Flashback: Boy pulled gun on ortho to de-band in 1985
Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 8:57 am
A reader named Claire sent this article to me today, which was originally published in the New York Times in 1985. I thought you guys would find it interesting:
Boy Pulls Gun on Dentist To Get Braces Removed
Published: February 16, 1985
A 15-year-old boy who was determined to be rid of the braces on his teeth drew a gun on an orthodontist and told him he didn't care about going to jail, ''as long as I can have my bands off,'' the doctor said today.
The police eventually disarmed the boy after a struggle in which two shots were fired into the floor, said Jack Patterson, the Public Safety Director of Grosse Pointe Woods.
The orthodontist in a Detroit suburb, who was not the boy's regular dentist, said he stalled by removing a few of the bands and a wire that ringed the boy's teeth. He said he alerted members of his office staff, who called the police. The boy was not identified.
The orthodontist, who spoke on condition that his name not be used, said he first told the youth he would have to get his parents' permission. He said the boy then ''pulled out the .45 and he said, 'Would this make you take my bands off?' I said, 'Yeah, it would.' ''
When four officers arrived, the boy grappled with them. In the struggle his gun fired once, and a detective's gun fired when the boy grabbed it, Mr. Patterson said. Both shots hit the floor.
Boy Pulls Gun on Dentist To Get Braces Removed
Published: February 16, 1985
A 15-year-old boy who was determined to be rid of the braces on his teeth drew a gun on an orthodontist and told him he didn't care about going to jail, ''as long as I can have my bands off,'' the doctor said today.
The police eventually disarmed the boy after a struggle in which two shots were fired into the floor, said Jack Patterson, the Public Safety Director of Grosse Pointe Woods.
The orthodontist in a Detroit suburb, who was not the boy's regular dentist, said he stalled by removing a few of the bands and a wire that ringed the boy's teeth. He said he alerted members of his office staff, who called the police. The boy was not identified.
The orthodontist, who spoke on condition that his name not be used, said he first told the youth he would have to get his parents' permission. He said the boy then ''pulled out the .45 and he said, 'Would this make you take my bands off?' I said, 'Yeah, it would.' ''
When four officers arrived, the boy grappled with them. In the struggle his gun fired once, and a detective's gun fired when the boy grabbed it, Mr. Patterson said. Both shots hit the floor.
