Ask LEOs: How to handle?

[atxgun]

Let's say there's an unknown person banging on your locked front door demanding entry, and for the sake of argument they specifically state they want to rape and kill your family. You tell them in no uncertain terms you will fire upon them if they breach your doorway.

You proceed to call 911 to report the incident but yet either they are still pounding or you have no idea if they have really left if the sounds stop.

How do you best communicate to 911 that you are armed and will remain on guard until the police arrive while minimizing the chances you are shot by the responding officers?

Do you ask for a callback while they LEOs are arriving? Should you try to establish a password so you can confirm it is them at the door? Has anyone responded to a (more realistic) scenario similar to this?

[Jemost]

The dispatcher would probly keep you on the line and advise you when officers arrive on scene. The dispatcher would know the unit number and names of the officers arriving. You could ask them to identify themselves, all officers should be carrying their ID cards. If you don't have a peep hole in your door, you should get one. Hope this helps

[pcernuch]

until i see red and blues flashing through my front window, i will be killing anything that comes through said door.

god bless.

[clbryant1981]

I actually had an issue similar to this, I caught 2 guys in my privacy fence enclosed back yard, they were going window to window, I told the dispatcher that there were two guys trying to get in my house, and that I have my gun with me so if they do come in I will shoot them. She tried to tell me to put my gun away, I calmly told her I would as soon as the police were on scene. We hung up, she called me as the police were pulling up and informed me they were there and to please put away my weapon.

[Excaliber]

Let's say there's an unknown person banging on your locked front door demanding entry, and for the sake of argument they specifically state they want to rape and kill your family. You tell them in no uncertain terms you will fire upon them if they breach your doorway.

You proceed to call 911 to report the incident but yet either they are still pounding or you have no idea if they have really left if the sounds stop.

How do you best communicate to 911 that you are armed and will remain on guard until the police arrive while minimizing the chances you are shot by the responding officers?

Do you ask for a callback while they LEOs are arriving? Should you try to establish a password so you can confirm it is them at the door? Has anyone responded to a (more realistic) scenario similar to this?

Here's my suggestion for the situation you posed:

Keep an open line with the dispatcher and provide immediate updates of any changes.

Advise the dispatcher that you are armed and will disarm when officers are confirmed on scene.

Identify which door they can approach safely and where you will be expecting them.

Take up the best defensive position in the house and stay there.

Put all of your family members in a locked protected space where the access path is in your view and under your control.

Give a complete description of yourself and where you are in the house.

Use tactical breathing (in through the nose over 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, out through the mouth over 4 seconds - repeat at least 4 times) to lower your heart rate, limit the neuropsychological effects of exposure to danger, and help you think more clearly.

Don't move from your position unless it becomes tactically necessary. In that case, immediately tell the dispatcher what you're doing and where you're going.

When officers are confirmed to be in control of the perimeter, tell the dispatcher you are disarming and will let them in through the previously identified door. Confirm with the dispatcher that responding officers have been given your description. Then put your gun away, walk normally (don't run) to the door with your hands empty, in clear view and away from your body, and let them in.

If you think an intruder may be inside, stay in your defensive shelter area until officers have searched the house. You can give them access by advising the dispatcher that you will open a specific window to pass them a key, waiting for confirmation that officers on scene have been advised, putting your gun out of sight, and moving slowly to the window with hands in clear view. Tell the officers you are the homeowner and will drop them a key, and do it.

If your garage door has a wireless keypad outside or if you have some of the newer electronic keypad controlled locks on your doors, you can also give the dispatcher the access code and ask officers to make entry that way. Advise the dispatcher that you will remain in your shelter location until it is confirmed that officers have full control of the approach to the shelter area and are expecting you to open the door. Put your gun away. Shout through the door that you are the homeowner and will be opening the door. Get acknowledgment from the officers that this is OK. Then open the door slowly with your hands in clear view.

This is a basic plan. There are obviously lots of contingencies that may have to be adapted to, but it gives you a place to start.

[Humanphibian]

I completely and wholeheartedly agree with Excaliber. I have been there and rode that pony a few times while dealing with my wife's EX. One point CANNOT be stressed enough

COMMUNICATE.....COMMUNICATE....COMMUNICATE!!!!!

[remington79]

You shouldn't give any access codes to dispatch. They have to let the responding officers know what the code is and the only way to do that (if they are already on scene) is by radio. Now anyone with a scanner will know your access code.

[puma guy]

until i see red and blues flashing through my front window, i will be killing anything that comes through said door.

god bless.

Would it be better to say "I will be stopping the threat from anything that comes through said door"? Just food for thought.

[Excaliber]

You shouldn't give any access codes to dispatch. They have to let the responding officers know what the code is and the only way to do that (if they are already on scene) is by radio. Now anyone with a scanner will know your access code.

Not true.

Virtually every officer carries a cell phone, and you can request that the access code be transmitted that way. Also some police agencies encrypt their radio communications so they can't be monitored by the bad guys. Finally, if you have any doubts, it takes about 2 minutes to change the access code to another one after the incident.

The benefits of being able to provide police access to the interior without having to move from your safe position far outweigh the minor inconvenience of programming another code into your lock or garage door keypad.

[cope]

Stay on the line with the dispatcher and stay in the house.

I may not approach code 3 (lights and sirens), depending on the circumstances.

I may park down the street and approach on foot.

Until notified otherwise, I am only looking for a prowler in the vicinity of your home.

I will come to your door only when I believe the perimeter is clear.

When I do come to your door, I will identify myself as law enforcement.

If you shoot me through the window or door (by mistake), you will spend the rest of your life in prison.

Think before you act.

[Humanphibian]

Door codes are easy to change! I roll the numbers on mine every month anyway....

As for the radio transmissions....it may still be unencrypted radio transmissions in a few places, but most Agencies now run radio traffic on digital, encrypted, trunking systems that are TOUGH to follow....especially when the call is put on a "priority" channel.

[Humanphibian]

If you shoot me through the window or door (by mistake), you will spend the rest of your life in prison.

no disrespect.....But wouldn't that be for a Jury to decide? There are a TON of extenuating circumstances that could play into a scenario such as this......

[Dragonfighter]

The way it played out for me was this:

I had stopped someone from breaking down a door and had moved them around front. My wife was on the phone with 911 the whole time so we maintained communication during the incident. The operator had told my wife I needed to put the gun inside the house. She relayed my message that as soon as I had verbal confirmation by the officer that he had us covered, I would hand the weapon back inside. She also made sure they had my description and what I was wearing (not much at 5:30 A.M. on a Sunday).

When the units pulled up, the first LEO stepped out and said he "had us". I acknowledged , handed the weapon inside and then kept my hands visible until he approached and had hands on the BG. It went like clockwork but the key here, as has been said, was constant communication and a professional response by PD.

[atxgun]

If you shoot me through the window or door (by mistake), you will spend the rest of your life in prison.

Think before you act.

Thank you for the feedback but please don't think me to be some trigger happy fool. Accidentally shooting you in either of the described scenarios would mean I've violated the basic rule of being sure of my target -- and am fully aware of the consequences for that.

Thank you for your service.

[pcernuch]

until i see red and blues flashing through my front window, i will be killing anything that comes through said door.

god bless.

Would it be better to say "I will be stopping the threat from anything that comes through said door"? Just food for thought.

Stay on the line with the dispatcher and stay in the house.

I may not approach code 3 (lights and sirens), depending on the circumstances.

I may park down the street and approach on foot.

Until notified otherwise, I am only looking for a prowler in the vicinity of your home.

I will come to your door only when I believe the perimeter is clear.

When I do come to your door, I will identify myself as law enforcement.

If you shoot me through the window or door (by mistake), you will spend the rest of your life in prison.

Think before you act.

sorry, i guess i could have worded it differently. I assure you with a wife and young son inside my home the outcome however would be the same anyway you want to word it. I obviously would not shoot blindly through my door possibly killing an officer who is doing his/her job, a girlscout selling cookies, or a door to door door salesman :) if for some reason said officer, girlscout, or salesman began "coming through said door" which is always locked, to mean that means they would forcefully be breaching the front door to my castle thus forcing my hand. i am not trying to be abrasive nor combative, and i apologize if that is the way i have come across.

god bless.