Covert Mission
New member
For your reading enjoyment:
At the range the other morning, I had some time to kill (the IDPA make-up match had been cancelled), and so was shooting the bull with one of the guys who runs the place. "Doug" and I were talking self-defense, and he said "Well, the last time I was in a shootout..." I interrupted. "How many have you been in?", I said, somewhat surprised. "Well, a couple, but I'll tell you the best one."
Now Doug is not a BS'er. In fact, he's a straight shooter in all senses. He told me this story, and I have no doubt about it. I read many of the "It Happened to Me!" columns in the gun magazines and the NRA pubs, but this 1st person story ranks up there with the best of them. Here goes. It's long, but good, imo.
Doug lived in the city of Simi, CA at the time. About 2:30 one morning, his 18 yr old daughter woke him up, saying "Dad, there1s a man in the back yard!" The back yard was fenced in. He told her to get her Glock 17 , and said he was going down to check. "Remember the password?" he asked her, as she stationed herself at the top of the stairs, behind cover. She repeated it, and he went downstairs to look out the windows. He flipped on the floodlights in the back yard... no one there. Hmmm. He checked the side yards. Empty. Then the front... no one. Strange. He grabbed his Glock 23, and before going outside, he told his daughter to call 911, and to tell them they have a prowler, and how he was dressed.
The city of Simi has for years been named in the media as being the safest or one of the safest cities in America. The police response time is 3-5 minutes or close to it, and the city is full of LA-area police, sheriffs, and federal LEO's who live there because it's safe. Still, not crime free. What place is?
So, Doug cautiously moved out his front door, and from behind a low wall, did a sneak 'n peek in front. He's an ex-Army Vietnam combat vet...cautious. As he stood there, he see's first one, and then another guy come down his neighbor's driveway, from the back yard. They then went to the next house and down the drive to the back. In a second, they came back to the street, moving quickly. By this time, Doug had moved to the edge of his property, near some bushes next to the neighbor's yard, hoping to get a better description. As the two crossed the street 30 yards away heading to a parked car, they looked over towards Doug, and somehow spotted him. Immediately, he saw the muzzle flashes, and heards rounds whizzing past him. These a-holes were shooting at him! As they sprayed rounds at him, he dove for cover behind a tree, and then returned fire. One guy doubled over, and went down hard. Doug went prone, and as the other guy tried to jump over the car, Doug fired, the guy went down, and then got up and hobbled away. Doug was pretty sure he hit him too.
Doug ran back to his house, yelling the password as he ran inside. "DID YOU CALL 911?" he yelled to his daughter. "I'm on the phone with them now! They're all at a bad car wreck on the other side of town," she said. "TELL THEM SHOTS WERE FIRED!" he told her (of course, she knew). He made sure the house was locked up, and then sat down to collect his wits. Within minutes, it was a siren symphonyS. Simi cops, Sheriffs, CHP, ambulances roared up to the scene.The cops came in, and first wanted to make sure he was OK, insisting that he wait for the paramedics to check him out. They got a description of the missing suspect... the other one was still in the street, gutshot... and it matched the description an FBI agent down the street gave them. The cops knew immediately who he was and where he lived; they had been looking out for him ever since he got out of prison weeks earlier. They knew where he lived, and dispatched the SWAT team there.
The paramedics found Doug's BP to be normal. Very cool under fire. He's been shot at a lot (thank you, VietNam). Detectives showed up. One asked Doug for a statement, and then said "Listen closely. I need to ask you a very important question. Were you in fear for your life?" "Of course", Doug replied. "They were trying to kill me!" The detective said "That's all I needed to hear," and left. The paramedics transported the gutshot perp. He died in the ER, only to be revived, and after 3 surgeries at taxpayer expense, he is still alive, wearing a colostomy bag. The police who were guarding him at the hospital were VERY pissed that the doctors saved him.
The next day, the cops called again, asking Doug to come down to the station. "Do I need a lawyer?" he asked. "No way," said the detective. So he went down to give another statement, and learned some interesting things. Both these BG's were gang members from nearby, both in their early 20's, I think. The one who had just gotten out of prison is the one Doug thought he wounded. He did— shot him in the leg and blew up his knee. The SWAT team caught him later that night at his mom's house, moaning and bleeding, the Tek-9 under the bed. The other one, the gutshot one, had committed his first violent offense at age 12, and both had arrest sheets as long as your leg.
As the kneecapped one lay in the hospital (he eventually got an artificial knee with the taxpayers' dime), detectives interviewed him on tape. They couldn't wait to share the results with Doug. During the interview, they had asked the BG what the two were doing. "Robbing houses," he said. "You mean with people at home, sleeping?" "Yeah. Why not?" was the reply. "Well, what if someone had awakened while you were there?" the detectives asked. "We'd have killed them," he said, stone cold serious. This statement, on tape. Couldn't be better for the trial. The cops let Doug know that he had stopped two very dangerous thugs, and thanked him. Turns out that their guns were stolen in another robbery, as was the car they were driving. They had fired almost 40 rounds at him in seconds.
Doug then got a call from the DA's office. "Can you come down?" So, he did. The Dep. DA immediately put him at ease. She said "I want you to know, there will be no deals, no pleas. I'm going for the maximum, and consecutive sentences, for every charge I can think of." Doug was thrilled. She continued, "And if I could, I'd give you a medal." She kept her word. He only had to testify once, they used the incriminating tape interview in both trials, and both guys got roughly 40 years consecutive, with parole eligibility not for 20 yrs. They will be middle-aged before their 1st shot at parole.
Later, some of the Simi cops called him up to invite him to dinner, on them. No medal, but a nice gesture anyway. The moral of the story, much to the gun grabbers' chagrin, is multiple: 1) even in the safest city in America, crime happens. 2) Dial 911 in the safest city... with normal 3 minute response time... and it's your lucky day, all the cops are across town at a big car wreck. You're on your own. 3) Those nice allegedly rehabilitated criminals go right back to work doing crime, often within weeks of release. 4) if you don1t draw the line in the sand, they WILL find a victim. Maybe not you, but someone. Who knows if those two might not have killed someone even later that night? It was a matter of time. 5) Without a gun, you're toast in many situations.
Thank for the good work, Doug.
signed, Covert
[This message has been edited by Covert Mission (edited December 21, 1999).]
At the range the other morning, I had some time to kill (the IDPA make-up match had been cancelled), and so was shooting the bull with one of the guys who runs the place. "Doug" and I were talking self-defense, and he said "Well, the last time I was in a shootout..." I interrupted. "How many have you been in?", I said, somewhat surprised. "Well, a couple, but I'll tell you the best one."
Now Doug is not a BS'er. In fact, he's a straight shooter in all senses. He told me this story, and I have no doubt about it. I read many of the "It Happened to Me!" columns in the gun magazines and the NRA pubs, but this 1st person story ranks up there with the best of them. Here goes. It's long, but good, imo.
Doug lived in the city of Simi, CA at the time. About 2:30 one morning, his 18 yr old daughter woke him up, saying "Dad, there1s a man in the back yard!" The back yard was fenced in. He told her to get her Glock 17 , and said he was going down to check. "Remember the password?" he asked her, as she stationed herself at the top of the stairs, behind cover. She repeated it, and he went downstairs to look out the windows. He flipped on the floodlights in the back yard... no one there. Hmmm. He checked the side yards. Empty. Then the front... no one. Strange. He grabbed his Glock 23, and before going outside, he told his daughter to call 911, and to tell them they have a prowler, and how he was dressed.
The city of Simi has for years been named in the media as being the safest or one of the safest cities in America. The police response time is 3-5 minutes or close to it, and the city is full of LA-area police, sheriffs, and federal LEO's who live there because it's safe. Still, not crime free. What place is?
So, Doug cautiously moved out his front door, and from behind a low wall, did a sneak 'n peek in front. He's an ex-Army Vietnam combat vet...cautious. As he stood there, he see's first one, and then another guy come down his neighbor's driveway, from the back yard. They then went to the next house and down the drive to the back. In a second, they came back to the street, moving quickly. By this time, Doug had moved to the edge of his property, near some bushes next to the neighbor's yard, hoping to get a better description. As the two crossed the street 30 yards away heading to a parked car, they looked over towards Doug, and somehow spotted him. Immediately, he saw the muzzle flashes, and heards rounds whizzing past him. These a-holes were shooting at him! As they sprayed rounds at him, he dove for cover behind a tree, and then returned fire. One guy doubled over, and went down hard. Doug went prone, and as the other guy tried to jump over the car, Doug fired, the guy went down, and then got up and hobbled away. Doug was pretty sure he hit him too.
Doug ran back to his house, yelling the password as he ran inside. "DID YOU CALL 911?" he yelled to his daughter. "I'm on the phone with them now! They're all at a bad car wreck on the other side of town," she said. "TELL THEM SHOTS WERE FIRED!" he told her (of course, she knew). He made sure the house was locked up, and then sat down to collect his wits. Within minutes, it was a siren symphonyS. Simi cops, Sheriffs, CHP, ambulances roared up to the scene.The cops came in, and first wanted to make sure he was OK, insisting that he wait for the paramedics to check him out. They got a description of the missing suspect... the other one was still in the street, gutshot... and it matched the description an FBI agent down the street gave them. The cops knew immediately who he was and where he lived; they had been looking out for him ever since he got out of prison weeks earlier. They knew where he lived, and dispatched the SWAT team there.
The paramedics found Doug's BP to be normal. Very cool under fire. He's been shot at a lot (thank you, VietNam). Detectives showed up. One asked Doug for a statement, and then said "Listen closely. I need to ask you a very important question. Were you in fear for your life?" "Of course", Doug replied. "They were trying to kill me!" The detective said "That's all I needed to hear," and left. The paramedics transported the gutshot perp. He died in the ER, only to be revived, and after 3 surgeries at taxpayer expense, he is still alive, wearing a colostomy bag. The police who were guarding him at the hospital were VERY pissed that the doctors saved him.
The next day, the cops called again, asking Doug to come down to the station. "Do I need a lawyer?" he asked. "No way," said the detective. So he went down to give another statement, and learned some interesting things. Both these BG's were gang members from nearby, both in their early 20's, I think. The one who had just gotten out of prison is the one Doug thought he wounded. He did— shot him in the leg and blew up his knee. The SWAT team caught him later that night at his mom's house, moaning and bleeding, the Tek-9 under the bed. The other one, the gutshot one, had committed his first violent offense at age 12, and both had arrest sheets as long as your leg.
As the kneecapped one lay in the hospital (he eventually got an artificial knee with the taxpayers' dime), detectives interviewed him on tape. They couldn't wait to share the results with Doug. During the interview, they had asked the BG what the two were doing. "Robbing houses," he said. "You mean with people at home, sleeping?" "Yeah. Why not?" was the reply. "Well, what if someone had awakened while you were there?" the detectives asked. "We'd have killed them," he said, stone cold serious. This statement, on tape. Couldn't be better for the trial. The cops let Doug know that he had stopped two very dangerous thugs, and thanked him. Turns out that their guns were stolen in another robbery, as was the car they were driving. They had fired almost 40 rounds at him in seconds.
Doug then got a call from the DA's office. "Can you come down?" So, he did. The Dep. DA immediately put him at ease. She said "I want you to know, there will be no deals, no pleas. I'm going for the maximum, and consecutive sentences, for every charge I can think of." Doug was thrilled. She continued, "And if I could, I'd give you a medal." She kept her word. He only had to testify once, they used the incriminating tape interview in both trials, and both guys got roughly 40 years consecutive, with parole eligibility not for 20 yrs. They will be middle-aged before their 1st shot at parole.
Later, some of the Simi cops called him up to invite him to dinner, on them. No medal, but a nice gesture anyway. The moral of the story, much to the gun grabbers' chagrin, is multiple: 1) even in the safest city in America, crime happens. 2) Dial 911 in the safest city... with normal 3 minute response time... and it's your lucky day, all the cops are across town at a big car wreck. You're on your own. 3) Those nice allegedly rehabilitated criminals go right back to work doing crime, often within weeks of release. 4) if you don1t draw the line in the sand, they WILL find a victim. Maybe not you, but someone. Who knows if those two might not have killed someone even later that night? It was a matter of time. 5) Without a gun, you're toast in many situations.
Thank for the good work, Doug.
signed, Covert
[This message has been edited by Covert Mission (edited December 21, 1999).]
I have gone over this with other LEO/lawyers and was told odds are it would have been justified based on what I "knew" at that time... BUT I would have been on national TV/papers as the killer of a innocent, playful, future pres child....