Jeff White said:
I didn't say you had to be a cop. But I think CAPTAIN MIKE had backup available, they are called his local police.
Oh, you lose!
Police are under no obligation to respond to calls for aid from citizens. That's a matter of well-established law. On the other hand, they're kind of big on responding to calls for help from fellow officers -- and this is understandable. They have got to be able to rely on one another.
Jeff White said:
Even if he didn't have a portable radio on his belt, I bet there was a phone in his house, perhaps even a portable one or a cell he could have carried with him.
I'm not arguing the man could not have done better; I'm pointing out he could have done a great deal worse and that you've no call second-guessing him.
It's a fine opportunity to ask yourself, "What would I do in this situation?" But the fact is that you weren't.
Jeff White said:
And anyone who can't tell a dangerous move from a nervous twitch probably shouldn't be pointing guns at anyone anyway. It doesn't take years of experience to learn that.
Not being a mind-reading Brazilian jujitsu ninja and instead having plenty of reasons to discount the goodwill of strange men, should I ever end up holding some poor, unfortunate chap at gunpoint, he's going to get yelled at for any moves he makes.
Jeff White said:
I am the local police here and I said in my first post in this thread that I would be prepared to draw my weapon when making contact. But the first thing I said wouldn't have been "Put your nose in the dirt, scumbag!" like you hear on TV, it would have been, "Hey man, what are you doing back here?" What happened next would have been totally dependent on what the trespasser said or did.
And there is nothing wrong with that.
On the other hand, for all we know, Capt. Mike is 83 years old and a bit slow and frail. Or asthmatic, recovering from major surgery, 4.5" in cowboy boots or a pseudonym for an 85-lb ex-model.... We don't know.
Jeff White said:
Well the jury isn't in yet on if CAPTAIN MIKE won or not. In most jurisdictions an injured party has two years in which to file a civil claim. CAPTAIN MIKE and the pool man may both have gotten out physically unscathed, but we don't know yet if there will be a civil action and exactly what the limits of his liability are on his homeowners insurance.
You're right, we're not in a perfect world and the pool man could have a claim.
Every action we take carries a price. I have not read Capt. Mike whining about the possible bill; we may assume he understood it when he acted.
Jeff White said:
I'm held to a very high standard every day. A lot higher standard then most armed citizens are because of what I do for a living. So I'm not really too worried.
It wasn't intended as a threat, merely a reminder that it is often easier to judge others more harshly than we judge ourselves. As an LEO, you're a bit better off, liability-wise, than Mike; and while you are indeed held to a higher standard, that is due to you presumed higher degree of training and your status as an agent of a government body.
I've skipped most of the discussion of trespass. While it is not a felony in and of itself, it could easily be indicative of malign intent. Or be interpreted so by a concerned home owner.
Jeff White said:
What is less iminent about having a gun held on you? I don't know what the trigger is on CAPTAIN MIKE's pistol but a mere 3-12 pound of pressure and you'r just as dead as if Holt put his hoe into your skull.
...Pointing a gun at someone and getting them to lie still while you sort the sitaution out is quite different to chasing them with a hoe with evident intent to do great bodily harm.
The only way out of the hoe-chasing with intent is to run faster than the man with the implement, or take a dangerous beating. The best way out of being held at gunpoint by a man whose yard you have trespassed onto is to be still and explain yourself. I don't think Mike was any too eager to drop the hammer -- unlike the man waving the hoe!
Was the situation handled in the best possible way? Probably not. Would you or I have done differently? Probably.
Yelling out a window would likely have been a better first-contact method -- assuming one can yell loudly enough. Not everyone can.
Again, second-guessing this situation is futile. Calling down mondo bad karma on Capt. Mike is futile. Describing how you might handle such a situation is useful information.
--Herself