what would you do in this situation?

[ganymede]

In the NRA magazine americian rifleman i read a story about a man who was sitting at home when his door was broken down by some people who identified themselves as police officers. fortunatly the man didn't buy it, got his semi auto rifle and shot the man who entered. police later found the suspect at a hopsital.

that got me thinking. what do i do if i hear pounding at my door and someone says "police department, open up" or worse yet, breaks down my door while claiming to be a police officer. I would hate to make the mistake of shooting a real cop, thats why it's unsettling to think about. i know i would hesitate if i thought the person even might be a real police officer. the guy in that story was able to tell they wern't cops because they used "street slang" but you might not get that lucky. what would you do and what should i do if this happens?

 

[benEzra]

I can't speak for your situation, but the police are usually very careful to get the right address (major civil liability if they screw up, not to mention that most officers actually do care about what they're doing and want to do it right).

In my case, my record is so clean that I squeak when I walk (not even a speeding ticket so far, at age 38), married with 2 young kids, no drugs, no relatives/roommates involved in shady dealings, and I am scrupulous to obey the law. Hence, the odds are VERY high that if someone kicks in my door and shouts "police", they are NOT in fact the police.

 

[offroaddiver]

I thought about how to post a comment on this. In todays world there are now no knock warrants and other situations where even real cops will be knocking down the door. I have had someone kick in my door before, they realized someone was home and ran out before doin anything... now you had better have one mean ram to kick in my door.

If someone breaks in my house they better have one hell of a great reason to be there. Right now my gf is laying down and asleep.... If someone kicked in the door right now... I'd put myself between them and her... I have my options, they better have theirs.

 

[ganymede]

I used to break the law a lot. i was closer to a "bad guy" then a "good guy," but ive reformed scince then and i havn't broken the law for 5 years. okay maybe i j-walked but thats not the point. id say if someone comes knocking at my door claiming to be a LEO there is a 50-50 chance they are for real. i dont have any pending criminal charges or any reason for them to come after me that i know of, but you never know. I'd rather err on the side of caution, i'd rather be shot, or hurt then accidently shoot an inocent person.

 

[Gdstealth]

I agree about being squeeky clean but now if you are conservative you are considered a possible terrorist. The Way I see it if they are police and breaching a house won't they have Kevlar? shoot for the chest and if they are real cops they will survive. If they are thugs ... well there is a high probability they won't have Kevlar. But this is really a question for the law enforcement officers. Don't misunderstand me I AM BY NO MEANS SAYING YOU SHOULD SHOOT A LEO.

 

[ganymede]

"shoot for the chest and they will survive (if they're wearing kevlar)"

yeah, they might survive but will you? what do you think is going to happen if the real police break down your door and you open fire? don't have any dilusions about being able to defend your home from 15 well armed LEO's

 

[Gdstealth]

No delusions...If fifteen rush in I won't be raising my weapon. Let's just say it depends...Trust me I am no Badass but with the tactics used by criminals today, how do you know? You have to go with instinct in the split second you have to determine friend or foe. Thats where training with popups on a range comes in handy.

 

[ganymede]

the delusion thing wasn't directed at you specificly stealth, sorry if it came off that way.

 

[Rockwell1]

Shoot for the chest and if they are real cops they will survive

You won't

 

[Gdstealth]

Read #7. Also Chances are the REAL police would have a ram and be wearing the gear

 

[Jeff White]

There are literally dozens of threads on this very subject. Most of them were closed because of what they turned into. Why don't you do a search and read through them. Many are 150 posts or more.