Gun Control & RKBA
Showing Original Post only (View all)Answering the door late at night [View all]
There are couple of threads in GD and one in LBN about an armed homeowner who opened the door late in the evening with a gun in hand and was shot by police who were responding to a domestic disturbance call but went to the wrong address.
New Mexico Police Shot and Killed a Man After They Went to the Wrong House While Responding to a Dom
Officers kill homeowner after responding to wrong address
More on the deputies shooting man at wrong house?
"Body camera footage shows as the officers backed away from 5305 Valley View Avenue, the homeowner, Robert Dotson, 52, opened the screen door armed with a handgun. At this point in the encounter, officer(s) fired at least one round from their duty weapon(s) striking Mr. Dotson."
https://www.dps.nm.gov/blog/2023/04/06/state-police-investigate-ois-involving-the-farmington-police-department/
As I've mentioned a few times in the threads above, I'm unaware of any reputable self-defense expert or organization that teaches people to do what the deceased homeowner did. And to date, no one has mentioned one that does.
Several years ago when I took a class to get my state CPL, the book we used that was approved by the state is the NRA Guide to the Basics Of Personal Protection In The Home. I still have it and read it from time to time for refresher training and I certified that I had read it from beginning to end within a 6-month period before I applied for a new license last year. Chapter 14 discusses responding to a possible break in, someone pounding on the door late at night may be attempting such, and the very first step it says to do is to withdraw to safety. It does not say to go to the door with a gun in hand and open the door.
Below is a video on this subject by Massad Ayoob, a nationally recognized expert on the use of guns for self-defense:
The actions of the homeowner lead me to believe he had little to no training on the use of a gun for self/home defense. He may have had training and choose to ignore it.
While I have a CPL, I do not carry a loaded gun out in public as I do not have the desire or money to take and then practice the extra training I feel I would need in order to proficiently handle a gun in an emergency situation out in public. Prior to falling down the basement stairs last year and having my left shoulder replaced, I practiced and did home defense drills with my revolver about 3 times a week. I haven't been able to do that, so the gun is empty and locked away in a gun safe in the master bedroom and the ammo is in a locked metal ammo box in the basement. It's going to remain that way until I get back on track with my training.
We still do safe room drills where I or my wife will yell out "Safe Room!" when the other isn't expecting it and we both move as quickly as possible to the master bedroom which is the designated safe room. The bedroom door is reinforced and has a dead bolt. We also do this drill with the grandchildren when they are here.
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