Posted: 7/16/2008 6:10:17 PM EDT
|
Sounds like we almost had a shooting. Got dispatched for a suicidal subject at our PD. We roll up and get directed to an officer chatting with a subject by the parked squad cars. The officer tells us this guy (40's H/M) came to the front desk, then, after stepping outside with the officer, asked him if he would "put a bullet in his head".  The cop of course was  , and asked the guy "are you for real?"The gentleman said "Yes... and if you won't help kill me, I'll find another way". Turns out the guy is going through a divorce, and the soon-to-be-ex is telling him he won't get to see his kids. I'm not sure how realistic a threat that is, even with the rocky history, but emotionally the guy said the only reason he hasn't done anything is because he doesn't want his kids growing up without a father. He's frisked and follow us to the ambulance, where we get his vitals and contact the hospital. On the way up we're talking, and he says "You know, I have this thing at home... it's a lighter, but it looks like a gun." Okay.... "I was going to call the cops, and then point it at them when they showed up, so they'd have to shoot me"  Once we got to the ER, I mentioned our exchange to the staff and the involved officer at the ER - nobody thought he wouldn't have tried that stunt, or the outcome. The whole time the guy was very calm and methodical. You could tell he was upset, but it's the folks like these - the ones that just want the pain to go away - that are more of a threat to themselves and others than the "I'll show XYZ" attention seekers. Y'all stay safe out there Brothers... |
I'm glad that everything worked out.  Back in about '91 I got a call about a guy waving a gun around and threatening his neighbors with it. It was at a multi-unit assisted living place for old people, and each unit had an outside-facing front door, facing the parking lot. We arrived, and all the civilians were hunkered down behind cars and trees and stuff. After finding out which unit he was in, I broke leather and made my approach up the wall as my partner covered the door from behind the engine block of a car in the parking lot right next to his open front door. My partner called out to him and gave verbal commands, but we got no response. As I was about 10 feet away from the edge of his doorway, I saw the muzzle of a 1911 pistol slowly start coming out the door. My partner yelled at him to drop it, but he kept coming. I saw his nose, and sillouetted the front sight of my Glock 17 with it, waiting until enough of his skull was visible, that my bullet would not be deflected by a steeply-angled shot to the forward part of his cranial vault. At the point that I had a shot, my finger was on the trigger, and I was taking the slack out. I wanted to give him every opportunity in the world to do the right thing before having to turn him off. Suddenly, the rear portion of the slide came into view, and I recognized the weapon as a very realistic air gun. Everybody won that day. The crotchety old man was upset with his neighbors, and he was waving it around, but the reason that he wasn't responding to verbal commands was that he was stone freekin' deaf. |
OK. |