For example, I’m going to run to the grocery store, then the home center store, and then stop for a coffee; some average errands one might do on a weekend or after work. What is the threat to me on such a day; organized and heavily armed terrorists, or some drug whacked 15 to 30 year old armed with a knife or gun?
I dunno. Bad things happen to average people quite regularly.
Bearing in mind that almost all the “armed citizen” stories in the NRA magazines or elsewhere are resolved with one or two shots fired by people who have little or no training, from small caliber handguns or shotguns, do I really need to walk out my front doors with a batman belt as though I’m running my errands in downtown Kandahar?
Actually, it is only in a comparative few incidents that people have to fire their guns in self defense. So in reality, you probably don't need to burden yourself with all the extra weight of ammo. Wait. Most folks won't need to even draw a gun so why bother with all the weight of carrying a gun?
Of course, then there are those incidents where people do have to shoot. You have to wonder what folks like Mark Wilson would think about preparedness and NRA stories. After all, he lived in a sleepy little town of Tyler, above the quaint square.
The needs of a police officer and the needs of the average citizen are completely different. The police officer must be prepared for offensive action as well as defensive, not only for himself but for the public at large. Yet I often read forum posts where people make equipment suggestions to people who are not police officers as though they were.
The needs of the police are definitely different. I know that if I am in a gunfight or crisis of any matter, I am not going to have the benefit of a ballistic vest on. I am not going to be able to radio in "officer needs assistance" or "officer down" and have every cop for miles converge on my location at top speed. Nope. At best that I can hope for is that I will be able to manipulate my cell phone, dial 911, explain my situation to a 911 operator who will prioritize my call relative to other calls, figure out what officer(s) to notify, and somewhere between 30 seconds and 15 minutes direct an officer or officer to my location. It will undoubtedly take the officer somewhere between 3 and 20 minutes to make it to my location after receiving the call. Given that I am not a fellow officer, I can expect responders to come at a prudent speed and only those that are dispatched.
If you lived in Dallas, you can be happy to know that priority 1 call response times are down drastically to 8 minutes or less 72% of the time.
http://www.dallascityhall.com/counc...s0908/Dallas_Police_FY08-09_Budget_090308.pdf
If you are in Boston, the best response time you can hope for is 4 minutes.
http://www.cityofboston.gov/POLICE/a1.asp
So I can't count on the police coming to my rescue in a timely fashion. Logistically, it just isn't going to happen regardless of their best intentions. The the police and I do have different jobs. I have to be ready to take care of things NOW. The police will along to ask me about it later.
) Before I knew it, I had used it three or four times. Now I always keep a light in my pocket.
