In our society you are 100% correct. He entered his house suspecting someone was there which God forbid there was and he had to do something he would have been in the wrong. I'm might be overly possessive but in my mindset I feel a man has just as much or more responsibility to protect their home than the police do. Of course my mind is a bit warped and I am likely better off letting MA decide when I am in the right and in the wrong and how important my home is to me. God forbid I make any decisions without consulting them and having them hold my hand along the way. But in all seriousness I do see your point and I thank you for keeping me honest. I just feel sometimes we are swayed into thinking something is wrong based on outside opinion when in all reality its not. Its only human to protect your family even if it means clearing a house all by yourself instead of calling the police.
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Swept my House This Afternoon - False Alarm
- Thread starter TimMcG74
- Start date
In our society you are 100% correct. He entered his house suspecting someone was there which God forbid there was and he had to do something he would have been in the wrong. I'm might be overly possessive but in my mindset I feel a man has just as much or more responsibility to protect their home than the police do. Of course my mind is a bit warped and I am likely better off letting MA decide when I am in the right and in the wrong and how important my home is to me. God forbid I make any decisions without consulting them and having them hold my hand along the way. But in all seriousness I do see your point and I thank you for keeping me honest. I just feel sometimes we are swayed into thinking something is wrong based on outside opinion when in all reality its not. Its only human to protect your family even if it means clearing a house all by yourself instead of calling the police.
I could have been clearer about this in my original post, but the quad only looked like it was chained to the fence. Later, when I looked closer, it was a tow chain that was draped over my fence but not locked.
I understand the disagreement with the way I handled the situation, but in the moment we don't always make the right decisions. My instinctive reaction was to alleviate the confusion the situation caused, and, if there was a threat, to create a barrier between that threat and my family. To be honest, in broad daylight on a relatively well traveled road in a house that is close to the street, the idea of calling the police didn't enter my mind until I was in the house.
To answer whomever asked what I would have done if I encountered a threat, I would have done my best to neutralize it. I am by no means a cowboy and I have nothing to prove, but the DA would be the last thing on my mind when facing a potential physical threat to my family.
Could what I did have gotten me killed? In retrospect, sure, but we don't always have the benefit of hindsight.
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Not if he ate a ruffie meatball
Garys
NES Member
I think that you need to think this thing through a bit more. Self defense is a legitimate defense if you have no option to avoid a confrontation. Going into your house, getting a weapon, and then clearing the house probably would not be considered self defense by the DA or the police. You also had the option of driving down the street and calling 9-1-1. This would have put your family out of any potential danger.
How did you know that you weren't walking into an ambush by going into your house? Could a bad guy have found a nice location to attack you from before you got to your gun safe?
Those aren't criticisms, but things that you should think about in case something like this should happen again.
How did you know that you weren't walking into an ambush by going into your house? Could a bad guy have found a nice location to attack you from before you got to your gun safe?
Those aren't criticisms, but things that you should think about in case something like this should happen again.
In God We Trust
NES Member
I have am issue with the mindset of some of you guys regarding when to call the police. If I called the police every time I heard a bump in the night, or every time my motion sensor light when on, whatever, I would be calling them at least once or twice a day.
I agree that If you come home and find your door kicked in or hear a window smash in the middle of the night, it's probably a good time to call. It's just not reasonable to pick up the phone every time you hear a dog bark in the neighborhood however. I'm not sure how it would play out in court, but does anyone really think that you have done something legally wrong (even in MA) if you grab your gun and go investigate a strange sound in the middle of the night?
I agree that If you come home and find your door kicked in or hear a window smash in the middle of the night, it's probably a good time to call. It's just not reasonable to pick up the phone every time you hear a dog bark in the neighborhood however. I'm not sure how it would play out in court, but does anyone really think that you have done something legally wrong (even in MA) if you grab your gun and go investigate a strange sound in the middle of the night?
I don't think I would have called the police either. If I had come home and I heard my alarm going off or if I had come home and found a door kicked in or a window busted in, yes I would have called the police.
In this case it sounded like a stange quad on the side of the road and nothing amiss with the house, ya I would most likely say to the wife have the phone ready I'm going to check the house out and get back to you.
When the blood is pumping we do not think correctly, thats normal, we act then think latter, is that good, no it isn't, but, it's what we do.
In this case it sounded like a stange quad on the side of the road and nothing amiss with the house, ya I would most likely say to the wife have the phone ready I'm going to check the house out and get back to you.
When the blood is pumping we do not think correctly, thats normal, we act then think latter, is that good, no it isn't, but, it's what we do.
+1 If I have a feeling there COULD be someone in the house then I would clear the house, but if the door was kicked in broken window or any other sign of forced entry and KNEW someone was/is in the house then I would call the cops. If you hear a something go bump during the night you wouldn't call the cops just because someone could be in your house. You would check it out yourself.
That's were I differ, If I thought there was someone in the house and I was disarmed as he was I would call the police. I think if I was even armed and I thought someone was in the house I would stiill call the police.
The way things are today with everyone being sue happy now adays and the way DA's are I would think that it wouldn't turn out good for the home owner that came home and entered the house knowing that someone was in there.
As far as sue happy, just take what some of the family of the folks killed on 9/11 are doing, they are sueing the air lines for allowing the high jackers to get on the air planes.
+1.
Attachments
This.
There were no signs of imminent danger in this scenario, only a suspicious vehicle. Of course, if there were clear signs of a break in I wouldn't storm inside and confront the home invader; I'd take my family to the neighbors house and call the cops. I was merely checking out my home to confirm that it was safe, and I won't second guess my decision to arm myself while doing so. There are many things I could have done which may or may not have been more prudent, but again, we don't have the benefit of hindsight in the moment. Fortunately, it turned out to be nothing.
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Good point! I just gave one of the PPIH classes yesterday. The intent of the class is an "eye opener" and to make you think in advance about handling situations like this.
I agree here, NEVER enter your house first under such questionable circumstances.
You need to take PPIH to get you thinking about such things, seriously.
Sweeping a house is definitely not something for one person to do, no matter how good they are or how well they know the layout. Great way to end up stone dead. I'll call 911 every time and let them (or more likely their dogs) do it for me.
Ken
Ken
For those who are already NRA Pistol Instructors, I'm offering the PPITH Instructor Course at Pelham F&G on July 30, and I believe that Rick is offering it down south some time soon.
Ken
+1 but i dont yell you can compromise your position that way. i hand signal like the SEALS and belly crawl through the kitchen to my loaded Desert Eagle i have duct taped under my kitchen table. Obviously shirtless and with face paint.
+1 Bingo. There's a difference between tactically clearing a house out of an expectation that someone is in the house with bad intent and making your wife wait outside while you walk through each room because you're a little suspicious. I would not be drawn and pieing corners. If I spotted something wrong then (signs of break-in), then I get out and we drive off calling the cops.
In God We Trust
NES Member
I never knew there were so many fudds here at NES. All this talk about freedom and small government and self reliance, but then you call advocate that a guy should call the cops because there was a quad chained to his fence? If you guys were groundhogs, spring would never come.
D
Deleted member 12999
Fine. Don't call police. Call a 2a friend and clear your house. Most people's point is don't clear a house alone and leave your family right outside. Just a learning experience. OP can decide what he would/wouldn't do should the next time arise. I'm not judging, I've done similar stuff and try to improve on decision making every day.
I don't think of it as over reacting.
IF and when my alarm system goes off in the middle of the night, I grab my "night gun" and a tactical flashlight, and sweep my whole house, including the barn.
First few times, I was a bit nervous. Now, any bad guys are in serious trouble. With either me (if they point a gun at me) or the cops (if they are unarmed).
IF and when my alarm system goes off in the middle of the night, I grab my "night gun" and a tactical flashlight, and sweep my whole house, including the barn.
First few times, I was a bit nervous. Now, any bad guys are in serious trouble. With either me (if they point a gun at me) or the cops (if they are unarmed).
The only way I'm not entering MY house first and checking things out is if the fire dept is already there and pouring 2.5" lines into it. And considering the fire dept in my town only saves basements, the chance of that is nil.
My house. My life. My decisions. I'll be damned before I turn my home over to anyone.
My house. My life. My decisions. I'll be damned before I turn my home over to anyone.
You calling me fat?
Kick you in the shins, buttboy.
