Had a few lessons re-affirmed the other night....

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Unless you live in a huge city, your local county or small town dispatch office may only have two or three people working at one time.
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Do you know WHY they have one or two dispatchers? Because they only have one or two emergencies in a shift, generally. Or maybe 5 or 6, but almost never enough to keep two dispatchers tied up at the same time.

The vast majority of 911 problems I have seen are in large metropolitan areas with God only knows how many dispatchers and the reason they're busy is because of people calling 911 because their neighbors stereo is too loud.
 
Not to question your omniscience , but wouldn't cowering encourage further intrusion and almost certainly lead to a confrontation where violence is more likely?
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Not to question your question, can you see where confrontation could have resulted in the death of an innocent human being:D

In the words of a famous American statesman, "A man who sacrifices his liberty for security deserves neither"
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In the words of another famous American and far more apropos: Testosterone is fleeting, a life sentence is 20 years. Last clear chance saves heartbreak, legal fees and misery. Run thou bravely into the fray, keep thine lawyer on retainer. Me, I cover,cower, cell phone, keeping in mind part of Mao's doctrine: when the enemy advances, withdraw...

WilddefenseisalwaysthebesttacticAlaska ™
 
the confrontation saved the guys life. If the OP did not confront, just shot when the guy got near, then we might have a problem. You can't decide what will happen if a different choice is made. You can give an option, but no guarantee. I woulda done the same thing. Not confronting the intruder if it was in fact a real intruder might have also been worse. Once inside, the chances of it getting worse just got much higher. But if you catch a guy with his head in a window or midst break in, you have the advantage.
Mao's doctrine is retarded in this situation. My point is not everything you are taught is applicable in situations just because people say so.
Running and hiding yourself to a point where you have no where to go makes no sense to me. If thats right then im wrong
 
Not confronting the intruder if it was in fact a real intruder might have also been worse. Once inside, the chances of it getting worse just got much higher. But if you catch a guy with his head in a window or midst break in, you have the advantage.
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Really? Are you thinking critically, or just reacting to the word cower? Makes your skin crawl does it? The fact that it is the best possible solution in virtually ALL home defense scenarios...???

While I realize its far more manly to charge bravely into the face of the enemy and confront the scumevilbadanimalskellperp who would dare violate yor home, how would you like to volunteer to show us how that gives you the tactical advantage while considering the following scenario additions:

There is already someone in the house hidden. Your family members are defenseless without you. The lighting is poor and you dont have a flashlight, you are sleepy or hungover. You are backlit and making noise....

Und zo:

Hear noise. Go back to bedroom, grab "trusty" gun.Call 911. Cover and cower in bedroom with gf while shouting: I AM ARMED, I HAVE CALL THE POLICE, LEAVE OR I WILL SHOOT.

Hey dude, wait its me, Phred?

Phred? What the hell..........violins play hosannas and two men embrace, etc.....

As opposed to....Run to window, STOP I AM GONNA SHOOT....intepret motion of dropping back out of window as threat and start pumping slugs....Later outside, you see your FORMER roomate with those big round holes in his chest...

I have said it once and again and again and I will repeat it till you guys start thinking with the big head (or at least just start thinking).....

The best tactical choice you can mke in virtually all circumstances is cover, cower, cell phone.

WildbangbangAlaska ™
 
Cowering generally implies, as Kyo points out, that there are no options/exits left. Mao's doctrine generally leads that, having taken territory, one can tactically retreat to gain a defender's advantage should hostile forces advance. Moving into the house to investigate does not mean that you cannot retreat to a position of relative safety (such as a bedroom or 'safe-room'), but staying in the bedroom from the get-go may make it much harder to advance into the main area of the house... especially important if you have dependents who do not sleep in your room.

Ianthebestdefenseisagoodoffense0351
 
peetzakilla said:
Do you know WHY they have one or two dispatchers? Because they only have one or two emergencies in a shift, generally. Or maybe 5 or 6, but almost never enough to keep two dispatchers tied up at the same time.

The vast majority of 911 problems I have seen are in large metropolitan areas with God only knows how many dispatchers and the reason they're busy is because of people calling 911 because their neighbors stereo is too loud.
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Yes, indeed. And in my semi-large metropolitan area, just TRY finding the non-emergency police number in the phone book... it's buried deep in the Gummint pages, and, I swear, wasn't there at all in one earlier edition. You'd think the phone company could be persuaded to put the regular number on Page 2, in large type...

Wildalaska said:
Testosterone is fleeting, a life sentence is 20 years. Last clear chance saves heartbreak, legal fees and misery.
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Or, as Hippocrates might have put it, "Virtus brevis, carcer longa, iudicium periculosum."

Now I'll prolly get flamed for the "manhood is short" thing... oh, well. :D
 
We should not confuse cowering in the best location with cowering in the furthest corner. No one is or was suggesting that you hide in the deep, dark recesses of your closet and leave the kids to fend for themselves. Making sure everyone is safe is an obvious prerequisite. If that requires temporarily taking position in a hallway while the rest of the family moves to the safety of one room then so be it. That is an entirely different tactic than saying "Well, my family is in two different rooms so I'd better charge the bad guy lest he gets in the house first.
 
Counterpoint to peetza:

I think certain persons also made assumptions about 'charging into the house'. According to the OP, he had simply been going into the room for a beverage and observed the potential interloper, then choosing to arm himself and investigate/defuse the situation, rather effectively.
Having read this forum for a little while now, I make no assumptions about what a person may or may not do in a given situation outside of the literal ramifications of their posting. Especially so regarding 'Tactics and Training'.
 
Call 911. Cover and cower in bedroom with gf while shouting: I AM ARMED, I HAVE CALL THE POLICE, LEAVE OR I WILL SHOOT.
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Well, now this is different. You made no mention of shouting out a warning in your first post. Of course you're better off this way.

The only reason I had disagreed with you was because if you 'cover, cower' and are silent, they'll just keep coming until they are right on top of you. Then, all that's left is confrontation.
 
RE: the word "cower"

WA is only using the definition that suits his agenda. There are 3 or 4 others that, in fact, imply running away in fear, etc. They are in another thread here somewhere.

RE:OP

I don't know that I would have returned to my room and retrieved a firearm, but it is likely. I certainly would have grabbed my .357 and put myself between the perceived threat and my loved one.

As far as the 911 call, it happens more often than one would like to think and, contrary to the incorrect opinion of some, it has nothing to do with the number of emergencies that may happen on a shift. That notion is ridiculous. It is a matter of population and funding. Small towns have less cops and auxillary personnel because they have less people to tax for money.
 
WA is only using the definition that suits his agenda
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Exactly. Agenda: Separate the thinkers from the thumpers.:D

The day you pull that trigger is gonna be the worst day of your life, rightly or wrongly. Make sure that you alleviate the misery, guilt, questioning, financial consequences, legal consequences et seq by being right

WildcccAlaska ™
 
Wildalaska: Cower, cover, cell, etc.....

Quote: "The day you pull the trigger is going to be the worst day of your life"....

Maybe so Ken, but so can NOT pulling the trigger end up being the worst day of your life.... When I got attacked a few years back by 5 dudes in a Hilton Hotel parking garage (they came at me from all sides and held a sharpe knife to my throat from behind, cutting my neck), I would have given anything to have a gun but I didn't carry back then. I would not have thought twice about pulling the trigger when that happened. I still feel the same today, if not more so.

Now that was out in the open and not in my home (as DGTigers experienced). When in your home, it's even more justified to shoot, (Castle Doctrine). But I do see your point about it being a traumatic experience and something you would have to carry around for a long time. So is getting shot by the bad guy or your family being attacked, etc.

The roommate is a complete dummy and is extremely lucky he is still with us. Bottom line, be prepared. Some folks may want to warn the dirt bag (with a loud yell) that you have a gun and will shoot him if he does not leave immediately. Myself, I really don't care to yell at anyone who is breaking in my home myself as it could give my position away. Whatever happens after that, is up to the decision the intruder makes from then on. So be it.
 
Identify Threat
Judge Level of threat
Decide on Course of action
Execute correct amount of force

You've got 2 seconds.
Go
................
 
Two Seconds:

Yep, (2 seconds), as JSmith just said. That is about all the time you will have when it actually goes down. You are lucky if the intruder is not armed, (but more than likely, he is armed and may have others with him)....

Hopefully, the time never comes, (when you have to respond to a situation like this). But when and if it does come, you won't have a lot of time to figure out what you are going to do and/or how you are going to implement your actions.

Be prepared!
 
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Hey wild you do it your way and I will do it mine. Its like arguing whats the better gun. I really don't care. I am not talking about the word cowering. I am saying even if you retreat, why would you retreat to an area you can't get out of? Why put yourself in that hole?
You assume that because people aren't you that they would screw up with all these fantasies about being heroes. Its not even about that. It is about common sense. The bad guy has outside to go. You have where? Deeper in the house? Really?
Just because you named a few additions to the same situation doesn't change anything. You can have a flashlight but it gives away your position.
I will say it again for you personally. Just because YOU think its the best option, doesn't mean it always is. You are just arguing this for the sake of being right for all of 5 seconds. Ok, your right in your head. fine. Not in other peoples heads.
What if you are on one side of the door in a room and your kids are in the other. You gonna go hide in a corner? What if you are on one floor and people are on the other. Gonna go cower then? Really? It isn't so black and white.
 
Separate the thinkers from the thumpers.
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Every single thread, regardless of the original topic, is turning into the same discussion. The fact is that it's not always so black and white. There is a gray area and most of us thinkers have a bit of "thump".

The day you pull that trigger is gonna be the worst day of your life, rightly or wrongly.
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Nope, the day I hesitate to pull the trigger or "cower" and watch myself or loved ones get injured or killed will be the worst day of my life.
 
Yep, (2 seconds), as JSmith just said. That is about all the time you will have when it actually goes down. You are lucky if the intruder is not armed, (but more than likely, he is armed and may have others with him)....
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Most burglars are unarmed and alone. It's entirely possible that they will be armed and not alone but that most certainly is not "most".
 
Yes, work to improve the 911 system.

DGTigers said:
(edited for brevity and focus)
I was also very shocked and upset that the police didn't even answer my girlfriend's call. Is it worth talking to someone about the non-response of my 911 call?
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Welcome to the forum, DGTigers and thanks for sharing.

I would definitely let someone know. If your police department has a citizen's liason office, let them know. Your city council probably holds the purse strings to resolve problems with the 911 system.

Yes, work to improve the 911 system. For yourself and others.

Lost Sheep.
 
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Cowering vs Defending.

Cower: to shrink away or crouch especially for shelter from something that menaces, domineers, or dismays

Cower suggests a display of abject fear in the company of threatening or domineering people <cowering before a bully>.

Perhaps Wildaslaska might consider a more appropriate wording, such as "take a defensive position"? Of course, that does not have the cool alliteration.

Lost Sheep.
 
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A new scenario seems about to burst into the same old flames and arguing about the meaning of the word "cower" all over again.

WA, your point that shooting is not the first option is well taken, but picking up a pistol does mean that your testosterone has taken over your brain. OP kept his wits about him rather well, I would say, by keeping in mind the principle of identifying his target before firing. We haven't seen the floor plan of his house, so it very well may be that he was already in the best position to defend himself and the other resident(s) of the house for which he felt some responsibility. Talking about how bad he would feel with his housemate on the ground outside dead is not really productive, because the OP did use his brain and his training and the result was that he did not wind up in a regrettable situation.

Perfect doesn't happen very often - pretty darn good is, well, pretty darn good.
 
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