No. Idaho Armed Citizen Saves Woman Being Attacked.

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Leanwolf

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Here is a story of a man in North Idaho, using his CCW .45 ACP to stop a vicious thug who was holding a knife to a woman's throat, in a parking lot. The good guys won one, it appears.

http://cdapress.com/news/local_news/article_21155766-d172-5cf3-8425-f047f2692a66.html

At least in Idaho, self defense and defense of others whose lives are being threatened by criminals, is still a Right, and the means to do so have not been infringed, as they have in many States.

L.W.
 
Good story. This really steams me, though:

Sgt. Christie Wood, Coeur d'Alene police spokeswoman, said while Patterson's actions were certainly brave and appreciated, police face a fine line when it comes to citizens trying to stop a crime.

How nice of Sergeant Wood to "appreciate" that Patterson likely saved the woman's life.

One thing I've noticed (and like) about the part of the south to which we've moved is that police officials don't make stupid comments like that.
 
The officer who made those comments actually commented below the news article to clarify her comments. Interesting, since the other comments were giving her a pretty tough time! I guess Coeur d'Alene is a pretty tight-knit bunch.

ChristyWood:

Since Tim follows this story I think it is important for him to know that neither the Police Department or me has criticized him in any way nor do we disregard his heroic efforts that day. I am posting the original email I recieved from the reporter, and my response in order to assure him we do appreciate the action he took that very likely prevented serious injury to the victim. My comments to the reporter were about the general safety of citizens getting involved, and never focused on Tim. The Police Department is in process of pullling together a public presentation to honor his bravery. Here is the original email:


Hi Christie
I was talking to a man named Tim Patterson today, who works in the yellow mobile kitchen outside Goodwill. He said he helped stop the robbery attempt when he came out and pointed a gun at the suspect, who then dropped the knife and ran, Tim said. He said he stood there and waited for police to show up.
I'm wondering if you could comment on Tim's actions. Do police have any recommendations they make to people when trying to intervene in such incidents? Is he considered a hero?
Also, Tim was surprised he wasn't mentioned in our story today. I said his name wasn't in the press release. Diane Galloway from Goodwill did tell me that Tim came out of this stand and yelled, too, but didn't mention he had a gun. Just for my information, not for a story, was there a reason Tim was not mentioned?
thanks again for your help

Bill


Hi Bill,

The report was not written, and I had no knowledge of Tim when I wrote the release. I was more focused on getting the suspect info out so the media could spread it to our citizens. Officers were still on scene investigating while I was busy typing.

We have recognized people in the past for their actions. One that comes to mind is the coffee stand girl that pulled her own gun from behind the counter and thwarted the robbery attempt.

It is a fine line for us to give advice to citizens about getting involved. Some people are more qualified than others to be of assistance. This suspect was armed with a knife for sure but he made threats about having a gun. Individuals need to assess the situation for themselves and make a determination about their own safety before acting. I would not want to live in a world without good Samaritans or people that were willing to take a risk to help others but the police department cannot advocate for that. We would not want to set somebody up to get seriously injured. Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks.

Christie


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Buley, Bill [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, November 29, 2011 2:12 PM
To: WOOD, CHRISTIE
Subject: goodwill robbery

Hi Christie

I was talking to a man named Tim Patterson today, who works in the yellow mobile kitchen outside Goodwill. He said he helped stop the robbery attempt when he came out and pointed a gun at the suspect, who then dropped the knife and ran, Tim said. He said he stood there and waited for police to show up.

I'm wondering if you could comment on Tim's actions. Do police have any recommendations they make to people when trying to intervene in such incidents? Is he considered a hero?

Also, Tim was surprised he wasn't mentioned in our story today. I said his name wasn't in the press release. Diane Galloway from Goodwill did tell me that Tim came out of this stand and yelled, too, but didn't mention he had a gun. Just for my information, not for a story, was there a reason Tim was not mentioned?

thanks again for your help


bill
 
He lives by what he calls the sheep dog, sheep and wolf theory.
Wolves, he said, are the bad people. Sheep are the innocent ones. Sheep dogs are law enforcement and other "good men not willing to stand by and let evil triumph."
"In Idaho, there's a lot of folks like myself who are not willing to stand by and let evil triumph," he said.

Thus speaks a real American.
 
I thought it was interesting that the "reporter" used the word "clip" to describe the device which holds the cartridges in this fellas handgun. A magazine obviously, and equally obvious was his ignorance. But we see this all the time, so not a big surprise that this "reporter" had his dictionary of dumb-a** parlance at the ready.
 
Heh. Everyone I know in ID carries. Every one of those folks would have done the same.

Nice to see there are places that still appreciate good citizens willing to stand up and protect their fellow man.

Good job Mr. Patterson.
 
CdA

I guess Coeur d'Alene is a pretty tight-knit bunch.

Small enough town.

That particular part of town has its regulars. Fourth & Harrison area is home to a number of Goodwill & second-hand stores, older strip malls, auto repair shops, a few bars, older grocery stores, office supply stores, little book stores, florists, hairdressers, nail shops, small hardware stores, stuff like that.

Think of it as a somewhat faded "main street" business district.

It's flanked to the west and east by older residential neighborhoods, while about a mile south is the actual "downtown" section, and a mile or so north crosses the freeway into the newer business district.

The Fourth & Harrison area has "character" and a pool hall or two.

If you run a store or kiosk down there, after a while simple prudence suggests that you learn to read people and situations. Patterson seems to have got that part down. The lady with the bank deposit . . . not so much.

CdA is seeing its share of tough times like many other areas.

When it gets like that, you have to watch for opportunism and predation.

I'd say he did just fine. Of course the perp is still out there, and he may try again. His actions are consistent with someone who knows the local layout and business patterns. Hope the Goodwill folks don't let her walk out to her car alone after this.

 
Only one thing wrong with the whole thing. The assailant is still alive to do it again.

Yep, and this is why CCW does not lower crime rates. CCW does protect people, but this is not reflected in the action number of crimes committed.

Sounds like old Tim did well.

Heh. Everyone I know in ID carries. Every one of those folks would have done the same.
Sadly, that isn't true.
 
Sgt. Christie Wood, Coeur d'Alene police spokeswoman, said while Patterson's actions were certainly brave and appreciated, police face a fine line when it comes to citizens trying to stop a crime.
I don't see what's so bad about this comment. Its true, and it's common sense.

If this is what had people so ticked off, I'd say the readers ought to stop and put a bit more focus on reading comprehension.

The moment cops start encouraging citizens to stop crimes, you're going to see a spike in dying civilians, and you're going to see cops getting even more flak from Joe Average. And I'm not talking about civilians going out and hunting down criminals, I'm just talking about civilians stopping crimes in progress.

Does that mean nobody should ever try to stop a crime? Not at all. I'm just saying cops sure can't encourage it. Ethically, an LEO almost has to discourage civilian involvement.
 
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Where does it say he had one cartridge? I can't find it.

""I would not want to live in a world without good Samaritans or people that were willing to take a risk to help others, but the police department cannot advocate for that," Wood said. "We would not want to set somebody up to get seriously injured."


I like the other statement also. If he had praised the actions another segment of society would have lambasted him as a couple of you have done.

I think Tim is a hero. Maybe by chance, I don't know. Apparently the instinct kicked in.
 
Monkeyleg- Cops in Arkansas say stupid things like that all the time.

I'm in Decatur, AL, SaxonPig. We've had some citizens shoot criminals in the last year or so, and the police and district attorney were very supportive. I haven't heard a stupid comment about armed citizens, and I hope I don't.
 
Did this not make the news in Spokane? I usually watch it at 6:00pm and I don't recall it being on there. I wonder... why would the news in my area not run a story on something like this?

I didn't notice it on the Spokane news either.. But yeah,I have been up to Coeur d'Alene recently and have to agree that it has indeed grown a lot in the last five years.
 
I'm in Decatur, AL, SaxonPig. We've had some citizens shoot criminals in the last year or so, and the police and district attorney were very supportive. I haven't heard a stupid comment about armed citizens, and I hope I don't.

I'll go you one better, Monkeyleg. On or about 28 April, our sheriff and county attorney went on the radio and said that those who shot looters would not be arrested or prosecuted.

Heh.




And if I could talk to "Sgt. Cupcake", as some of those posters have labeled her, I would tell her that being shot by a cop who shows up and fails to get proper situational awareness is perhaps the greatest risk in citizen intervention.
 
I wasn't able to pull up the article, but it would seem this fellow did just fine from what I can find.

At least in Idaho, self defense and defense of others whose lives are being threatened by criminals, is still a Right,

The laws of most shall issue states seem quite similar, allowing for defense of another. I know CO does. The requirements for use of physical force are the same in defense of another as they are for defense of self.

Only one thing wrong with the whole thing. The assailant is still alive to do it again.

While I agree from an ethical standpoint, this was an optimal outcome for our defender. If he had killed the assailant, his life would likely be turned upside-down for some time to come. It is doubtful that the LEO's would simply pat him on the back for a job well done and send him on his way.
 
Monkeyleg- Cops in Arkansas say stupid things like that all the time.
The cop in my county who used to be responsible for making stupid comments like that to the media is now the sheriff. :rolleyes:
 
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