In all, I think that joe regular dude did pretty well with a really bad scenario not of his making.
I think LE response time was pretty marginal, especially for an invasion in progress call in a major urban area (I am familiar with that part of west Seattle; it can be a bit sketchy). But I am not in the business there, and I don’t know what sort of ongoing issues the department has to deal with.
As to "unload and secure," not until I *know* that I’m safe, agreed.
JMO, OMMV, etc.
”But in the end all of these ideas just manufacture new criminals when the problem isn't a lack of criminals.” -JRB
White Center is unincorporated (hence the Sheriff's response, rather than SPD), so it's probably not as well covered police wise as everything around it. I think it's slowly getting gobbled up by the cities around it.
Last edited by idahojess; 05-31-2019 at 07:39 PM.
A bit off topic, but I also find it interesting that the homeowner seemed to be able to hear just fine after firing multiple shots. He had no trouble understanding the 911 operator over the phone.
Recovering Gun Store Commando. My Blog: The Clue Meter
“It doesn’t matter what the problem is, the solution is always for us to give the government more money and power, while we eat less meat.”
Glenn Reynolds
What is your complaint about the dispatcher? Every protocol I’ve ever seen has the homeowner putting the weapon down before they interact with the responding officers. The reason she had him unload it and put the rounds in his pocket was to make sure the downed prep didn’t have access to a loaded gun after the homeowner went downstairs. The only possible variation I could see would be having the homeowner down the weapon after he was downstairs and before he opened the door.
So you’d have the homeowner walk out the front door with his weapon? How’s that going to turn out with officers that are already amped up knowing shots have been fired? She did her job, followed her protocols, and was looking out for the safety of both her officers and the homeowner.
I’m not saying she did a perfect job, she should have gotten a description of the caller and the clothes he was wearing, but all in all your complaint has more to do with law enforcement protocols than that particular dispatcher.
I can play that game too. Show me where I said you said it. How about we act like adults and not turn this forum into ARFCOM?
I was asking you a question not putting words in your mouth. At what point, in your opinion, should the homeowner put the weapon down before interacting with the officers? Keep in mind if the other perp left out a door it is possible officers may have already made entry into the house without notifying dispatch.
Really the main reason I posted was to put out that dispatchers have scripted protocols to follow which are designed to ensure the safety of the responding officers and the callers. Her instructing the caller to put the weapon down before meeting the officers is typical of those protocols. Having him unload it and take the ammo with him in case the downed perp is playing possum is actually a step beyond the protocols I’ve seen.