Panic 911 (A&E TV show)

[fickman]

Has anybody watched this? I highly recommend encouraging people who are on the fence about self-defense and firearm ownership to watch a few episodes. You can watch the episodes pretty quickly if you DVR it.

I've seen two episodes so far. I don't know if I'll stick with the show long term. . . it definitely takes me through the roller coaster of emotions. I get legitimately furious at the bad guys, frustratingly angry at the occasional bad advice from 911 operators, irritated at some of the victims who should be ready to protect themselves and aren't, and desperate for the sheeple to see how long an 8-10 minute response time is.

Added to that, I guess I'm getting softer as I age (or having kids of my own did me in) - there was one story about two kids who nearly drowned that I almost couldn't bear to watch.

Pros:
- It's not hyper-sensationalized. It's mostly the tape playback with lightly dramatized clips of reenactments and interviews of the real parties.
- It seems to be as agnostic as possible on guns. The firearms they've shown so far were all described accurately (even an AR-15 by a BG was called a semi-automatic rifle and not an assault rifle).
- It gives clear perspective for how long police response time is when you're in the emergency situation.

Cons:
- Blood pressure / a million things to frustrate you
- There's enough negativity and evil in the world without immersing ourselves in it for entertainment

Here are a few things that I reacted to in the episodes I saw. . . some face-palm moments and some lessons about reality that can be used in discussions about tactics, preparedness, and possibly to convert a sheeple into a watchdog:

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In one, a single mother and her young son were hiding in the closet of her bedroom in a 1BR apartment. The BG was in the apartment. The cops were on the property (after 10 mins or so) but couldn't find her building.

1) She had a .38 caliber gun in a small safe, but the key was in the living room where the BG was.
(Whoops.)

2) She pried the safe open with her hands.
(WHAT?!)

3) The operator insisted that she MUST put the gun away OUT OF REACH because the cops were on scene.
(NOOOOOOOOO!!! They weren't! They couldn't find her building. After the operator gave her that instruction and she complied, the BG opened the closet door, began savagely beating her, and began to attempt a sexual assault. . . all a couple of feet from her weeping son. She was terrorized for another couple of minutes before the cops arrived. . . all because of the operator's instructions.)

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A maniac took over a sporting goods store, took an AR-15, loaded a bunch of magazines from ammunition he stole, and started shooting. A manager stayed on the phone, hiding by the service desk for over 18 minutes. He was scared for his life and pleading for the cops to hurry.

1) The first cops arrived very quickly. Within 10 minutes there were 50 cops surrounding the building. A few officers made one attempt to enter through the front door and the BG shot 17 times at them. It was the last time they tried to enter.

The manager was hiding for the duration of the 18+ minutes before he finally took a chance and sprinted to save himself through a side door.
1) The operator was insisting that he tell her - speak out loud - before trying to escape so that the officers wouldn't shoot him. She insisted he do so.
(I get her point, but your asking a guy to give away his concealment and become a target for the BG.)

2) The cops never entered the building. After BG shot at the first team, they decided to wait for SWAT. This call was made before the last few customers and the manager escaped. Five hours later they sent in a robot and found the gunman had committed suicide.
(Just because help arrived doesn't mean the cavalry is coming to get you.)

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In one, a little old lady was by herself in a remote location in Oklahoma. The closest officers were more than 30 miles away. Her husband was at work over two hours away. Her son and husband had taught her how to use a 16-gauge shotgun. A drunk (and possibly drugged) guy was beating on her door trying to get in. He finally broke the window and got inside. She killed him. The dread leading up to it and raw emotions of remorse in her voice were staggering. This call lasted over 20 minutes.

1. The lady had to go get the gun and load it.
(Luckily she had time.)

2. The lady told the operator she didn't want to kill that man, but if he came inside she was going to shoot. The operator didn't respond.
(She didn't give permission, but she didn't tell her, "No." I consider this a win.)

3. The intruder began escalating his attempts to get inside, and the lady sounded terrified. She again said she was going to use the gun if he got inside. The operator told her, "You are allowed to protect your property if you have to."
(Well, thanks.)

4. When breach of the door seemed eminent, the operator asked her if there was another room she could go into and lock the door. The lady confidently said, "I'm holding a long shotgun, so I don't want to get stuck somewhere small like the bathroom. I've got it aimed at him, and if he comes in, I'll shoot."
(This was a very rational thought for the homeowner considering the circumstances. If the guy is working this hard to get through an external door, I'm not sure an internal door would slow him down more than 3 more seconds. She did well to politely but confidently refuse the suggestion.)

5. He finally makes his way in and she shoots him. She's immediately distraught over taking a life. The operator is immediately comforting and reassuring, telling her she only did what she had to in order to save her own life. The police arrive several more minutes later.
(This is where the show could have edited things if they wanted to have a gun bias, but they left the scenario to stand as is. The operator was much better than many of the ones we've heard on other 911 tapes. They both handled this event very well.)

[fickman]

http://www.aetv.com/panic-9-1-1/
You can watch some of the videos online. That's probably more interesting than my book report about them.

This could be a great recruiting tool for the wafflers around us.

[JeepGuy79]

danggit. I didnt know this was on yet. Any idea when it airs?

[fickman]

New episodes are Thursdays at 9:00 pm CST, but they're playing a lot of reruns throughout the week. It seems like A&E tends to clump reruns together on a given night.

[Houpilot2001]

Wow, just watched an episode. That's some show!

Just goes to show that when seconds count the police will be there in minutes.