Who plays video games with an 8 year old at 2:25am?Originally Posted by blues
Who plays video games with an 8 year old at 2:25am?
Who cares? That’s not relevant to the shooting decision. I also didn’t hear the officer say “Police” either.
I have to agree with El Cid on this. Given the circumstances, an officer should consider possible interaction with an armed victim (or, in this case, someone who left her door open).
When I was relevant, I made police presence well known by verbal commands and often positioning of the cruiser, often with lights on, in calls like this. While a burglary culprit may well escape and the officer risks ambush, it seems better odds than the risk of accidentally killing a taxpayer.
IME with people in my yard at night, only the cops use flashlights.
"Gunfighting is a thinking man's game. So we might want to bring thinking back into it."-MDFA
Beware of my temper, and the dog that I've found...
If I saw someone in my yard with lights at night it might be someone looking for a runaway dog, or jacking deer. But certainly a deputy would be on the list as well.
There's nothing civil about this war.
Because it's been LEOs with flashlights in our yard, I stay low because I don't want to take a hit if they're having an OIS at my place. My wife doesn't think like that, so she has stuck her head up to see what's going on. The flip side is that responding to a call like the one in FW, I wouldn't be too quick to be looking in windows lest a panicked homeowner decapitate me with some buckshot.
"Gunfighting is a thinking man's game. So we might want to bring thinking back into it."-MDFA
Beware of my temper, and the dog that I've found...
Good points about LE vs criminals regarding light usage. Not sure how many people in the public would think of that though.
The other issue I’ve found many in our profession don’t want to discuss is how bright our handheld and weapon lights are now. While I want a bright light to give me more information, and be able to cause a bad guy to reflexively look away... I try to remember that the person I’m pointing the light towards can’t see me or anything I’m wearing. This makes it even more vital to verbalize “police!” or whatever your agency may be.
I’ve been lucky enough that every time I was burgled it was during the day when I was gone for work, and haven’t dealt with good or bad guys outside my house. I also think of my house like Chef thought of the boat in Apocalypse Now, especially at night.
The officer never would have seen into my house anyway and I wouldn’t have been able to see out too well either. One of my primal fears, since I was a child, is sitting in a lighted room at night with uncovered windows that I can’t look out of but anybody or anything can look into. When the sun goes down windows get covered.
Last edited by Caballoflaco; 10-14-2019 at 11:39 AM.
This.
Have been in many yards, at night, using a flashlight. Nearly all criminal activity in the same scenario I've seen does not include a flashlight generally.
Also if someone is in your yard, with or without a flashlight, the correct response is to call 911 "there is someone in my yard doing XYZ..." and if they tell you it's the police then you should confirm yourself by NOT sticking your head of your window or quickly pull the blinds open. If they knock on the door, answer it (without a gun in your hand), and if they don't knock on your door, eventually leaving, you probably weren't involved in anything they were doing.
Was this a terrible situation? Totally. Do people inject themselves into situations purely at the whim of their own curiosity? Totally.
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Not long ago I had an incident with unknowns using lights to look in my windows around 12:30am. Keep in mind I live in a rural area, the house is not visible from the road and sits nearly 1/4 mile from the drive entrance. Exterior lighting was off and there are no light sources other than moonlight which was non-existent that night.
I was on the second level with line of sight to the front entrance and couldn’t tell who they were until I lit them up with the light on my carbine. Turned out to be a sheriff deputy and two officers from a neighboring city. 911 confirmed there were officers on location so I went out to visit with them. Their patrol vehicles were parked out on the road and they walked in through the woods.
They were looking for a vehicle involved in a hit and run accident earlier that evening in the neighboring city. They were at the correct house number but the wrong road. There were heated words exchanged that evening and the next day with shift supervisors.
Had I gone to investigate the lights from the first floor who knows what happens if they see an armed individual inside a dark home. I can tell you it never crossed my mind that law enforcement would be at my place in the middle of the night. I don’t live in a city environment where shit randomly pops off. I don’t live in a location where people randomly happen upon it. This incident definitely changed how we monitor the property and control lighting.
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