Which is why before you do anything else, before you buy guns or ammo or video and alarm systems you harden your house so that you have the time to do those things. Good locks, door jambs and and hinges screwed into the studs and other physical security measures give you the time to barricade yourself and call 911.
Playing Chicken
- Thread starter Skribs
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Hugger-4641
Member
Valid points, which I have done as well as strategically placed shrubs and rose bushes to cover windows accessable from the ground, but still doesn't exclude possibility of a home invasion. It is very difficult to cimpletely harden certain types of sliding doors and large windows. Thats what alarms are for.. The only time we're locked down tight is after bedtime. The rest of the day we're in/out, coming/going , impossible to stay barricaded at all times or eliminate all opportunities for a would be attacker. Also, if you don't own your home, doing some of these things may not be an option to you.
You are right.I'm sure your advice sounds good to you, but not for me.
#1. The intruder changed both our lives when he made the decision to enter my home. There is no going back from that.
#2. When he broke into my home, he became a threat to my family and whoever else is there with me. I am responsible for thier protection as well, so thier safety trumps my fears about freedom.
#3 Watch some actual hone invasion video footage and tell me how much time the victims had to dial 911 or barricade themselves. Realistic response time for LE in my area is about 25min. That 911 call will be made after I have secured my home and neutralized the threat. I intend to be alive to see how my lawyers handle any mistakes I may have made.
I do not know what I was thinking!
Then I would not have to worry about judge and jury.
Shooting is the last thing in my mind.
But you are right.
I'm sure your advice sounds good to you, but not for me.
#1. The intruder changed both our lives when he made the decision to enter my home. There is no going back from that.
#2. When he broke into my home, he became a threat to my family and whoever else is there with me. I am responsible for thier protection as well, so thier safety trumps my fears about freedom.
#3 Watch some actual hone invasion video footage and tell me how much time the victims had to dial 911 or barricade themselves. Realistic response time for LE in my area is about 25min. That 911 call will be made after I have secured my home and neutralized the threat. I intend to be alive to see how my lawyers handle any mistakes I may have made.
The first mistake was posting your intentions on a public forum which would likely be discovered by the prosecution.
My intent is to barricade and wait for police. Perhaps the situation moves too quickly for that and I'll have to adapt but that's the plan.
Hugger-4641
Member
Well, you are correct, and that's a topic for a whole different thread. This thread was about how you react when a threat still has a weapon not pointed directly at you.
But your point is valid and is one of the reasons I live where I do. In some parts of this country you still have the right to protect yourself without the expectation of having fortified your house to any extent.
The guy in the video forfeited his right to life and liberty when he intentionally remained a threat to LE.
A criminal does the same when they invade a home or attack you. One big difference is in the consequences, since I wouldn't have the benefit of qualified imunity to buffer any mistakes I made during the event.
FL-NC
Member
A gun in hand is a threat, period. Being asked multiple times to get rid of the gun and not doing it is doubling down on an already dangerous situation. Even if the participants had no desire to harm each other, the running around with loaded guns all over the place (no doubt violating multiple safety rules) is at minimum extremely dangerous from just a safety standpoint for everyone in the area. How long does it take to re-direct the muzzle of a firearm? More significantly, what is the speed of a bullet? Action(almost) always beats reaction. When people start dissecting (with the benefit of hindsight and from the safety of their home) factors like the gun being pointed at the ground, where does it stop? Was it pointed at you? Was the gun on safe? Was the finger on the trigger? Did the perp shoot first? Because if someone waits for me to shoot first before defending themself, it is probably going to end badly for that someone. In the name of self persevation, I assume everyone else's skills surpass mine. As far as shooting someone in the leg or some other "less deadly area", that is a terrible tactical decision. Incidently, a significant number of fatalities during the recent unpleasantness in the mideast have been due to arterial wounds to the exremities, so there's that. How someone reacts immediately after surviving a GSW is largely a matter of personal choice, in how they choose to prioritize what they are going to do about it. I was shot in the right forearm immediately after sustaining multiple wounds from a RPG blast, and the first thing I did after getting my senses back was pick up a weapon. Now years later, I'm posting on the internet. I have seen people continue to fight after receiving what were eventually fatal wounds. I saw an enemy combatant crawling away with a leg essentially amputated from a 7.62 machinegun round. He was cussing up a storm, and looked at us with nothing but pure hatred when we approached. If he was able to do all that, he could have easily picked his AK back up and continue to use it, but he CHOSE not to. Just my thoughts.
Outlaw75
Member
I saw a video recently of a bank robbery in South America. The robber took a shot at the armed security guard. The guard was wounded but could still function. He returned fire and hit the robber in the neck, severing the left carotid artery. They spent the next two and a half minutes moving and dodging around the bank lobby taking shots at each other until the robber, who was spurting blood the whole time, finally went down.
I usually just ignore people who make comments like the OP was posting about. Most of them have never even been in a fist fight and have no idea how fast things can get bad in a violent situation.
PistoleroWadcutterGANG
Member
Justified! PERIOD. Man was illegally trespassing with a weapon which he had no lawful right to have on someone else's property. Repeatedly ordered to drop the weapon. The potential for deadly feturn fire regadless of weapon carry position still existed. I deadly situation still present. NO take him out, period.
jmorris
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Around half a second, using a buzzer start. .17 of that would be reaction to audio stimulus and you could subtract that to someone initiating an action themselves.
You can also figure in a .25 reaction time for the officers responding to the visual stimulus.
Don't put any stock in that. It, by itself, would not justify the use of deadly force in any US jurisdiction.
Due to the fact that the man had unlawfully entered the house, the police had the duty to prusue and apprehend him. The presence of the rifle in his hands and his refusal to drop it would justify the use of deadly force in self defense by the officers.
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