This is the stuff that just makes me mad!!

[LA_MERC_Spark]

This is a post from the self defense forums.. a buudy of mine shared the story with me and i thought ..well maybe some other folks would like to be po'ed....some peeps are just unbelieveable!!


What would you do?

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OK, first off. Let me tell you that I'm no vigilante. And as selfish as it may seem, I'm no longer the type to render aid to strangers for fear that my helping hand may only cause me undue civil troubles after the fact. I want to pose a hypothetical situation that is based "loosely" on a recent event and ask what would you do?

Lets say that one Monday afternoon you stop off at the local discount store to pickup your weekly/monthly supply of laundry detergent, dishwashing soap, and other household supplies. While putting bags away into your vehicle you see another shopper who is obviously being setup for a robbery but doesn't see it coming. We'll say that you have the skill and opportunity to prevent the robbery by calling the victim's attention to the impending attack and hopefully let them deal with it or just plainly neutralizing the attacker yourself by some non-lethal means. The question is, should you even bother? Morally, the answer is obvious. But those morals seem to have fallen out of favor these days and so I wonder.


Once upon a time, I would have said that as a citizen, you are obligated to help your fellow citizens, period. But recent experiences have shown me that no good deed goes unpunished and so I'm no longer quite as willing to help those unwilling/unable to help themselves. Reason number 456, that I should NOT consider being a police officer.

I ask this question because a friend recently prevented an assault/robbery in a parking lot but broke the thief's wrist and dislocated his shoulder in the process. When the police arrived, all the thief's intended victim could say was that my friend didn't have to be so violent. Now the judge luckily wasn't an idiot and the cvase will never see trial but, that would be victim wanted to sue my friend for mental anguish caused by the brutal display of force in front her and her kids. Nevermind that the robber was a convicted felon with a history of rape, kidnapping, burglary and robbery which means it could have been a whole lot worse had he been able to execute his plan. The whole thing left me wondering if it wouldn't have been better to just let the lady and her kids become food rather than allowing them continue to live.

Should we all just say screw it and not get involved in keeping society safe? Should we just let the bad guys do as they please until the police catch up to them and never bother with defending anyone but ourselves and our families? On the otherhand, had the woman been my mom, I would want someone to try to help her and would be infuriated to know someone had the power to prevent it but chose otherwise. So I'm left wondering, do you let Darwin's theory take over to weed out the timid/weak/unobservant or do we continue to strive for what's right regardless of the finacial/legal risks to ourselves?

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I'm curious as to your thoughts on this, guys (and gals, too)

[Mrs.B[s]]

Gosh darnit this pisses me off!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes I would want someone to defend me if my kids and I were at risk of being hurt and no I wouldn't be the wimp standing there complaining about brutality. That is BS. But one thing that the instructors in Tae Kwon Do have told us repeatedly is that you have to be careful even in self defense because the #@$$% that would try to attack someone in the first place could turn around and say they were attacked.

All I gotta say is if someone comes after my kids they better be ready for a fight because they are gonna get one.

Jessica

[LA_MERC_Mercy]

woot you go girl

[LA_MERC_MadMAX]

Yeah, that p's me off too...
I like to think that my fellow citizens would come to my aid in an emergency, but in these day's and times, who knows. Mrs. B, and Scott, I know you are from Cali, and Spark, I know you are from Louisiana. I would think that the whole "Southern Gentleman" thing would carry over there. I've been in Louisiana a total of 3 days out of my life, and with all that happened during that weekend, I didn't notice people's manners, but here in South Carolina, if you are walking into a public building, and there aren't any automatic door and someone is less that 200 feet or so behind you, as in talking distance, you hold the door for them, especially if it is a child or a Lady. I ALWAYS, if I don't know the person, say "Yes Ma'am or Yes Sir", simply out of respect for my fellow "Sandlapper" (What us South Carolinians affectianatelly [sp?] call each other) I would expect the same respect to come into play in a robbery/mugging situation. I would definately come to someones aid that was about to be a crime victim. NO MATTER WHAT THE OUTCOME!!!! I feel that it is my civic duty.

Maybe that's just me. I dunno.

j.

[LA_MERC_Cowboy_From_Hell]

hehehe...First off Mrs B is Mercy's wife and therefore lives in Louisiana. CS Widow is my wife (honest mistake MAX).

I have the benefit of 2 things. One, being a police officer I can articulate why I did what I did based on training, experience and my observations at the time I intervened. Two, I can carry a gun (don't always).

Assuming I had my gun at the time this was going on the "victim" would have been suing my for dry cleaning because she would have had "essence of ***hole" all over her....That's fine, I've been sued before. Had I not had my gun, I would have taken a REAL hard look as to what else was going on in the area. Did the guy have a partner lurking about somewhere? Did he appear to have a weapon himself? Also, am I alone or with my family. If I'm with my family, especially kids without the wife I'm gonna be a really good witness. Suspect description, vehicle license plate, direction of travel and so on. I'd rather have my kids see "some lady" get robbed then have them see me get hurt or killed. I'm not a coward, I just care more about my family then I do a stranger.

My take is getting sued is nothing to be concerned about. It's totaly stupid that someone would even think about it but that mentality goes right along with the "having no clue" as to what is going on around her. As far as Darwinian theory goes...some people truly deserve to cease being....QUIT BREATHING MY AIR....leeches.

Scott

[SgtJeff]

I'll take Scott's one further...true story...LAPD detective, still on the job...20+ years ago...out with his wife..Robbery goes down, he gets involved..two bad guys, and one bad guy ends up taking his wife hostage...he shoots and misses...guess who he hits..and yes, she dies leaving his two kids without a mother. One reason for not getting involved. But Scott is right. Some folks just didn't deserve bein born.

[LA_MERC_RPSNIPER]

I agree with Scott. My first thought would be on protecting my family. If I can get them safely out of the picture then I will do what I can to help. Also most people now days carry a cell phone. If nothing else you can stand at a distance behind cover and direct the police to the problem. If it was me by myself, it would depend on how many of them there were and if I was armed. One on one I would jump in. But before I did anything I would try and call it in if I could.

[LA_MERC_LaTech]

I agree...I would protect the people I cared about personally first, then would proceed to assist the other guy. Now, I've always been told that if someone breaks into your house, be sure you don't just hurt them, becasue they can sue you. Having said that, I would try to make sure that this was the last time that person ever attacked another person.

[LA_MERC_Spark]

I agree with everyone here for the most part....though my lack of formal training demands that i think carefully b4 jumping into that kind of situation.. that being said, I will always do everything i can to help peeps out... the thing about this guys story is the would be victums actions... The sad part is this was just one of several similar post!! The BAWLS on some peeps! In this case natural selection should have been allowed to commence!

[LA_MERC_BS]

I'll give you two personal stories that happened to me. You will be able to see the difference in the type people mentioned in both stories.

1. A woman stopped me one night when I was working and told me that the guy across the street is the one who attacked her last week. She was walking to her car with her purse around her body. The guy drove by and grabbed the purse. Well he ended up dragging the woman beside the car for about 50 yards before the strap broke. So I went over to the guy and told him that I needed to talk to him. He gets that "Oh a black man can't even go to the gas station without being harrassed by the Police". I told him the deal. She has already identified the guy as her attacker. Well there was a little resistance when I was taking the bad man into custody. Actually he had to go to the hospital. anyway when court time came around, the woman told the bad mans lawyer and the Police Chief that I was too violent with the bad man. She dropped the charges and I got sued and reprimanded.

2. I was taking a burglary report at a womans house. All day long someone had been making trips back and forth moving out her furniture. Well she still had a few chairs sitting on the front porch. So I parked my unit around the back of the house and went inside the house to take the report from the woman. Next thing I know , the burglar came back to get some more stuff. He never knew I was inside the house. I met the burglar on the porch. Once again , there was a little resistance. Well it was actually a fist fight in front of the woman and her kids. In the end I had him cuffed but he wouldn't walk. so I dragged him by his feet on his back to my unit. The whole way we are cursing and hollaring at each other in front or the woman and her kids. The woman called the Police chief and told him of what a fine officer I was and what a great job I was doing.

Two different breeds of people. The first woman didn't care that I caught her man, tore a uniform , I got kicked in the face ,and spent 3 hours on paper work. All for her purse and her knowledge that we are going to protect her and catch her attacker. The second woman did care. That was 7 years ago, and I still get a Christmas card from that woman every year.

[LA_MERC_Spark]

dern I'm glad I stayed away from a career as a LOE... You guys have WAY more self control than me... story #1 would have sent me packin I tell ya... The lack of ........AHHHHH...whatever.....to mad to continue post!! Thanx to all you guys who protect and serve!!!

[Daedelus]

This is one of those moral delemas people just have to deal with in each to there own. I would personally have to judge the situation and evaluate what i feel the out come would be and decide best corse of action and weather it would be worth it.Not to say that things may/and do happen that you didnt intend or that you couldnt forsee.but hey you made the choice as best you could.
I can think of many numerous times i have stopped on the busy freeways in california to lend assitance with flats tires and auto accidents and etc.Each time thinking about could this be a set up(fake broken down car)just to lure me out of my vehicle to get to me, or my car.and most of the time people are very greatfull i stopped to see if they needed help after surveying the situation.the biggest thanks i had was from a CHP that was just siting in his car making a report,but i saw a person stopped on the road and didnt see him moving, i felt i just couldnt go by and hear later on the news that the officer had bled to death or something. He asked me why would you stop to see if i was alright and i told him i know how many times he must stop and help people in need always wondering if something bad was going to happen and that i was just returning the good favor.Granted i did stop in front of him put my hazzard lights on and walk slowly with my hands were he could see them towards him till he spotted me(didnt want to supprise him)

Well i am just rambling now but i think its just one of those right and wrong issuess or simple as Karma. thanks ramling over

[LA_MERC_LaTech]

BSlap...you have much more self control than I have...that first lady would have had a visit from me...nothing would have happened except me telling her my mind, but still...

Thanks to all the Law Inforcement and Military peeps we have out there...you are all appreciated.