Trigger-happy, buzz-killing Tempe cop almost zeroes-out man enjoying some unauthorized wine; cop uninjured

Early Monday morning, by William Barret's own admission, he tossed a baseball through a window at House of Trick's, an upscale restaurant in downtown Tempe.  He did it for love: "I threw a baseball through the window so I could get some wine for my girlfriend.”  And if you've seen HoT's wine list, then you know he has good taste, or maybe just got lucky.

Anyhow, apparently Barret was just kind of enjoying himself, drinking wine, smashing some mere material objects that can easily be replaced, relieving some stress, when along comes the Tempe PD to harsh his buzz, something they're really good at.  Well, one thing leads to another and cops say that Barret started throwing bottles at police.

And that's when the officer did the only reasonable thing and opened fire on the vinophile vandal.  Because, after all, clearly it makes sense to respond to a drunk guy lobbing glassware with deadly force!  The cop fired more than once, according to reports, hitting Barret once in the hand.

“They shot me in the hand,” said Barrett. “If I stuck my head out they could have shot my head off.”

Barret was taken into custody and now faces a slew of very serious charges.  According to the police, the officer allegedly hit by the bottle did not require any medical attention, raising even more questions about the seriousness of the encounter.  But yet again, the media's very, very low standard for accepting police violence has essentially glossed over what very well may have been a completely unjustified use of potentially lethal force.