The problem with police stations is that some of them sometimes have no sworn officers on duty -- the sworn officers are all on patrol or responding to calls. Some police stations are even closed at times because of budget shortfalls.
This situation would be different in a larger town or city versus a small town.
I can vaguely recall a couple of cases where people were mugged or murdered outside police stations, and no one inside knew what was going on.
That's why I mentioned fire stations. They usually have more people on duty closer to the street.
- Jim
Fear, anger, hatred, and greed. The devil's all-you-can-eat buffet.
My co-workers son was with this family when this happened and I can add some relavent facts. This is second hand info my co-worker gave me the next day as told from his son, they spent the night in the police station after this happened just sorting out what was stolen and what was not.
1. They were driving down I-45 southbound with a trailer with atv's when a truck passed them at a high rate of speed (they were going about 80 and the BG's were passing them). The truck slowed quickly after passing them, pulled in front of them and started to stop very quickly. A wreck was avoided but this should have been the first sign of a possible problem.
2. When they exited in Texas City the truck was behind them. My co-workers sone commented on this but the driver blew it off. This was another sign of a problem.
3. While in their neighborhood the driver realized they were being followed (perhaps should have dialed 911).
4. He drove past their house and the truck of BG's pulled in front of them and blocked them in (with vehicles to either side and them in front with nowhere to go but to back up. This was impractical due to teh trailer).
5. The BG driver got out with a gun, the two BG passengers got out with guns. One had an "assault rifle", one had a sawed off shotgun, one had what looked like a Tec 9 (which was pointed at my co-workers son). These were all stolen as well as the truck they were driving.
6. The driver had handguns and other weapons, but none loaded and noine in the cab.
7. The BG's proceeded to pull out the mother and two kids. They actually threw one kid to the ground and kicked him in the head.
8. My co-workers son broke away from the BG's and ran up to a door and started beating on it.
9. The wife was dialing 911 while the BG was pulling her out of the truck.
10. The neighbor that had the gun and fired came out after hearing the commotion. He couldn't tell who the BG's were so he fired. He was prepared to fire at anyone who took aim at him.
11. The BG's heard the shots and tried fleeing in the truck, sideswiped a vehicle and took off. The chase started a little after that.
Now, I have discussed the possible scenarios if I would have been there. It would be difficult since there were 3 BG's with guns, there was no place to drive off and there were three other people in the truck with 3 armed BG's quickly approaching the cab. I assume the doors on the truck were unlocked (I always keep mine locked).
Alright, now let the what ifs start now that we have some more facts...
seamusTX wrote:A neighbor came out armed and fired four shots.
What are the odds that the neighbor gets arrested, his guns confiscated, and has to spend thousands of dollars defending his freedom, and possibly never sees his firearm again?
I certainly do not say this to demean the neighbor. I firmly believe he did the right thing. It just seem that the good guys always get punished.
I've been reading lots of "aftermath" stories lately in which the CHL holder defends himself/herself or defends others and still goes to jail, and to court, and gets punished financially, even if they are no-billed by the grand jury, and then have enormous hassles getting their firearm back.
Maybe its just that the stories in which the good guy does not get punished are lackluster and don't get published...I hope so, anyway.
Which stories are these? Having the gun taken that was used in the incident is not a "loss of freedom" - it's a necessary part of investigation. We are not the US Army, and we cannot fire on people as soon as they meet the rules of engagement and keep on trucking. We are civilians under law - even LEOs - Every officer involved shooting step one is taking the officer's weapon.
As far as being charged with something...that is doubtful in this case as he has a very clear defense, if the story actually played out as the paper's portray it.
I just wish the guy was a better shot...
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. - Thomas Edison
seamusTX wrote:A neighbor came out armed and fired four shots.
At what? And did the neighbor hit their target?
I don't know. Apparently no one was shot, and the police saw no immediate need to arrest the guy.
- Jim
The neighbor did not shoot at anything, he just fired to try and scare them away. I should have added to my previous post, the BG's picked them for the following. They looked like they had come back from hunting so they figured they would have guns and some money. They were targeted due to the ATV's they were hauling.
Jim, that was a really interesting link. This is the part I found the most fascinating:
The hot word at the start of the allied bombing was decimate : our side's aircraft was hailed far and wide on the air and in print for "decimating the enemy air force." Walter Cronkite on CBS corrected a colleague's use of the verb, which means "reduce by one-tenth," originally Latin for "kill every tenth man as punishment for mutiny"; sloppy writers use it as a confused intensifier after using devastate , which hardly needs emphasis. In time, unless purists persist, decimate will come to mean "destroy a large part of."
I will never misuse that word again... ...unless I am punishing someone for mutiny!
“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”
My other defensive strategy is to drive a truck nobody would want to steal.
Ford man, huh?
Ha! Good call casingpoint! 1995 Ford Bronco. No one would steal her with today's gas prices!
“While the people are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their virtue then will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader.” ― Samuel Adams
