Armed Customer Halts Violent Attack in Party Store - Would You Intervene?
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Kodiakco
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Excerpt from an article by Evan Marshall:
The Thinking Gunfighter: The Issue of Intervention
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The Thinking Gunfighter: The Issue of Intervention
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I'm not a cop. But many years ago I intervened. A guy was beating the hell out of his girl in a night club where I worked. I grabbed him from behind. We struggled but I was much stronger. I picked him up off the floor. As I turned around and yelled for someone to call the cops, his "girl" hit me in the back of head with her purse several times. Great! Now I had two people to keep an eye on.
That cured me. I'll help. But only on my terms.
And for the record, and I understand anything can happen anywhere, but I don't put my wife in the position of having to deal with such events. If she needs to get something from the store etc.... I go or we go together.
While I certainly understand his thinking, could a decent man live with himself if he just stood there and watched hoping for the cops to get there in time? I think not.
I would rather take my chances in court than watch someone die.
Kodiakco
Member
It is a personal decision anyone that chooses to or not to get involved beyond using a cell phone and being a good witness will have to make.
What is a "decent man"? Is it one that is willing to risk his/her life for another, while at the same time potentially depriving their family of themselves and their income?
A spouse and children standing over a casket won't be consoled knowing he/she was a "decent man".
This conversation has so many facets to it that I don't see a black and white answer to it.
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I have a friend who was unlucky enough to be in a Burger King in Miami when it was being robbed. He drew his weapon and ordered the robber to drop his weapon. The robber promptly turned around and shot a large portion of my friend's *** off.
My friend ended up killing the robber (he gets to live with that for the rest of his life) my friend also ended up with 10's (if not hundreds) of thousands in medical bills and the loss of his former career because he was physically unable to do it any more.
BK disavowed his actions and did nothing to assist him with the medical bills
My friend ended up killing the robber (he gets to live with that for the rest of his life) my friend also ended up with 10's (if not hundreds) of thousands in medical bills and the loss of his former career because he was physically unable to do it any more.
BK disavowed his actions and did nothing to assist him with the medical bills
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke
Kodiakco
Member
Flattop5
Member
I agree. It depends on the circumstances.
Sometimes, you'll get nothing but trouble for intervening. Other times, it'll pay off. It depends.
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JamesArthur60
US Veteran
Not being there and sitting behind a computer right now it's easy to say anything. Having seen how ugly, violent and the potential for death plays into domestic cases when uniform officers intervene, my choices change as a civilian. IMO, verbal commands are a good first choice (hey *******, knock that **** off), but those are mostly ineffective when a crazed person is in fight mode. My vote is dial 911. If it appears to be a life or death situation, plan B should be used. Each one of us has a different plan B.
Couple things.
(1) You don't know the whole story.
(2) If there's no deadly threat, why intervene?
(3) You are primarily responsible for yourself and your family. Everybody else is expendable.
(4) The battered wife/girlfriend has a funny habit of turning on the Good Samaritan/cops. Either she turns violent, or you wind up in a situation where two people are testifying you attacked them for no reason.
(1) You don't know the whole story.
(2) If there's no deadly threat, why intervene?
(3) You are primarily responsible for yourself and your family. Everybody else is expendable.
(4) The battered wife/girlfriend has a funny habit of turning on the Good Samaritan/cops. Either she turns violent, or you wind up in a situation where two people are testifying you attacked them for no reason.
Agreed. That's why I won't blindly intervene but will do so under my terms.
Flattop5
Member
A nice slogan. But too bad that, historically speaking, lots of people have stood by and done nothing about evil. President Harry Truman watching China turn communist and then murder 50 million people comes to mind. Guess nobody noticed Chairman Mao coming to power...oops...
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Protected One
Member
I think I would have had to act in the situation, as described.
Knowing that the police had been called and that the average response time is about 6-7 minutes, if this woman was being beaten as described, I could not live with myself if I stood by and watched...for 7minutes.
Knowing that the police had been called and that the average response time is about 6-7 minutes, if this woman was being beaten as described, I could not live with myself if I stood by and watched...for 7minutes.
Well, why would you stay? My rule is that if the incident is not endangering me or mine, I'm out . . .
Can't say, that would ever be my rule.
About 15 years ago an old man sitting on a bench down town is attacked and beaten by a 18 year old and 2 around 16.
People watched and did nothing but call 911.
The old man had a broken jaw, cracked eye socket and internal body damage.
Cops caught the 3 a few blocks away 20 minutes later.
They stated that he had called them the "N" word.
He spent the next 3 months in the hospital and died.
The DA said he could not charge any of them with any other charges of homicide since so much time had past.
6 months for assault for the 18 year old and some Juvenal time for the other two....
Wonder how the people who just watched and just called 911 felt.
Oh well, he was old and would have died sometime anyway...
People watched and did nothing but call 911.
The old man had a broken jaw, cracked eye socket and internal body damage.
Cops caught the 3 a few blocks away 20 minutes later.
They stated that he had called them the "N" word.
He spent the next 3 months in the hospital and died.
The DA said he could not charge any of them with any other charges of homicide since so much time had past.
6 months for assault for the 18 year old and some Juvenal time for the other two....
Wonder how the people who just watched and just called 911 felt.
Oh well, he was old and would have died sometime anyway...
Ozark Marine
US Veteran
They felt the same as they did at the time of the beating of that old man. Nothing!
About 15 years ago an old man sitting on a bench down town is attacked and beaten by a 18 year old and 2 around 16.
People watched and did nothing but call 911.
The old man had a broken jaw, cracked eye socket and internal body damage.
Cops caught the 3 a few blocks away 20 minutes later.
They stated that he had called them the "N" word.
He spent the next 3 months in the hospital and died.
The DA said he could not charge any of them with any other charges of homicide since so much time had past.
6 months for assault for the 18 year old and some Juvenal time for the other two....
Wonder how the people who just watched and just called 911 felt.
Oh well, he was old and would have died sometime anyway...
A sad story to be sure. I wonder how my wife and kids would have felt if I had intervened and lost, when it was not my job to do so, given that I am the sole provider for the family, and my financial planning has failed to include "Good Samaritan" as a cause of death or incapacitating injury . . .
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