Pro-Hunting Group Calls For Charges Against State Trooper
NORTON (CBS) - The president of pro-hunting group the Sportsmen's Alliance is urging police to file charges against a State Trooper over an accidental shooting on New Year's Eve.
Off-duty Trooper John Bergeron shot Cheryl Blair while she was walking her dogs after mistaking one of the dogs for a deer.
Police have said they won't press charges, but the Sportsmen's Alliance President David Schutz
says in a letter to Norton police that Bergeron should be charged for careless use of a firearm.
Schultz says the accident reflects poorly on other hunters.
"The appearance of impropriety," he writes, "deserved or not, raises more than a few questions. How can we expect law enforcement to protect our lawful rights as responsible hunters or the rights or safety of the non-hunting public when "one of their own" doesn't seem to be accountable for a clear violation of law?"
Schultz says even if Bergeron is not charged, he should lose his hunting license.
Cheryl Blair remains in the hospital with a broken pelvis as a result of that shooting.
She has already undergone several surgeries to combat an infection.
