The Dangers of Intervention

[VMI77]

Pharmacy robber, federal agent shot dead in NY

http://home.suddenlink.net/news/read.ph ... %3E&ps=931

Three off-duty LEO's in the Pharmacy (one retired)

And then there's this:

His death is the latest in a string of shootings of off-duty officers in the New York area who were responding to a crime.

In May, a New York Police Department officer shot to death an off-duty colleague who was carrying a gun while chasing a suspected car thief in East Harlem.

In March, an off-duty transit authority officer shot a Nassau County police officer who was in plainclothes and carrying a rifle while both men were responding to a crime in the town of Massapequa Park.

And in 2008, Westchester County police officers killed an off-duty officer from suburban Mount Vernon while he intervened in a fight.

[MoJo]

An excellent article on this very subject by Evan Marshall.

http://www.stoppingpower.net/commentary ... ention.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ELB]

Perhaps less a danger of intervention per se, more a danger of being in an environment where the vast majority of people who wear civilian clothes are considered criminals if they have a gun.

[Lambda Force]

Perhaps less a danger of intervention per se, more a danger of being in an environment where the vast majority of people who wear civilian clothes are considered criminals if they have a gun.

You mean stuff like this is more likely to happen in New York than Idaho?

[C-dub]

An excellent article on this very subject by Evan Marshall.

http://www.stoppingpower.net/commentary ... ention.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's been a while since I've read that article. It was written in 2002. I wonder if Michigan has a Castle/Stand Your Ground type law and if was in place when this article was written? I suppose we have some protection from stuff like that here in Texas for a valid shooting.

[SRH78]

Whether or not to intervene is a very personal decision. There are some things that would be very, very difficult to allow to happen when you have the ability(not specifically referring to a firearm here) to stop it. On the other hand, you put yourself in harms way and a possition of great potential liability and this can greatly affect your loved ones as well. Domestic "disputes" in particular are a very bad situation as the victim will most likely side with the attacker and hang you out to dry even though you were in the right and placed yourself in harms way to help them. As mentioned above, you also run the risk of being mistaken for the BG. You also have to know what is going one to avoid harming an innocent who you assumed was the BG. Fortunately, each time I have had to make this decision, the potential threat of force was enough to stop the situation. It is hard to just stand there when some kid is screaming and crying and daddy is beating the crap out of mommy but we also have to remember that defending the weak is one thing but pursuing or punishing the attacker is another thing entirely. Once the situation is under control, any further action makes you the attacker.