What would you have done?

[CTMC(ret)]

On 4/25/2009, 2 Okaloosa County (FL) sheriff's deputies were shot and killed by a man they'd gone to arrest. A link to an article is below. My question is this: If you were one of the deputies (and many here can relate to that), how would your thoughts and actions be affected by the knowledge that the subject can be violent (wife beater, general bad-a$$) and you were going to a shooting range to effect the arrest?

I'll go out on a limb here - in the given situation, I would probably consider the necessity of arresting him at a place where firearms are readily available, his proclivity for violence, and the upsides/downsides of waiting to take him into custody at a location/time more likely to avoid violence. OK...call it arm-chair quarterbacking, if you must, but I still have to wonder.

Such a tragedy - my prayers do go out to their families...

Sheriff: Man killed 2 deputies after being stunned

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[RED]

There is no mention of why the perp was at the range to begin with. Nor is it clear why the deputies confronted him in such a location. Clearly, since he was awaiting disposition of a domestic violence charge, carrying concealed was a crime in itself.

It is probably insignificant anyway because the LEO's were probably told to arrest him and that is exactly what they tried to do. But, being experienced cops they probably over estimated their own abilities and under estimated the suspect's.

[charles isaac]

Hello CTMC

It makes my blood boil to know that this is a victory for the Police hating trash out there.

Sorry, I do not like to use less than lethal devices and given the history of the perp, I would draw down on him.

[Dale in Louisiana]

He couldn't have been at the range. The Lautenberg Amendment prevents people under domestic violence restraining orders from possessing guns.

Yes, they could have picked a place somewhat less likely to have the individual in possession of firearms. somebody wasn't thinking things through.

dale

[JB White]

For all we know he was probably known to be carrying anyway. The arrest was initiated in the parking lot and not on the firing line. Better there than a shopping center.

[Jim K]

Again a misunderstanding of the Taser. Most police underestimate it, thinking it is an effective but essentially harmless device to use against mouthy teens and people who are nasty but not violent. Yet, people have been killed with Tasers and it can be a lethal weapon.

Here we have a case where the Taser was overestimated. The officers just assumed that the hit would permanently discourage the man, and in most cases it probably would have. But this man was not discouraged and as soon as the Taser timed out, he went back to aggression.

On a personal note, I once was hit by Mace. I was a deputy sheriff at the time and volunteered (OK, I was a stupid deputy) to take a shot of Mace, which was new at the time. The idea was that I would have my gun out (empty, of course) and would try to "shoot" the other deputy after taking the Mace. The result was that I was hit in the face, the stuff burned like h*ll, but I "fired" six rounds at the Mace wielder. Since he depended on the Mace and didn't move, I would have shot and probably killed him. Of course, I was prepared, which the average person would not have been. But still, I think it proves that it doesn't pay to depend on any device, even a gun, to stop a determined attacker.

Jim