Sheriff makes no bones about right to self defense

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Good for the homeowner.:D The police chief Mike Chitwood was the Portland Maine police chief for a lot of years and was really anti gun while there. I wonder if he has changed his personal beliefs on the subject these days.
 
A bullet is always cheaper than a trial and years of feeding and housing an inmate. If he felt his life was in danger I say he did the right thing.
 
Is there a discussion topic other than the shooting itself?

sticky said:
Just because a news story has a gun associated with it does NOT make it suitable for discussion on THR. News stories are suitable for discussion here only when the story contains clear and unambiguous self-defense, home defense, firearms-centric, or RKBA aspects *and* when there is readily discernible detail in the news accounts sufficient to support a rational discussion.
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That situation evidently turned out okay, but it might well not have. Shooting through a closed door at an unidentified potential threat outside your house??? You could kill the milkman.
 
I don't condone shooting through doors at unknown targets but I also don't believe people should have to be totally exposed before they are allowed to defend themselves and their home.
The report doesn't delve to deep into the actions of the crook but it does sound like he made a definite attack on the door so and there is no reason the home owner couldn't have seen the man in a mask outside his door from another window.
Good for him and I hope the public keeps making crime a much more dangerous proposition than what the CJ system offers.
 
Dear Mod

I believe this post meets the criteria you want. The fact that a senior defended his home, AND HIS SHERIFF APPLAUDED HIS ACTIONS is of merit.

Most Law Enforcement, in accordance with policy, want the Citizen to passively wait for assistance. This Sheriff is my kind of guy.:)
 
That situation evidently turned out okay, but it might well not have. Shooting through a closed door at an unidentified potential threat outside your house??? You could kill the milkman.
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That was my thought when I first read the article too. In this case it turned out alright, but firing a shot THROUGH A DOOR because you "heard a noise" is a dangerous behavior. In this case it had a happy ending, but that's by no means a guarantee when taking shots at the unknown.
 
i like everyone else on here like to here about someone they're self or loved ones but i have a special discust for those who would attempt to take advantage of the elderly i can't stand that type of person and i'm so glad he was able to thwart his attackers chaulk one up for the good guys:D
 
I believe, TexasRifleman, the thread is leaning towards the Sherrif's reactions and policy on general rights to self defense rather than the 82 yo man.
 
I believe, TexasRifleman, the thread is leaning towards the Sherrif's reactions and policy on general rights to self defense rather than the 82 yo man.
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I hope so, but a thread full of "Right On!" is kind of boring :)
 
Shooting through a closed door at an unidentified potential threat outside your house??? You could kill the milkman.
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Yeah. my first thought as well. It could have been anything. It could have been the drunk from next door who just mistakenly tried to get into the wrong house.

Or worse, what if it was just some kid rattling the door because.... well... why do kids ever need an actual reason to do half the things they do?

If the door had a window in it so he could clearly see the man on the other side and see the hammer then I can understand.
I think I'd need more details before I decided that this was a righteous shooting.
 
Can I get a guy like that for college security chief? It's not that I dislike the current people (although it did take someone- not me, calling the real Police to arrest the well known drug dealers despite being reported to security so many times), but that I'd rather have people who are not fundamentally hoplophobes be in charge of a diverse student body.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP13N1xswUE

Is the Sheriff related to Joie Chitwood? Maybe this is where the Sheriff got his sense of adventure. Totally "Off Topic" but I knew I had heard that name from somewhere else.

I do have concerns for the victim. I hope this all works in his favor and he remains safe from further predators. Both in suits, uniforms and ski masks.
 
If that wasn't a door with a window in it that had to have been a darn good shot.:cool: I agree that more info would be helpful in determining if it was a good shoot if I were the one investigating it.
 
In general, I am not for shooting through doors, but if you can clearly see the BG through a window in that door...

I would think that if the BG were not easily identifiable through the door as a threat, the Sheriff would not have been so ready to praise this older gentleman.

BTW: I also am not capable of fighting a 20 something year old any more either.
 
That Sheriff is bound to have asked the same questions we're asking. And he was satisfied that the shooter acted responsibly and correctly. There are obviously facts here we aren't privy to. I'm guessing that the shooter didn't just shoot blindly through a door.
 
The biggest point here, is the sherrif should not have approved of the homeowner's actions.

Shooting through a door? Not knowing your target and what's behind? A suspect not being inside a home, thus with no legitimate fear for one's life? All bad. This homeowner is very lucky he's not in jail.


It doesn't matter at all who the guy ended up being. The ends do not always justify the means. The homeowner lucked out. He shot through a door at an unknown target. That is not defensible.
 
In our state if the homeowner is in fear for his life because someone is kicking the door trying to break in, it is lawful for the homeowner to fire through the door. If the person breaks open the door and is visible the homeowner must identify that the person poses a threat to his life before he can take action to protect himself. With the passage of a new omnibus weapons law, the homeowner no longer has to run and hide but may defend his "castle" after identifying a threat.
 
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