June 28, 2008, was a defining moment in my life. It was the day I shot and killed a man in the defense of my life and the lives of others.I'm glad he shared his story. But if anyone is ever in a similar situation, I'd advise against it.
[Via Mike H]
Monday, August 18, 2008
In Good Hands
[Via Mike H]
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6 comments:
David says,
"I'm glad he shared his story. But if anyone is ever in a similar situation, I'd advise against it."
Could you explain your statement? Would you not come to the aid of these people? Help me understand.
I believe he was advising against talking about it. The same advice an attorney would give you to limit your exposure to all sorts of ills that could be visited upon one's self if the less than honorable can just twist the words enough.
Yes, SA has it exactly right. I'm glad this man shared his story, but he is exposing himself to further legal potential by talking so openly about it.
In terms of coming to aid of someone else, that depends. I cannot legally possess the means to defend myself in public. Do I want to face criminal charges because someone else did not take responsibility for their own defense?
In truth, I have ignored my own reservations about that in the past--but it was long ago, I was unarmed, and was able to defuse things. I was very fortunate.
So would I intervene armed? I guess that would depend on the circumstances, including would I be endangering my family, could I get away, do the people I'm saving have a "Million Moms" bumper sticker, etc.
Has he explained why he didn't shoot to kill? He mentioned that he has received criticism for shooting in the leg but doesn't explain why he didn't put a round in the guy's chest.
I was wondering about that myself, but my speculation is that he might very well have been aiming at the guy's center of body mass but hit the thigh. It could happen, if panic got the better of him and he fired prematurely as he was raising his pistol up to take aim. I'd like to believe it was a shot placement error and not a deliberate (but flawed) tactical decision. I suspect the armed citizen in question to this day could not say for sure himself why the first shot landed where it did for sure.
Anyway, he's very lucky the 2nd pointblank shot incapacitated his attacker. Sounds like he fired the first shot then paused to look and gauge the effect, which was also a tactical mistake. The 2nd shot should've followed the first in quick succession, followed by the next and so forth until the threat was stopped. Still, I'm glad the good guy prevailed. David's right, too, though...this is way too soon to be talking about this publicly. But it serves as a lesson to all of us about the reality of concealed carry and what we must train for.
When Douglas Need neared my fiance's car window, I would have exited the vehicle, drawn and yelled "Police! Freeze!" as my training says. The first word is a summons for the authorities, not identifying myself as an officer, which I am not, but if Mr. Need mistook it as such, that would be his problem. The second word is a very serious command.
Then we'd see what he did next.
In training, I took a round in the neck by waiting for a "street person" to reach the driver's door of our "patrol car" to see what he wanted. The instructor was all ready for our counterattack, but we were led to believe that he might just want some spare change so we were too slow and died.
I don't recommend it, even with paintball.
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