Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Yesterday saw the release of two videos involving police a half-world away from one another, one from France showing the cowardly slaying of a French officer during the terrorist attack against Charlie Hebdo in Paris, and the other from a Seattle Police dash cam showing the south Seattle New Year’s Eve incident in which nobody was apparently hurt.
Both videos provide learning opportunities, not only for cops and legally-armed private citizens, but also for police and self-defense critics operating under the delusion that only non-lethal responses to dangerous people should be allowed. The Seattle video, above, provides a challenge to those who fancy themselves as “gunfight savvy.” Watch carefully and see if you can spot a particularly smart move.
According to the Seattle Police Blotter, SPD homicide detectives continue to investigate the shooting, as the suspects got away. Three of the officers in the video are on paid administrative leave.
Contrast the SPD video with the graphic images from Paris, linked here. This video has streaked across social media as a grim reminder that the mere suggestion of pleading or negotiating with terrorists is an option. Arguably, the same might be said about trying to negotiate with madmen or gang-bangers who have opened fire. That’s hardly the best time to be trying to analyze the shooters or their motives, as anyone who has taken self-defense training, or been involved in a gunfight would attest.
Self-defense experts may offer different tactical solutions, but there has never seemed to be any disagreement on the proper response to someone who is shooting at you. Shoot back, preferably from behind solid cover. That, of course, requires the presence of a defensive firearm, and the presence of mind to use it decisively.
Searches for the gunmen, both in France and in the Seattle shootout, are still very much underway. One of the suspects in France reportedly turned himself in last night. Hamyd Mourad, 18, reportedly heard his name on the news, so he walked in to a small town police station in eastern France and surrendered. The other two suspects, Said and Cherif Kouachi, are still being sought at this writing.
Yesterday’s events reinforced the reality that private citizens, including members of the press, are not immune to criminal violence or barbaric terrorism. Tens of thousands of French citizens, outraged by the Paris attack, turned out last night in solidarity, declaring with signs, “Je Suis Charlie” (I Am Charlie).
The common denominator in both the Paris and Seattle cases is that the perpetrators are still out there, and should be considered armed and very dangerous. Murdering a dozen people at a newspaper office, or opening fire on a group of Seattle police removes all doubt about evil intent, and there may only be one way to deal decisively with evil, and it doesn’t involve therapy, group hugs or trying to empathize with one’s enemies.
http://www.examiner.com/article/terrorists-loons-or-bangers-when-shots-fired-shoot-back