TexasCHLforum.com

DoubleActionCHL wrote: Remember that you're responsible for EVERY round you fire, and the DOJ says you'll miss 4 out of 5 shots (based on their assessment of police officers hitting their target 18% of the time).

And here I go off topic....

I know I put more rounds downrange than most police officers do, because its something I enjoy doing. I feel I'm a pretty darn good shot. I haven't been in a defensive shooting, but I know plenty in the local PDs that ONLY shoot their service weapon once a year for quals. Are they the majority? Probably not. But you can beat they're throwing the curve for the rest of them.

Excaliber wrote:Mas Ayoob's account of the incident in question can be found here. It's an excellent example of continuous reassessment of risk during an unexpected really bad incident, and decisive action when the risk of failing to act exceeds the high risks involved in using deadly force to protect innocent life.

Bingo. Which is why I used it as an example. I only hope I would keep such a cool head under such circumstances.

hheremtp wrote:I agree it is a tough situation to judge. I am not saying that I would just start wildly shooting in the direction of the robber without due regard for the safety of others, however if after analyzing the situation and feeling fairly confident in being able to only hit the BG I would try to save the life of someone.

I agree with you. It's real easy to play Monday morning quarterback for me and everyone else. Hopefully I never have to actually make a decision about taking a life, but thinking over these scenarios certainly help to prepare and think of those "what ifs" now, and not in the heat of the moment.

hheremtp wrote:This thread brings to mind the signature line of one of our members:

"All that is needed for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."

It's the attitude of "It's not me or mine so why do I care?" that leads to people walking past a person that has been hit by a car; and not even caring enough to pull the cell phone out of their pocket and call for an ambulance.

To those of you that advocate for doing nothing and being a "good wittiness" I ask you this:

If it was your Wife, daughter, son, father, mother etc. that had a gun shoved in their face and were not in a position to be able to defend themselves. Would you want the CHLer that just happened to be there to say to themselves; "it's not my family member so why should I care?" and be a "good wittiness" to their murder. How would you feel/react to hear that there was someone who could have stopped it but did not? I dare say that most of us would be outraged at the fact.

I agree with you in principle, but not in application.

This guy fired a couple of shots then fled, correct? Should I be running after him, firing shots into the parking lot? Too many variables, too many things that could go wrong. (Cop sees me and assumes I'm on the wrong side, CHL sees me and assumes I'm having a "disagreement" with my bank robbing partner, etc). Now, if the guy turns around, and starts rounding people up as hostages, we might have a different situation.

I don't really compare walking past a person thats been hit by a car to being prudent and judging the situation before taking action.

Take the example of the Marine in the Subway sandwich shop (can't remember where or when). Robbers came in, brandishing guns. Demanded money. He gave them his wallet. When they took him back to the bathroom and got him on his knees execution style, the situation had changed, and he engaged them.

Its a tough situation to judge, but I'd be hard pressed to find justification to begin shooting towards a bank robber at the front of the store. Who knows how many people are behind the banking counter in the parking lot?