket book out of his hand and perhaps went for his throat. If the officer dared to lay a hand on me, could he be arrested and charged?

That is not just sarcasm, it is a good closing argument for the referee's trial! What a joke to have arrested him!

(Assuming, of course, the accuracy of the news report).
 
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