05-30-2013, 02:59 PM
This happened in Fort Worth, TX, which is the city I live in. So this is a hot topic.
What we know:
-2 Rookies working the night shift together
-Police responded to the wrong house
-Homeowner came out with a gun to investigate his neighbors alarm going off
What was done wrong:
-2 Rookies should never be put together
-If the old man did draw on the cops, he shouldn't do it unless he is certain that they are perps.
If the old man drew on the cops, then there are errors on both sides here. But he may have had good reason too.
1) The old guy should've looked out the window to see if there was police vehicle out there, to understand that there could police and possibly a perp out there.
2) When the police saw the garage door go up, they should identify themselves as LEO's. Typically LEO's are trained to flood the person with light blinding them. The old guy just rolled out of bed and was probably disoriented, and if I were him I would be concerned that they maybe perps. This is why #1 is important to get a full understanding of the situation or as much as he could.
3) If I'm coming out of my garage to respond to a neighbors alarm and I see flashlights blinding me in my drive way, I might be tempted to draw IF I didn't know there were LEO's outside. That is why #1 is important again.
4) If the old guy didn't know there were cops out there, which I don't think he knew, I can't fault him for drawing.
5) The LEO's are responding to a possible burglary, as far as the know they are at the right house, and they see a guy coming out of the house into the garage with a weapon drawn. I can't fault them for blinding the old guy and telling him to put the weapon down. Then I can't fault the guy for resisting, because I would want to see some ID and if he is blinded, he has no idea that they are LEO's. If the guy could see the officers in uniform, there is no way he would've drawn at that point.
Theory:
-The old guy didn't know they were cops, and didn't see them in uniform when he opened the garage
-He saw flashlights in the driveway, knowing there is a possible burglary and had his weapon up
-The LEO's seeing a drawn weapon while responding to a possible burglary they fire.
-Surely they told him to put the weapon down but the old guy wanted confirmation and the rookies were twitchy.
Faults on bothsides IMO. Not cut and dry that the LEO's are at 100% at fault.
Lessons learned:
-Rookies shouldn't be put together
-Know the situation as well as possible. Is it possible that there are LEO's on the scene? Investigate as much as possible from in your house if something is going on outside.
-Don't draw until you are ready to shoot which means confirmation of target.
Granted, I'm not LEO and I might be off base on some of this but I think I'm going about it in a practical and sensible manner. This is heartbreaking because it all happens in a split second and if both parties feel threatened, bad things can happen. Some errors by both parties created this tragedy, but civillians will make mistakes and rookies and veterans will make mistakes.
What we know:
-2 Rookies working the night shift together
-Police responded to the wrong house
-Homeowner came out with a gun to investigate his neighbors alarm going off
What was done wrong:
-2 Rookies should never be put together
-If the old man did draw on the cops, he shouldn't do it unless he is certain that they are perps.
If the old man drew on the cops, then there are errors on both sides here. But he may have had good reason too.
1) The old guy should've looked out the window to see if there was police vehicle out there, to understand that there could police and possibly a perp out there.
2) When the police saw the garage door go up, they should identify themselves as LEO's. Typically LEO's are trained to flood the person with light blinding them. The old guy just rolled out of bed and was probably disoriented, and if I were him I would be concerned that they maybe perps. This is why #1 is important to get a full understanding of the situation or as much as he could.
3) If I'm coming out of my garage to respond to a neighbors alarm and I see flashlights blinding me in my drive way, I might be tempted to draw IF I didn't know there were LEO's outside. That is why #1 is important again.
4) If the old guy didn't know there were cops out there, which I don't think he knew, I can't fault him for drawing.
5) The LEO's are responding to a possible burglary, as far as the know they are at the right house, and they see a guy coming out of the house into the garage with a weapon drawn. I can't fault them for blinding the old guy and telling him to put the weapon down. Then I can't fault the guy for resisting, because I would want to see some ID and if he is blinded, he has no idea that they are LEO's. If the guy could see the officers in uniform, there is no way he would've drawn at that point.
Theory:
-The old guy didn't know they were cops, and didn't see them in uniform when he opened the garage
-He saw flashlights in the driveway, knowing there is a possible burglary and had his weapon up
-The LEO's seeing a drawn weapon while responding to a possible burglary they fire.
-Surely they told him to put the weapon down but the old guy wanted confirmation and the rookies were twitchy.
Faults on bothsides IMO. Not cut and dry that the LEO's are at 100% at fault.
Lessons learned:
-Rookies shouldn't be put together
-Know the situation as well as possible. Is it possible that there are LEO's on the scene? Investigate as much as possible from in your house if something is going on outside.
-Don't draw until you are ready to shoot which means confirmation of target.
Granted, I'm not LEO and I might be off base on some of this but I think I'm going about it in a practical and sensible manner. This is heartbreaking because it all happens in a split second and if both parties feel threatened, bad things can happen. Some errors by both parties created this tragedy, but civillians will make mistakes and rookies and veterans will make mistakes.