Qui Custodes

It's not just lawyers is it?

So there I am, having made my post for the day, when I come on this this one about a therapist who is killed by a client with a cleaver.  No puns now.  But it just goes to show:  If your business is one where you are dealing with emotionally fragile people, like therapists and lawyers, you have absolutely got to take precautions. 

Now I don't know what precautions this therapist took, but wouldn't it have been nice if she had a panic button handly in her office?  Don't know what a panic button is?  That will be my next post. 

Weapons and stupid

I'[ve been reading two different stories about the same event in the Washington Post  and the New York Times.  The stories seem to agree somewhat but what a difference! This is going to be a long post so bear with me.

Apparently a group of young men in their souped up cars had an argument with another young man. So they decided to go to his home and challenge him to fight.  Great!  Like he's an idiot.  Like it's gonna be a fair fight?  Right.  So they get there and are shouting insults and challenges to the young man.  They are coming up the driveway to the front door.  So what happens?  Dad gets his gun and goes out to run them off.  (This may or may not have been smart on Dad's part (see below) but ...  WHAT WERE THESE KIDS THINKING?  THAT THEY COULD TERRORIZE THIS FAMILY WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES?  These kids are lucky Dad didn't just hole up and start shooting under the belief that he and his family were in imminent danger from this small mob.)

It's not clear what happened next because the witnesses' stories differ and so do the newspaper articles description of events.  But 1 kid lunged for Dad's weapon/slapped the weapon away and got killed when the weapon went off.  It's not clear if the shooting was accidental or deliberate.   I think this happened on Dad's property, in the driveway, because  the NY Times article indicates that the prosecutors said that's what happened.   (BTW:  if you have a long-distance weapon like a shotgun or pistol, why are you in arms-length distance from your target?  If you do that you give up your advantage.  Remember what I've said so many times before about how firearms are NOT a magic wand, even though TV makes them seem that way.)

The next thing that happened is that Dad is prosecuted for voluntary manslaughter in the 2nd degree.  Now I don't know exactly how NY defines this crime, but, in essence, Dad is being prosecuted (and was convicted) for protecting his family instead of calling the cops and waiting for them to show up and shoo theses little cherubs away.  If the little cherubs stuck around to be shoo'd. 

What would you have done?  One thing I wouldn't do is go outside.  Both legally & for personal security reasons I would not go out--I would make them come to me.  I would also call the cops.  But thank God I live in Virginia where you can protect yourself against a mob of cherubs in my driveway shouting and screaming threats against my family.

O, one more thing: Would it change your mind if you knew Dad was black and the little cherub he shot was white?  Dad swears up and down that they were using the "N" word in the threats too.  Does it matter?  Would it affect his fear level and state of mind?

Rings

I'm not quite sure what brought it to mind a while ago I saw a man with several big rings on both hands.  He was wearing a thumb ring, a pinky ring and a ring on his middle finger on his left hand.  His right hand had rings on the index finger and ring finger.  These were very large rings.  I noticed he was also wearing silver bracelets.  Why am I talking about this?  Because these rings were the equivalent of brass knuckles on his hands.  So if you see someone wearing several big rings, watch their hands--their hands are now weapons.

On a similar note, ladies, you can use your rings as weapons too you know.  If nothing else, they will scratch an attacker's face.  It used to be that the scratches would heal.  But now what you are really doing is taking a DNA sample for future match. 

Just a couple of interesting thoughts for the day.

Don't scare the cops

In my last post I talked about hiding from a shooter.  In this one, I would like to remind people that the police will respond and, when they do, they will be very jittery.  They will know shots were fired.  They never know how many people fired the shots until afterward. So, when the police approach, stay calm, don't scream and shout, don't jump out at them, move slowly and let them know you are there before you come out of hiding and show your hands at all times.  After all, you don't want to get shot by mistake do you?

get down and stay down

I was reading about today's shooting at a mall on CNN and had a thought:  These days modern bullets can and will go right through glass, dry wall, cabinetry and even car doors.  Worse yet, they can hurt or kill you even after they do that.  in TVland, of course, car doors, dry wall and cabinetry all provide perfect cover and armour when people are shooting at you.  In reality, fuggedaboudet.  So, what should you do?  I urge people to drop to the ground and roll up against someplace where you won't be seen and where you are protected.

If you can place a brick or cement wall between you and the shooter, that's best of all.  Failing that, put a car engine between you and the shooter.  Failing that, hide behind a car wheel.  Don't get up and run straight away from the shooter.  If you must run, zigzag.  But if you are unarmed, find someplace safe to hide. 

Practice, practice Practice

I've talked about this before, I think, but it bears repeating over and over.  If you are going to have a weapon you must practice with it.  CNN had this article linked to a man who shot 6 times at a robber and missed each time.  Fortunately he didn't hit one of the passersby either. 

Another note:  as a lawyer I REALLY don't think it was a good idea for the store keeper to say “I meant to kill the dude. I meant to kill him, trust me. Anybody trying to stick me up, if I get the chance to shoot him, I shoot him on the spot."  I hope he wasn't quoted correctly. Otherwise, if there is any more trouble at his store and he does shoot someone he could be in big legal trouble.

Mace & Pepper Spray part 4

Are you really prepared to spray someone as they approach you?  Are you going to hesitate?  These sprays won't work if an attacker already has his hands on you--you will only spray yourself.  Worse, can you use the spray accurately enough to hit the attacker in the face as they approach?  Have you practiced?  If so, you know it's not easy to do.

Mace & Pepper Spray part 3

Another issue with Mace & Pepper Spray:  you have to carry it in your hand, ready to use.  You cannot fumble for it when you need it.  So carrying it on your keys doesn't make much sense:  If your key is in your hand the spray is not.  So it doesn't help you.

Mace & Pepper Spray Part 2

Another issue with carrying Mace or Pepper Spray:  some people aren't affected by it.  You can hit me with pepper spray and it just clears my sinuses.  Mace just makes my eyes water badly but it's not completely incapacitating.  Military grade mace is different--but you cannot but it on the street.  So I'm not sure the stuff works well enough to be relied upon. 

Mace & Pepper Spray Part 1

I was teaching a seminar on how to protect yourself to a college sorority last week.  Thank you all ladies of Alpha Phi at GMU it was a wonderful experience and I enjoyed talking to all of you.  But seriously, one of you asked an interesting question about Mace & Pepper Spray.  You carried in on your key chain and thought that might help.  Well ......

First, in Washington DC that stuff you are carrying is illegal and if you get caught with it you will go to jail.  In DC they treat Mace & Pepper Spray as if it is a handgun.  The stuff is legal in Virginia but not everywhere. D.C. is not the only place where the stuff is illegal. So if you are going to carry it, obey the law.  If you don't know what the law is, find out.  You don't want to go to jail for carrying something to protect yourself.