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kP380 wrote:

Syntax360 wrote: Nevermind that my friend did everything wrong that night - Arlington police didn't give him any flak for it.

Just curious how "everything" they did was wrong...were you referring to the part about bringing the BG back to his apt?

He probably should have stayed inside and called the police, instead of storming out the door to go investigate an unknown number of people who may or may not be armed. If he was going to go outside, he probably should have been armed. He probably should not have chased some kid in the middle of the night off to god-knows-where, not knowing whether or not that kid had more friends waiting for him up the street. He probably should not have dragged the kid back home and opened himself up to any number of additional physical and legal hazards, and he probably should not have held the kid at gunpoint once there (potential legal hazards he may or may not have opened himself up to - one way or the other, he had no idea what kind of can-o-worms he might be opening).

But it's good to know that in some parts of this country, common sense still wins the day and the police look out for the good guy's best interests.

A lot of it is going to be up to the discretion of the responding officers. One anecdote I can contribute involved one of my good friends a couple of years ago - he heard his dogs barking in the middle of the night and went outside to investigate. He found three kids breaking into his car, one already inside. He pursued one on foot (unarmed), caught him somewhere near the end of the block, and dragged the kid back to his apartment. He and his roommate held the kid, at gunpoint, until police arrived. Nevermind that my friend did everything wrong that night - Arlington police didn't give him any flak for it. The other two kids were round up after their "buddy" spilled the beans on their names and address. The incident got a short article buried somewhere in the Star Telegram a day or two later.

Suffice it to say, I wouldn't recommend anyone imitate my friend's actions - with my luck, I'm quite sure that things would not have gone so smooth if I would have tried that.