2 Feb 11
Bears as Predators
This is paraphrased from a group of guard-dog owners with regard to bears.
Bears are not much different from most others predators. They know they need to eat, and they know how to get food.
Humans, in the eyes of most bears, are a soft and chewy mixture of fat and protein that isnât very smart, nor strong, and canât run fast. Itâs nothing personal, and bears donât practice ethnic profiling, although they do prefer pudgy, slow people to skinny, nimble ones.
The bear is hungry, and you represent a solution (albeit temporary) to his problem, as do the sheep, goats, and cattle in the company of which we are usually found, not to mention our cookies, sandwiches, candy bars, and soda pop. To a bear, you are not a wonderful human being, with potential, aspirations, and with a family that depends upon you. You represent lunch, and nothing more!
Human predators are similar, just less honest and a good deal less respectable. They function outside our normal economic system, but, like bears, they know what they need, and they know how to get it. To them, you have no value outside what they can forcibly extract from you, with minimal effort and risk.
Advice to sheep-herders is excellent:
â… and when a bear comes… keep as many sheep as you can between the bear and you. Then, let the dogs deal with it!â
Words to live by!
/John
3 Feb 11
From a student in OK:
âI used your training last week . . .
I work downtown and was running late. It was dark by the time I exited my building and walked to the parking area. Per my training, I had my head up and did my best to look all around.
As I walked past several dark areas and into a lighted area by our parking garage, a disheveled man emerged from the shadows. He move toward me rapidly on an intercept vector. In a raspy voice, he asked if I â… lived around here?â
I continued moving and said, in a loud and clear voice, âIâm sorry, sir. I canât help you.â
He kept coming and got directly in front of me in an attempt to block my way. It was obvious to me that I had been âselectedâ for victimization and was being actively probed for vulnerability. I went into a strong, interview stance as I came to a stop, unable to move around him. In a loud voice, I said, âI canât help you. Donât come any closer!â
He abruptly stopped and mumbled something like, â… Aw man! I just want directions,â or words to that effect. My strong-side hand near my waistband obviously made him nervous. He had his hands in his pockets, which made me nervous too!
As I sidestepped and glanced behind me, I told him again not to come any closer and that he needed to move on.
He stopped talking, evaluated my posture and movements, then turned and slowly walked away, cursing and mumbling. In short order, he disappeared back into the shadows.
The next day I talked with our security people. They were familiar with this goon and actually had a photo of him. He is a doper and âproblemâ pan-handler/street person. He has been arrested multiple times on assault charges, but apparently never stays in jail for long, particularly during elections!
Thanks for teaching me the interview stance, disengagement routines, and effective verbal commands.
Worked for me!â
Comment: Everyone comes to âshooting Coursesâ to shoot, of course. But, learning effective de-selection/disengagement strategies is actually more important, because you learn techniques and life-style alterations that combine to make your use of a gun in self-defense all the more unnecessary and unlikely.
âA superior Operator is best defined as someone who uses his superior judgement to keep himself out of situations that would require a display of his superior skills.â
/John
4 Feb 11
The pain of change, versus the pain of staying the same
Many students express concern over our doctrine that all pan-handlers, aggressive or passive, should be politely dismissed and separated from, immediately and with minimal verbal interaction. Some well-meaning students would actually like to âhelpâ these individuals, with food, cash, etc.
As always, itâs your call, but consider this:
Most people are âwhere they are,â because that is where they want to be! Put another way: in their lives, the pain associated with change continuously exceeds the pain of staying where they are.
How many times Iâve heard, âI hate my job, marriage, family, church, routine, et al. The logical response is, of course, âWell, why donât you quit your job, get divorced, change religions, move away, and start a whole new life somewhere else? Is there something stopping you from doing that? The feeble excuse is, invariably, â… Oh, that would all be too inconvenient…,â ad nauseam.
The stark fact is, as painful as he claims his life to be, the pain of change is even greater. And, so long as that is the case, no purposeful change will ever take place, his ceaseless whining not withstanding.
The only way any of us ever move forward and improve our lives, is when the pain associated with our current lot exceeds the pain of moving on. Itâs a universal formula, and it applies to all of us. Life is motion. Stagnation is always associated with wretchedness and mental illness. For the sake of our own mental health, we have to move on, no matter how painful it is!
Back to the itinerant pan-handler:
Yes, he claims to be miserable, hungry, homeless, et al. Yet, regardless of what you do, or donât do, heâll surely be back on that same street corner, with the same hand-scribbled sign, next week, and the week after, in perpetuity. As miserable as he claims to be, the pain of self-improvement perpetually exceeds the pain of staying where he is.
So, in giving him cash, or even food, you are âeasing his pain,â and thus assuring that he will never change. There is only one thing he really lacks, and thatâs ambition, and well-meaning enablers virtually insure that ambition never rears its ugly head!
Pain is firmly attached to all our lives, and pain is a relentless headmaster. Thus, in forestalling anyone from the full enjoyment of the logical consequences of their own carelessness, stupidity, vanity, sloth, naivety, and bad habits, we ultimately do them, and society, no good service. âGivingâ cash to someone who has done nothing to earn it, is ultimately destructive of their mental health. In fact, youâre doing little more than supporting a drug habit!
This Civilization already has far too many healthy, able-bodied, yet sleazy and willfully-unproductive cowards. Preventing them from ever growing up, from ever squarely confronting their own shortcomings and moving forward, is ultimately a crime against humanity!
For one, I wonât participate.
/John
7 Feb 11
Signs of the times, from a student in TX:
âTwo years ago, I received a gift from one of our vendors. It was a small LED flashlight. It stayed in my desk, forgotten for months. I eventually brought it home.
A few months ago, I read in one of your DTI Quips the story from someone who had been trapped in an office building with no electricity. It made me think about what might happen if, by some freak chance, all of the power went out in my nearly-windowless office. Despite this being highly unlikely, I was inspired to bring that flashlight back to work and put it back in my drawer.
Last week, our area of Texas was hit by a severe and disruptive winter storm. When I came into work Wednesday morning, the first thing I did was head to my desk drawer, recover that flashlight, and put it in my pocket, along with other essential items. Sure enough! Within one hour, the unthinkable happened! Power to our entire building, and our entire section of town, went out.
I was amazed that, of over one-hundred people in my office, only I, and one other person, had personal flashlights! This, despite the fact that warnings of ârolling blackoutsâ had been all over the news that morning and the night before. Yet, the vast majority of my colleagues just walked, head-first, into a dangerous situation with no preparation whatever!
This was just a minor crisis, barely more than an inconvenience for most, the impending occurrence of which was telegraphed via signals that would have been hard to miss!â
Comment: How much worse will the âaverage personâ be during a real, lethal crisis that descends upon us with no warning?
Individual preparedness, in addition to clear thinking (dare I say, âcommon sense?â), still has a long way to go within this civilization!
/John
9 Feb 11
Weâre making progress, even within the USMC! This from a student, currently on active duty:
âI considered myself an Operator and Professional Gunman long before I put my feet on the yellow footprints at Parris Island. I discretely carry personally-owned weapons, including a pistol, anytime I have trousers on. Then, and now!
When assigned, my squad leader, platoon sergeant, and first sergeant progressively became aware, at least in theory, that I was always armed. However, they actively turned a blind-eye towards this Lance Corporal’s deliberate âdisobedienceâ with regard to base ârules,â because they knew I was in a position to protect them too. I earned their trust and confidence as an honorable Marine and competent Operator.
While I was in the shower one day, a NCO from another squad was searching the pockets of my unattended flak vest, claiming he mistook it for his own. In the process, and to his horror, a fully-charged pistol magazine was discovered. My pistol was secured elsewhere.
During the subsequent âoffice hoursâ hearing, presided over by our Battalion CO, I acknowledged that the magazine and ammunition were mine. I was reduced in rank by one grade and given one week of âextra duty.â Honorable behavior is never risk-free!
One night a few weeks later, the duty-NCO hurried into my squadbay and said that the our First Sergeant was holding on the phone and needed to speak directly to me, right away! It seems this First Sargentâs daughter was being aggressively stalked by an ex-boyfriend. The First Sergeant himself was deployed at a distant school at the time, and his family lived off-base.
He instructed me to get in my car, head to his house, and park outside. He then told me to maintain a continuous overwatch until relieved by Sheriff’s Deputies.
After a pause, he added, â…if you went through a metal-detector right now, you wouldn’t get past it, right?â
I thought for a moment, and then answered, âFirst Sergeant, you can be absolutely sure that I would set off a metal detector!â He replied, âGood! Now get down there right away.â
Out of the two-hundred Marines in our unit, he called upon one particular Private First Class in his family’s hour of need. As it turned out, the VCA never showed up, and the night passed without incident. My First Sergeant and I never discussed, nor even acknowledged, the incident after that phone conversation.
However, the first morning after he returned, my First Sergeant successfully pushed through a warrant for my promotion back to the rank of Lance Corporal (Second Award, with Oak-Leafs, Swords and Diamonds). Shortly thereafter, he wrote a letter of personal recommendation to be included in my OCS application!
That all took place several years ago. I still have my pistol, a 1911. My uncle carried it in Vietnam, and I took it to Grenada and other places. After 5k rounds, and three wars, I think it has been adequately broken in. It still runs fine, and I still carry it, every day!â
Comment: Many active-duty students are now adhering to this practice, particularly in light of the Ft Hood incident.
We are looking forward to the day when, as a matter of official policy, all officers and S/NCOs are routinely armed, on and off-duty, within CONUS or deployed overseas, on or off-base, in or out of uniform. It should be a matter of honor!
In the interim, no matter what organization you may be part of, you have to take personal responsibility for your own safety. Lethal, defensive capability is something you should never be without, no matter where you are, nor whom your with, nor who supposedly has an obligation to âprotectâ you.
In the end, youâre on your own!
/John
10 Feb 11
Rabid gun-phobia is, unhappily, not restricted to the military. These comments from a friend who is a sworn Special Agent, with many years of service, with a prominent, federal LE Agency:
âHaving just returned from our National Training Academy, I can tell you that it is still âofficial policyâ there that all firearms, including personally-owned ones, be secured in lockers, to which rightful owners have no access, prior to entry onto campus.
All this, despite Ft Hood, and despite the fact that our Academy grounds are littered with âvettedâ (whatever that means) foreign nationals, including Afghans, and others from nations not necessarily friendly with the USA.
However, I can tell you that this ridiculous âpolicyâ is vigorously and enthusiastically violated by me, and all other serious Special Agents. Why we are all suddenly untrustworthy the moment we step onto campus grounds has yet to be adequately explained to me!
For one, being treated like a clueless infant insults my intelligence, and makes me angry.
Only naive flower-children, who never should have been hired in the first place, pay any attention to this half-witted ârule,â nor any number of other, equally stupid, ones.
We regular violators of this policy may be in line for a forced career-change. However, for one, I was looking for a job when I got here!
Easier to find a new job, than a nearby supply of O+, eh?â
Comment: In this life, there are no risk-free choices. Risk attaches to every option we consider. For one, Iâll not be tranquilly herded into a gas-chamber. Iâll go down fighting. But, thatâs my choice. Far be it from me to tell people what to do!
âGood enoughâ never is!
/John
16 Feb 11
â… the worldâs gone mad today,
and goodâs bad today,
and dayâs night today,
and wrongâs right today,
and all the guys today,
whom women prize today,
are just silly gigolosâ
Composed by Cole Porter, for the 1934 Musical, âAnything Goesâ
In 1970, when I became an LEO, a five-shot snubby revolver was considered adequate for concealed carry. Actually, it probably was no more âadequateâ then than now, but we naively went forward, not realizing the dangerous direction in which world history was taking us.
In fact, in the black-and-white TV era, I remember watching NYPD Chief âPeter Cliffordâ (played by JD Cannon) lecturing displaced NM police officer Sam McCloud (played by Dennis Weaver of âGunsmokeâ fame) about the impropriety of carrying his (McCloudâs) 45Colt SAA in NY City!
âThis is all you need… ,â screeched the Chief, as he waived his own S&W M36 in the air.
On a different channel (also black-and-white), LAPD Defective Sgt Joe Friday (played by Jack Webb) and his loveable partner, Bill Gannon (played by Harry Morgan), on the Dragnet Series, both carried S&W snubbies also, although I remember seeing Sgt Friday with a Colt Detective Special (six-shot) snubby at least once. I ever wished I could be as clever and articulate as Sgt Friday!
Today, S&W still sells lots of five-shot, snubby revolvers, but most of us now consider them suitable only for back-up. Today, most of us, even for routine concealed carry, want a high-capacity autoloader, and at least one spare magazine, all fully-charged with high-performance, controlled-expansion ammunition that represents a quantum leap forward, with regard to terminal performance, over what was the accepted norm just a few decades ago.
I even remember when âhollow-pointâ pistol ammunition was piously banned within many police departments, particularly big, metro areas. I also remember it becoming incrementally, ever so slowly, accepted for regular police service. NYC was one of the last departments to go over.
Today, cast-lead, even jacketed âhardballâ ammunition, is considered acceptable only for practice.
This all happened within a single LEO career!
The real question is, âAre our policies and procedures keeping pace with our technological advances, and with the precipitous decline of our civilization?â
Our officers, imitating what they see on TV, are, even today, endlessly command gun-wielding felons to âdrop your gun,â as the felon points his weapon at officers multiple times! When the felon ultimately surrenders without further incident, the naive officer gets congratulated, instead of fired, as he should be!
Today, during an LEO Class here in CO, when asked why they carry a gun, most officers in attendance had no answer, other than â… because they make me.â When asked why âqualificationâ was important, most responded that it was important only because passing is required for them to keep their jobs.
We, for the most part, got away with attitudes like that in the 1970s. We lived through it, through no fault of our own!
Those idyllic days are gone forever! Today, alertness, incisiveness, quickness, surgical skill, and, yes, even ruthlessness will be required of all of us, in spades!
If youâre not willing to face the challenge squarely, get out now.
âThe battle has begun, gentlemen. Itâs too late to change our dispositions!â
Confederate General Albert S Johnston, at the dawn of the Battle of Shiloh, TN, 6 Apr 1862
/John
17 Feb 11
This clarification from a friend in the Federal System:
âWhen a gun-wielding VCA is pointing his weapon at you, you need to be shooting, not âcommanding,â âpleading,â âbegging,â nor âreasoning!â Such inappropriate verbalizations make for tear-jerking television drama, but represent miserable, indeed suicidal, individual tactics!
According to Tennessee v Garner, rendered by the US Supreme Court in 1985, âverbal warningsâ are only required âwhen feasible.ââ
Comment: Iâm sure this VCA, in threatening you with a lethal weapon, is only âcrying-out for help,â and Iâm confident his threatening behavior is solely due to the fact that his mother didnât breast-feed him as an infant, his underwear are too tight, he received insufficient youth-counseling, ad nauseam.
Of all who put forward these laughable arguments, none have ever worn a uniform, been directly threatened, nor fired a shot in anger in their entire, sheltered lives!
Their pampered fannies are not threatened. Yours is! When youâre not prepared, and eminently willing, to decisively terminate threatening behavior with gunfire, you need to get out of this business… while you still can!
/John
18 Feb 11
âA great many people think they are thinking, when they are merely rearranging their prejudices…
âGeniusâ is little more than the faculty for perceiving in an unhabitual way.â
William James
âThe State is a curse to the individual…
Take the Jewish People, the aristocracy of the Human Race. How is it that they have kept their place apart… amid surroundings of coarse cruelty? By having no State to burden them! Had they remained in Palestine, they would have long ago lost their individuality in the process of their Stateâs construction… as have all other tribes.
One of the qualities of Liberty is that, so long as it is being striven after, it goes on expanding…
The man who stands in the midst of struggle and says, âI have it,â merely shows by so doing that he has just lost it!â
Henrik Ibsen
âLove… is born and thrives only when something remains to be won.
We love only what we cannot have!â
Marcel Proust
During the GWB Administration, his detractors justified their vicious, vile hatred by mouthing incessantly, âdissent is the highest form of patriotism.â From those identical leftist mouths we today hear that dissent is the lowest form of treason, now that their dimpled-darling, BHO, is in office.
Leftists profess to encourage âdiversity…â in everything but opinion! Disagree with them, or even be slow to endorse their religion, and nothing is beneath them in their effort to destroy you.
To leftists, the misery of their enemies is infinitely more important than their own happiness!
Even in the USA, political activity, of any kind, in far from risk-free!
âMost of us would be ashamed of our noblest deeds, if our motives were known!â
Francois De La Rochefoucauld
â… who begin coercive elimination of dissent, soon find themselves exterminating dissenters. Compulsory unification of opinion achieves only a unanimity of the graveyard.â
Robert Jackson
/John
19 Feb 11
These sage comments about TV âCop Shows,â from a renowned trainer:
âWhen training LEOs, both recruits and experienced, I ask them:
âYou are behind cover and involved in a shootout with a single VCA. You fire several shots, and he goes down. What do you do next?â
The most common TV-inspired response is, â… immediately break cover, approach him, kick his gun away, and then check his condition.â
We all take a breath, and then discuss why and when one would ever break cover in such a situation, and how naive script-writers are infinitely more interested in fabricated drama, and ratings, than they will ever be in the survival of real police officers.
Teaching officers what actions are in their best interests and are likely to prolong their lives, rather than place them in mortal danger, is a formidable task, as you can see! I need to overwrite all programming done by years of watching fictitious âcop shows.â
My second challenge is testifying in front of grand juries regarding the actions of bona-fide police in life-and-death situations. Non-police, serving on juries, have spent a lifetime in front of those same TV sets, watching the same sewage! In a short time, I must assist them in understanding that their perception of lethal encounters is entirely inaccurate and based upon manufactured fantasy, not reality. Loosely translated, I must persuade them that virtually everything they âknowâ about this business, is wrong!
When I am unsuccessful, a competent and courageous officer will face years of litigation for only doing what was moral, right, good, and true… for not choosing to commit suicide!
All martial arts skills, armed and otherwise, no matter how refined, mean little when the individual officer does not have personal victory as his primary motivation each time he confronts dangerous situations and individuals.â
Comment: âYou can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality.â
Ayn Rand
âCursed be the social wants that sin against the strength of youth
Cursed be the social ties that warp us from the living Truth
Cursed be the sickly forms that err from honest Natureâs rule
Curse be the gold that gilds the straightened forehead of the fool!â
Tennyson
Cursed indeed!
/John
20 Feb 11
Unarmed in Mexico, or âNothing is too good for our men!â
It has just been confirmed that the two American ICE Special Agents, who were ambushed last week in Mexico by members of a local drug cartel, were both unarmed!
One agent was killed. The other badly injured, sustaining multiple gunshot wounds.
American law enforcement agents assigned to Mexico are apparently all unarmed, as a matter of policy!
All such US agents in Mexico are there on diplomatic passports, so they could be armed. But, those up the food-chain, safe and sound back in the plush, heavily-guarded offices within CONUS, have insured that their agents operating in Mexico are completely defenseless, as a matter of âpolicy.â
I wonder whose job it is to inform widows and orphans about this âpolicy!â
âThe only vice that cannot be forgiven is hypocrisy. The repentance of the hypocrite is itself hypocrisy!â
William Hazlitt
/John
23 Feb 11
âLeisurelyâ reloading?
An important lesson I was compelled to re-learn today!
This afternoon, I was upland bird hunting at a private club here in CO. Of course, this is ârecreationalâ shooting, but I still take it at least a little seriously.
Our quarry was Pheasant and Chukker Partridge. From past experience, I know that Partridge almost always spring in twos, either simultaneously or just a few seconds apart.
I was using a Browning over/under, 12ga. These shotguns are set up so that the Operator can use the manual, tang safety lever to select which barrel fires first, since there is only one trigger. The usual strategy is for the bottom barrel to fire first. A second press of the same trigger will subsequently fire the top barrel.
The bottom barrel is âimproved cylinder.â The top is âmodified.â So, the tighter choke is reserved for when the bird is further away than when the bottom barrel fired (either at the same bird that was missed with the first shot, or at a second bird that has had additional time to gain distance), or at least so goes the theory.
In any event, there I was when a wile Partridge jumped just a few meters to my left and flew straight ahead. I mounted and fired, taking him down with my first shot. I knew I had to replace the expended cartridge in the bottom barrel, so I broke open the shotgun, and the fired case ejected, leaving the top (unfired) round in place.
As I was mentally patting myself on the back for such marvelous shooting, while simultaneously, in a lighthearted way, groveling around in my jacket pocket for a fresh round, a second Partridge sprung from almost the same place and flew at me, just three meters directly over my head!
I dropped the round, closed the shotgun, turned in place 180 degrees, got on the bird and pressed the trigger. Of course, the hammer struck the firing pin, once again, on the bottom barrel, with a deafening âclick,â as the happy bird flew away, chuckling to himself, Iâm sure!
The story could have had a happy ending, had I only:
(1) Simply waited a second or two. I could have then taken the second bird with the top barrel, which would have fired normally.
(2) Pushed the safety tang back âonâ and then immediately back âoff.â That would have activated the top barrel.
(3) Reloaded promptly, rather than consuming valuable seconds congratulating myself!
The painful lessons are obvious:
There is no such thing as âleisurely reloadingâ of any gun. Reloading always needs to be practiced as an emergency procedure. Donât dither!
And… donât relax too soon. Theyâll be ample time to congratulate yourself later!
/John
25 Feb 11
Stoner System, and dust:
In talking with Soldiers and Marines, back from their third and fourth tours in various Mideast Theaters, I hear reports on functioning of their M4s during combat operations, and they are actually encouraging. The System is much improved since Vietnam.
However, there is still dissatisfaction with the 5.56×45 caliber. Poor penetration and lack of range are chronic issues, as they have been for decades! Any number of âmiracle-bulletsâ have come and gone, with no significant improvement.
And, as we all know, the Stoner System is maintenance-sensitive, more so than most other military rifles. In addition, the M16/4 likes to be oily, and that is an issue in any environment where airborne dust and grit are constantly present.
To address the foregoing, my advice, and the policy we practice during my Urban Rifle Courses, is:
âPlug the Holes!â
The M16/4 needs to be âbuttoned-up,â all the time.
Specifically, the spring-loaded dust-cover needs be to manually closed, nonstop. Any time the bolt moves, in either direction, the dust-cover will automatically spring open, so the weapon can function normally. But, it must be closed manually, lest it stay open needlessly. We all need to get into the habit of closing it every chance we get, so that dust and grit will be kept out of the receiver.
Secondly, the magazine-well is a big hole, and, when open, allows much dust and grit to enter the receiver. Thus, a magazine needs to be locked in place within the magazine-well… all the time! My advice is never to carry, nor even store, the weapon with the magazine-well open.
Of course, this flies in the face of many fossilized ârange procedures,â followed, and insisted upon, by the ossified âempty-gun crowdâ (precious few of whom even carry a gun) who grudgingly suffer guns, but only when they are ever-sterile and useless, much like the people who bear them!
Even in active-combat zones, Soldiers are currently required to remove magazines from their rifles upon entering dining facilities. I have never heard a rational explanation for this, but the policy is practiced, even within the sound of hostile gunfire, mostly, I suppose, out of bureaucratic momentum. Of course, soldiers, while eating, cannot jump into action and instantly defend themselves when necessary. And secondly, grit and dust now have an opportunity to enter rifles through all those empty magazine wells!
All of us, in and out of the military, must become accustomed to carrying loaded rifles around-the-clock, indoors and out, just as we continually carry loaded pistols. The best way to practice and rehearse this is during serious range training,
… so long as we can keep the âempty-gun crowdâ away!
/John
26 Feb 11
Interacting with local police. This narrative from one of our students:
âWe have sophisticated electronic security on our home, per your recommendation.
At 9:45pm Tuesday evening, our alarm went off. Both my wife and I were in our house at the time, watching TV. I was carrying my pistol, as I do throughout my day, even when âat home,â again, per your recommendation.
We live in an isolated, rural area, and we thus never know how long police response is going to take. Our alarm company called our County SO, per instructions they have on file for our account. They also called us.
My wife and I ensconced ourselves in our bedroom and waited. The siren continued to wail, but we were able to hear nothing else. I activated an emergency light-switch which lights-up the entire outside of our house, so arriving Sheriffâs Officers can clearly see the exterior.
After a few minutes, I asked my wife to call 911, which she did. The response was, as expected, â… ______ County Sheriff. What is your emergency?â
My wife identified us, our address, and described what had happened, and indicated that the alarm company had called also.
The very next thing the dispatcher said was, â… are there any guns in your house? Are either one of you armed?â
My wife handed the phone to me, and the dispatcher repeated his questions. I answered that we were indeed armed. I then asked if deputies had arrived and if they were deployed outside our house.
He ignored my question and said sternly, â… put your guns away now!â
I replied that there could be armed burglars in my home, and, accordingly, I didnât think putting my guns away right now was in my best interests!
He became very angry! â… our officers will be in a heightened state when they arrive, and your guns will make it worse!â
I calmly told him that, as soon as his officers arrived, we would put our guns away. He didn’t like my answer, and re-insisted that I put all guns away immediately.
I reiterated that disarming myself right now would be unsafe and ill-advised. I stated that we were in fear for our lives and that we had no idea when officers would arrive. I added that I had a current concealed-carry permit.
He then got really angry, going on about how dangerous gun were and how no one should be allowed to own them. I finally interrupted his political diatribe and informed him that I had completed a search of our home, myself, and that I was persuaded it was a false alarm, that there were no burglars, and that I was returning my pistol to its place of storage, which, in my mind was, of course, the holster I was wearing.
He then calmed down enough so as to be understood and asked where my pistol was stored and how many other guns we owned.
At this point, I was fed up! He obviously couldnât care less about our safety and only wanted to know about our guns. I took a breath and told him directly that I was declining to answer his questions with regard to guns we may own and how we kept them. I continued that we would meet his uniformed officers at our front door, which we did.
It then, at least in his mind, became an obvious âpower-struggle.â He insisted that he had the absolute right to know anything about us he wanted, and that I was legally obligated to answer any question he asked, and that I would be arrested when I didnât. I again took a breath and retorted that all of that was rubbish, and that he would be continuing this discussion with our attorney, who would be contacting him, and the Sheriff, the very next day.
Suddenly, he fell silent! After he mumbled incoherently, I informed him that his âservicesâ were no longer required, and hung up.
When uniformed officers arrived, I related to them my âconversationâ with the dispatcher. They looked at each other and said, â… it had to be ______.â They both then laughed and indicated that this particularly dispatcher was indeed, an idiot.
We invited them in, and they searched the house, with, our course, our blessing. Afterward, they indicated that we had done everything right and that it was obvious we were well trained and knew how to handle situations like this one.
They further indicated that they would have words with this particular dispatcher!
Even so, true to my word, our attorney did contact the Sheriff personally, the next day, and we filed a formal complaint against the dispatcher in question.â
Comment: âResponse timeâ is something over which police have little control. We may brag that our âaverageâ response time is mere minutes, but, in your particular case, it may still be hours when there is a lot of other stuff going on, and we are short-handed. In the interim, youâre on your own. Do what is in your best interests!
There are governors, mayors, county commissioners, police chiefs, and individual police officers with personal, anti-gun agendas, along with a host of other political agendas. None should carry such personal opinions/agendas into their jobs, but some do. Shame on them. They need to be remediated, or fired!
A police dispatcherâs job is to receive, translate, and transfer information, in both directions. When you find yourself in a situation like the foregoing, just put down the phone so it can record sounds. Then, do whatever you have to do to keep from getting hurt.
Some civil âservantsâ think we citizens exist only to serve them! They have forgotten who is working for whom. They need to be reminded now and then!
/John
