Don’t Text at the Movies, The Life You Lose May Be Your Own!

by Mike Roche

Chad Oulson, 43 and his wife Nicole, 33, of Land O’ Lakes, Florida decided to sneak away for an afternoon matinee screening of the movie Lone Survivor. Chad, who had a day off from his job as a finance manager, joined his wife, Nicole, who played hooky from her job at USAA to enjoy the movie with her husband. Their three-year-old daughter was in pre-school.

Curtis Reeves, 71, a retired police captain, and his wife traveled from their retirement home to the same movie theater in Wesley Chapel, Florida, to watch Lone Survivor. The two couples sat one row apart. Before the movie started, one moviegoer was dead, one wounded, and a third escorted out of the theater in handcuffs and charged with murder.

Theatergoers complain of the frustration of inconsiderate patrons distracting them at the movies. How many times during a riveting scene have we been offended by the jabbering of an inconsiderate couple, or the intrusion of the bright lights emitted from a texting cell phone, or — even worse — when someone answers their cell phone in the middle of a movie. Many years ago, movie theaters assigned ushers to police the conduct of their patrons. Violators guilty of inappropriate conduct were illuminated by the beam of a flashlight, and a stern warning was bellowed by an acne-faced usher. Repeat offenders were not tolerated and were quickly shown the door.

On Monday, January 14, 2014, while waiting for the movie to start, Chad Oulson broke out his cell phone and began texting his three-year-old daughter who was in preschool. The three year old is destined for the gifted and talented program (GATE) and one has to wonder how many preschools allow their three-year-old pupils to engage in texting with mom and dad. Sitting nearby, Curtis Reeves reportedly became annoyed at the texting and requested the offender to stop. Oulson ignored repeated requests and continued his texting activity, apparently with his three-year-old daughter. Reeves, enraged by this insolence marched out to the lobby to alert management of this violation of the moviegoer’s code of acceptable conduct.

Reeves returned to his seat. It is unclear whether the theater’s management actually intended to intervene. Oulson reportedly confronted Reeves as to his tattling and then the simmering agitation escalated. A Pascoe County Sheriff’s report indicates that Oulson allegedly threw popcorn at the elderly Reeves, and according to Reeves, Oulson struck him in the face with an unknown object. Reeves then withdrew his .380 caliber pistol and aimed it at Oulson. Nicole Oulson perceived the danger and reached toward the gun. Reeves pulled the trigger and the bullet traveled through Nicole’s hand and into her husband’s chest. Chad Oulson collapsed and died on the floor despite the heroic actions of two nurses from the audience. Nicole Oulson was taken to the hospital where she was treated and released.

Curtis Reeves sat and placed the weapon in his lap. He was taken into custody by an off-duty Sumter County Sheriff’s deputy. Reeves spent 20 years as a police officer and retired at the rank of captain. He will now no doubt spend the rest of his life retired behind bars in a jail cell. Unlike the title of the movie, there are no winners, or real survivors in this tragic story – only losers. Either one of couples could have de-escalated the situation by simply moving a few rows away. Oulsen could have put his phone away or walked out to the lobby to continue his texting.

From retired Captain Reeves’ standpoint, this was hardly the time to pull a gun. No one’s life was in danger. Instead, pride overruled common sense, two wives will never again share their bed with their husbands, and a gifted three-year-old has lost her daddy.

Please click here to view Mike Roche’s other excellent posts:

Family Annihilator Darin Campbell Murders His Family and Torches Lavish Tampa Mansion

Alex Hribal Was Desperate and Said He Wanted Someone to Kill Him

Columbia Mall Shooter Darion Aguilar Followed the Model of Notorious Mass Murderers

Peter Lanza Speaks: The Lethal and Unvarnished Truth about His Son Adam

FHP Officer Jimmy Fulford Fields Pipe Bomb Intended for Young Mother with His Bare Hands and Dies Instantly

Fire Department and California Highway Patrol Go 9 Rounds: Win, Lose or Draw?

The Boston Bombers: A Tale of Two Troubled Brothers

Don’t Text at the Movies, The Life You Lose May Be Your Own!

Killers and the Catcher in the Rye

Mike Roche has over three decades of law enforcement experience. He began his career with the Little Rock Police Department, and spent twenty-two years with the U.S. Secret Service. The last fifteen years of his career were focused on conducting behavioral threat assessments of those threatening to engage in targeted violence. He is the author of three novels and two nonfiction works on mass murder and also rapport building. Retired, Mike is currently a security consultant at Protective Threat LLC, and an adjunct instructor at Saint Leo University. He resides in Florida with his family.