Door bell rang at 2am, called the police

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Brother, trust me, follow your instincts. I had mine ring one night. I answered the door with a P90 Ruger in my hand behind the door. The guy tried to push his way in(he was drunk and it was raining). I shoved the .45 in his face and he left. I called the police. He went to the neighbors house,1/2 mile down the road and tried kicking her door in. He had a buddy hiding in the bushes and they hung her dog with a garden hose. The deputy showed up 20-30 minutes after I called and 15 minutes after she called 911. They had two deputies on duty, the one that answered was across the county, the other was on his lunch break and they couldn't reach him... (This was before cell phones were popular, 20+ years ago).

So the moral is, if you get a feeling to all the cops, do so. But always be careful at that time of night especially.
 
I see nothing wrong with calling the Police and then arming yourself and investigating. A few years ago, there was a wreck in front of my house at around 2 am. It woke me up and I went outside to check on the victim and then called the Polce and ambulance. When the Police tried to notify the owner of the car that was hit, he wouldn't come to the door. The next day he told me that he heard the wreck and heard someone knocking on his door, but he was afraid to check things out. I can't imagine not investigating a noise in the night.
 
357Python, I agree that business should be taken care of outside. A while back, a young lady in Oklahoma killed an intruder after he had gotten in her house. She had called the Police and it took a considerable time for them to arrive. The intruder had made several attempts to enter her house and had been warned by the lady to leave. I believe that she had spotted a knife in his hand. On another "gun Site" I stated that she should have shot him through the door or window after she saw him as a threat. Why should she have to wait for him to enter her house, I asked. I was ripped apart by others on that "gun site". I don't suggest going outside and confronting them but if they are trying to beat your door down, they are obviously intent on doing harm and have been warned, I see nothing wrong with sending lead through the door.
 
I take issue with the "John Wayne" and "making all us firearm owners look bad" comments.
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As do I. I answer the door armed at all times, if I answer it at all. At 2am, I'll be on high alert, if it ever rings at that time. That's just about the time I go to bed, so I could even be in my jammies and the gun will be in my hand as I'm heading toward the bedroom. I can see who's on the porch from the dining room window in either house and both places have security lighting. The new place will also sport a multi/camera and DVR surveillance system when I am fully settled. I've heard some don't even lock their doors. Tough. I'm taking no chances.
 
I see nothing wrong with calling the Police and then arming yourself and investigating.
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What is the actual basis for calling the cops when your doorbell rings at night? Do you call the non-emergency number or do you call 911? If you call the non-emergency number because you have no actual emergency, then what good is it doing you? You aren't a priority call and somebody will come at their convenience, if at all. Why call 911, though, if there is no emergency?

Preemptively calling the cops because somebody has come to your public entrance (front door) but isn't threatening you in any way is somewhat absurd, especially when there are other folks out there who may actually need the cops.
 
I'm in the boat that it takes the sheriffs dept about 2 hours to show up here and non emergency I doubt they'd even show up. I keep our gate shut and locked at all times plus we have a large dog outside so if someone is at my door it's fixing to hit the fan.
 
My action depends on the tone of my doorbell. I really recommend my brand of door bell. It can tell you if someone is supposed to be there or not. I mean. Not super reliable, but more reliable than you would expect. She is a hillbilly doorbell. She is a slinky little golden retriever who is actually a quality guard dog. She doesn't trust ANYONE that comes in the yard, especially males. She is a biter too. Everyone who comes by knows to let us know and not get out of the car till we put her up.
 
Well I have to answer the door. My home might as well be one of the Sheriff's law enforcement centers with the patrol unit parked outside. I have had folks walk up to my home needing a Deputy. One of the reasons I'm always armed around the house even if its just a pocket pistol and I'm just cutting grass or cooking.
 
I guess it all depends on where you live and there are lots of variables.

I am not one to call the police prefering to handle most situations my own way. Its just that Im getting older and got a little paranoid. Id like to live the longest life possible and so I thought this would be the safest way to approach things.

Im sure this was some kids and the local police got a good laugh over me getting freaked out over the doorbell. However, this seemed like the safest solution to a weird situation. If some stranger was in the woodline looking on then now they know I call the police fast. I also did turn on all the outside lights.

Ive learned when things seem a little weird its best to take action sooner and the action taken should be the one of less trouble.
 
When I was the victim of a break in, it was around 5am. There had been a confrontation at a party next door a few hours prior. So 5am rolls around and our front door is kicked in by 5 large guys, one comes inside yelling things I can not say here.

He was lucky I was not armed at the time, but I confronted them anyways (there was a pit bull a shotgun in my roomates room) so I just tried to make as much noise as I could manage. Once they realized that they were not in the same house that the confrontation happened in they quickly backed out of the door and the police were called. They had a very conspicuous getaway vehicle and the police had them a half mile away.

If I had been armed, there would have been a lot less yelling and a lot more dead guy in our house. I am of the mentality that if you kick in someone's front door, you deserve whatever you meet on the other side of that door. I bought a machete the next day to hold me over until I got a 12 gauge because the police only got 3/5 of them. We didn't have any more problems from them, which I am thankful for.

Crazy things can happen in the middle of the night, might of been kids playing ding dong ditch, or it could have been a potential home invader. You just don't know. Having a good sized dog with a mean bark and bite if it comes to it will change the mind of most potential home invaders.
 
The last time mine range at 2 am I got out of bed, 1911 in hand and looked through the front curtain since you can't see through my solid front door. When I did I got a flashlight in my face. This didn't make me feel very well at all until the voice behind the light said, sir this is the Police, and he shined the light on himself.

By this time I had moved into a different position, made it known I was armed, and could clearly see several others out front as well as a couple of patrol cars.

When I opened the door the officer asked if I had put the firearm away, and proceeded to enlighten me to the fact they had a teenager in custody that my neighbor had caught breaking into one of our vehicles.

All said and done, the neighbor had come in from work late, and the kid simply jumped into the back seat and tied to hide. Well the neighbor having a CCW, pulled his cell phone out, called the police, and held the fellow until they arrived a few minutes later. The end result was the kid had gotten into several other car along our street. The officer asked if there was anything else he could do, and asked if I wanted to speak the the fellow.

When I talked to him he was a VERY scared kid around 13 or so, just into a little mischief. I told him how VERY lucky he was that things turned out as well for him as they did and that he should consider this a learning experience and straighten his life out right now. It could have easily have gone down several very worse ways, especially had he tried to confront the neighbor or even myself had I been aware.

I never answer the door without looking first and from one view I can see who or what is on the porch. The door isn't going to simply be kicked in, we had it replaced with a commercial steel one and the frame reinforced extensively. So if the bell rings and I don't like who is there they get a warning first, if it doesn't ring, but the door is being kicked, well it had better be the fire dept with lots of flashing lights going on or things are getting deep quick. The response time here is about 2-5 minutes due to our proximity to the central station, and if gun is mentioned in a call it is cut dramatically.
 
Better to call the police for nothing than to get in over your head. Personally, I'd rather call police than have to kill someone in self defense. As long as you tell the objective truth to the 911 dispatcher, so that he or she can prioritize your call appropriately, then I would have no qualms with someone "pre-emptively" calling police when there is a percieved possible threat.
 
Better to call the police for nothing than to get in over your head.
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You can't be bothered to first look out a peep hole or window first to determine if there is a need? Maybe it is your neighbor and s/he needs help?

Hello, 911, What is your emergency?

Uh, yeah, somebody rang my door bell and it is dark outside. I need a cop to come and check to see who is here and to let me know if it is safe for me to answer the door or not.

Interesting...
As long as you tell the objective truth to the 911 dispatcher, so that he or she can prioritize your call appropriately, then I would have no qualms with someone "pre-emptively" calling police when there is a percieved possible threat.
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Okay, so your bell rings and you preemptively call for the cops to come. You are honest with them and 911 realizes that you don't have an emergency, but the dispatcher prioritizes your call somewhere down on the list. Now, likely possibly several hours later, the cops show up. What good has that done you? Your doorbell rang at 2:00 am. Either the people won't be there because people usually don't hang around on doorsteps for hours at a time and so the cops aren't going to do you any good, or whatever bad might have been about to happen is long over. What good was accomplished by calling the cops? They won't be there in a timely manner. You just wasted resources unnecessarily and possibly kept an officer unavailable to help somebody else who may have been in real need. Yeah, it is better for you if the cops shoot somebody instead of you, but that isn't going to happen, is it? The situation will be over, possible hours before the cops arrive.

So maybe it was your neighbor who was in need of help, great job helping them, huh?

And what are you going to do when the cops show up at 4:00 am? Are you going to call the cops again to make another request for help?

Somebody ringing your doorbell isn't a "perceived possible threat." All you know is that somebody has rung your doorbell. They are no more of a threat than anyone else at any given time that you don't expect.

This leads to the query then about the timing. Do you answer the door in the daytime? Do you at least check the peep hole or out a window? If you do answer or check in the daytime, then we know it is an "afraid of the dark" issue. Deal with it as noted above with some security lights or security camera.
 
Law enforcement is not just supposed to stop crime which is happening, but to prevent crime and investigate suspicious activity which might turn into crime as well. Activity like someone going around ringing bells should be investigated. It could be some kids or it could be say a burglar who is testing the waters so to speak or maybe even a maniac/home invader who might be testing the waters. In any event, someone is trespassing on the property which is a crime.

I live in a small town with a police force which is not at all busy. These guys sit around all night and go on a random call like this one every now and then. I know this because I go to the town meetings and look at the police blotter.

I am a tax-paying citizen, I pay real estate taxes unlike someone who rents or lives in the town under other circumstances. I do not use the town's services unless you mean the road or other incidental services.

I dont feel at all like I am burdening the local department with my phone call to them about the doorbell. I have never really called them or used their service. Lets just say this is their way of giving back to me after I most graciously contributed to the pension funds after many years of giving by way of real estate taxes.
 
I've actually had this happen once but more like 11::30. We're way out in the country, normally no visitors after dark( it was getting dark then at 6:30.
I went out back door,flashlight in one hand. -.45 cal in other hand at side. Out of sight.
It was wife's aunt and her son coming back from late church function and saw light on and stopped. They never even saw I had a gun in my hand. End of story. I've always been one to meet things head on and not wait to come to me.
 
johnelmore said:
I called the police because my doorbell rang. They sent one car down who ran up the street a few times with a flood light, flashed a light in my yard and comforted me saying it must be a short circuit in my bell.
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How long did it take the cops to get there?
 
Depends on where you are. If my doorbell rang (except I don't have one) at 2 AM and I called the sheriff, I'd be lucky if they got here by daylight.
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THIS

If I called 911 where I am most of the year I might have a good response time from the cops.

If I called 911 while up at my families Wisconsin Property I would be lucky to see an officer in 1-2 hours. I know because we have called about tresspassers before and thats how long it took.

Last time I had something strange happen (Unknown repeated banging from the garage) I told my wife to stay in the bedroom and call 911 if she hears shots, grabbed my AR and went to investigate. Thankfully it didn't end up being someone or a critter in the garage, ended up being our boiler misfiring.
 
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Am a heavy sleeper. Was awoken by banging at the front door. Grabbed the Makarov from under my pillow, and also a 44 special from the night-time emergency lock-box. Checked the front porch thru side window but could not make out who? was there. Was not sure what to do. Parked myself in a sofa chair 10 feet in front of the door with the Makarov in one hand and the 44 spl in the other.

Banging stopped and about 5 minutes later the police arrived, with spotlights scanning the house and property. By this time I had my jeans on so I just stuck my 2 handguns in my belt, Mexican style, and talked to the cops, (they did not even bat an eye at this).

My house is my castle, and if someone tries to break in, they will be dealt with in a just and appropriate manner.

Call 911 ? ... yes.
 
Find the YouTube by Mas Ayoob on how to answer a strange knock in the middle of the night. Answer the door without GOING to the door.


Sgt Lumpy
 
From johnelmore:
"In any event, someone is trespassing on the property which is a crime."


Someone merely ringing your doorbell isn't tresspassing unless and until they're told to leave.

The best thing to do if you can't see who is there is talk loudly through the door. And at 2:00 am, I'd be armed.
 
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