He's as well-known in Wichita, Kansas today as the fabled Wyatt Earp was 140 years ago. But his notoriety comes more from his confrontations with the police than from his encounters with the bad guys.
As a process server in Wichita, Emery Goad is in heavy demand-by landlords to evict nonpaying tenants, and by banks and other corporations who want him to enforce their court-ordered judgments. He's in demand not only because he's faster than the sheriff but because his clients know he is a no-nonsense kind of guy who gets the job done.
Kansas law is unique in that it's the only state where private individuals are appointed to conduct evictions and serve writs of execution, jobs traditionally done by sheriffs and constables. Upon serving a writ of execution, Goad is authorized to seize and take possession of a judgment debtor's personal property.
While evicting people from their homes can create problems-primarily from tenants who call 911 and get the police involved-that's relatively minor to the reception Goad sometimes encounters when he appears at a judgment debtor's home to seize the debtor's property.
It was a sunny Saturday morning, May 7, 2005, when Goad and his two assistants arrived at the home of a 76-year-old judgment debtor to seize a 1951 Rolls Royce .The man, a car dealer whose first felony charge was in 1957 for Interstate Transportation of Stolen Cars, had for years been a frequent subject of seizures. In prior seizures Goad had taken the man's Rolex watch, diamond ring, a gold chain, all of which he sold at public auction to satisfy unpaid judgments. He also recovered $4,000 in cash. He had even seized this same Rolls Royce on a prior occasion but the man paid the judgment and got it back. One of the judgments he was given to enforce against this debtor was a $1 million judgment from the Attorney General of Texas.
Goad is very careful in carrying out evictions or seizures. He conducts himself in a commanding yet professional manner. He never carries a gun but his men who accompany him do.
Goad usually served papers on this debtor at his office, but this time it was his home because they spotted the Rolls Royce in the garage with the door up. After having his men park a vehicle up behind the Rolls so the garage door could not come down, the man eventually came out after being awakened by Goad's persistent knocking. Goad explained he was conducting a special court execution and would use force as necessary to take possession of the vehicle. The man told Goad he "would never take the (expletive deleted) car." They talked for a few minutes and the man said: "I'm going to go in the house and get my glasses."
Goad walked back to the rear of his van-about 50-60 feet from the garage door-and was on his cell phone calling the wrecker to come and tow the Rolls. He didn't see the man come out of the house (through the garage) but heard him call his name. He looked up just as the man said "Emery, I never thought it would end this way." Goad saw the man's arm come up with a pistol and he instinctively wheeled to his left to run the two steps to take cover behind his van. But the first shot rang out and struck him in the upper back. Still on his feet, Goad yelled for one of his men to call 911. There were a total of four calls to 911, one of which came from the shooter whose exclamatory confession was caught on tape: "I just killed Emery Goad!"
Goad staggered into the street, sat down and laid back to wait for the ambulance. He never lost consciousness, but people at the scene thought he was a goner because they could see blood spurting from both his chest and back.
Goad had been shot with a .357 caliber pistol. The bullet entered his upper back and navigated with miraculous precision through his body, not striking any part of his rib cage, and exiting out his left nipple. The shock of the bullet exploded his spleen and took out 25% of his stomach and part of his colon. The bullet narrowly missed his heart but left holes in his diaphragm on each side of his lungs. He spent 28 days in the hospital, underwent three surgeries, 164 lung treatments, 10 CT scans and incurred a hospital bill of about $225,000. This is the point when you realize that having a good medical insurance policy is at the top of your list of necessities.
Two police officers rode in the ambulance with Goad to the hospital. After learning at the hospital that his wounds weren't fatal, one of the officers turned to his partner and commented: "Is there a way to get this guy to Quick Trip to buy some lottery tickets? (Quick Trip is the Kansas version of the 7-11 store.)
Goad is now back to work and walking 3 miles a day to regain his muscular strength. He's still conducting evictions-sometimes 7 or 8 in a single day-and seizing property to satisfy judgments. He still doesn't carry a gun, but now he does wear a safety vest.
The 59-year-old Goad, a non-smoker who constantly chomps Churchill-size cigars, has an interesting history. Born and raised in Kansas, he studied journalism at the University of Kansas and worked a couple of years as a reporter for the Wichita Evening Eagle and Beacon before being selected in 1971 by Vern Miller, the newly elected Attorney General of Kansas, as one of his investigators. He worked for Miller until the AG's office changed hands in 1975.
In newspaper stories about Emery Goad, Miller is quoted as saying he recognized Goad's abilities early on. "I'm going to tell ya, he was the tops. In my opinion, he's brilliant. He's the kind of fellow who's not afraid of anything and won't quit."
But there's not much love lost between Goad and the Wichita Police Dept. Numerous times he's been arrested while conducting evictions because the tenant calls 911 and the responding officer does not understand that he's acting as an officer of the court. The judges dismiss most of the cases filed against him, but it has cost him thousands of dollars over the years to wage what he calls a "never-ending battle" with the police.
A favorite quote of Goad's pretty much sums it up: "If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space."
Kansas law is unique in that it's the only state where private individuals are appointed to conduct evictions and serve writs of execution, jobs traditionally done by sheriffs and constables. Upon serving a writ of execution, Goad is authorized to seize and take possession of a judgment debtor's personal property.
The 59-year-old Goad, a non-smoker who constantly chomps Churchill-size cigars, has an interesting history. Born and raised in Kansas, he studied journalism at the University of Kansas and worked a couple of years as a reporter for the Wichita Evening Eagle and Beacon before being selected in 1971 by Vern Miller, the newly elected Attorney General of Kansas, as one of his investigators. He worked for Miller until the AG's office changed hands in 1975.