[Photo credit: Diego Delso, delso.photo, License CC-BY-SA]

“It isn’t hard to find injustice around us, but we must not let injustice smear the good deeds that do occur everyday.”  – Rand Paul

Monday, in Chicago, a utility locator (son of a student) was working at a park along the city’s lake front in the heart of the downtown area.

Around midday, approximately 20-feet from his work area, an elderly woman was the victim of an aggravated battery by a 300-pound, homeless sociopath.

The male VCA approached her on the walking path and struck her with a glass bottle, shattering it against her head. He continued to rain blows on her as she fell to the ground. She suffered severe lacerations.

Our student’s son yelled to the VCA to cease, which caused the maniac to immediately pivot and charge him with a now broken bottle in his hand!

The son possesses an IL carry permit and was legally carrying at the time. However, the distance was closed so quickly that he had no time to draw! (Think Tuller Principle) But, being as he was in the middle of removing a manhole cover, he had a lid removal bar in his right hand which he promptly introduced to the side of the felon’s face!

Relatively unfazed from the full-power strike of a pry bar to his jaw, the VCA turned and ran.

Chicago bicycle police were there in seconds as others were screaming for help. But, the VCA disappeared into the park and has yet to be apprehended. As it turns out, he fit the description of the suspect from several other recent attacks.

EMS responded within minutes. By the time they arrived one of the officers had already applied an Israeli Battle Dressing (IBD) to her head and had the hemorrhaging under control.

Our student’s son was questioned, his statement taken, and he was ID’d – when they ran his name he came back as possessing a CCL. Officers asked if he was armed, he replied “Yes. How would you like me to proceed?” They then relieved him of his pistol by removing it from his holster (while muzzling him), unloaded it (while muzzling themselves), and then, according to them, checked (somehow) to see if it was stolen.

Once they were satisfied with the gun’s status, they set it on the pedestal of a near-by monument and turned their backs on it to finish their interview.

The owner politely said he’d be happy to answer all their questions as soon as they better secured his gun. They then returned it and told him he could load it while pointing it at some bushes. They were also somewhat dumbfounded that he carried a pistol in .45ACP, as well as the chamber loaded and magazine charged with high performance hollow points. It was apparently something they’d never seen on duty!

As the victim was being loaded into the ambulance, she requested our student’s son come to her side so she could thank him for saving her life.

Bravo to him and well done!

He was cleared on scene of any wrongdoing. Once complaint forms were signed they told him could go back to work and they’d call him if they needed him.

He’ll never hear from them again.

Such attacks are an hourly occurrence in the city, as are shootings, stabbings, carjackings, and armed robberies. Should the perpetrator ever be arrested, the “catch and release” policy of the DA’s office will most likely never result in prosecution. He’ll be processed and walked back out the door in a few hours.  Aggravated battery is not a priority.

LESSONS:

– When you least expect it, you’re elected!

We don’t get to choose the who, what, where, when, or why of our next fight. The criminals get to set the parameters of those factors. What we get a say in is our avoidance, awareness, and response.

As much as all of us may think we will clear our holster in time to mount a defense, the fact is we will most likely be involved in a hands-on situation before we can even get to our gun. Close range/hands-to-gun skills are imperative!

– Having at least a tourniquet and 4” Israeli Battle Dressing on one’s person is mandatory!

We will all have to treat wounds long before we ever have to inflict them. The defender commented later that it was great the arriving officers had their own IBDs so he didn’t have to donate his. Regardless, he was ready to stop the bleeding!

Also, kudos to CPD for having officers equipped and trained with them. Credit where credit is due – that’s outstanding!

– Homeless/transients are extremely dangerous!

There’s a reason they are not under the care of family – many suffer psychiatric issues, and most all are substance abusers. The Hollywood depiction of the homeless residents of a tent city sitting around a campfire at night while they bounce children on their knees is an absolute fallacy. They are not “just down on their luck.” When they congregate, it’s because that specific area has drugs near by. And when they live near each other, everything in their world will be solved through violence. They have lots of practice at it – and when you strike them in defense, it won’t be the first time they’ve ever been hit!

We can’t be surprised when a steel bar to the jaw does not have the effect we might imagine.

-There’s a rumor that police are all gun experts.

They’re not.

Most consider guns nothing more than another part of their uniform. They rarely (if ever) practice, they rarely carry off duty, and they have a less than stellar record when it comes to negligent discharges.

There is a small percentage of police officers whose shooting and handling of guns is at a level we would consider competent. But, they are not the norm. And they didn’t become competent through the police academy or their department. They came by their knowledge though personal effort and outside training.

The point here being: don’t expect arriving officers to demonstrate proper gun handling abilities, or display forward thinking once they take possession of your pistol.

In this case, there was zero reason to disarm our secondary victim. In fact, that came late into the encounter only after initial contact and a statement had been taken. No shots were fired – in fact, the pistol played no part in the event. It should have been left in his holster! Which, by the way, could have easily been removed with the pistol still in it, greatly reducing the risk of an unintentional discharge.

Yes, policy allows for it for “officer safety”, but it’s obvious in this case that the safety of the officers (and all others present) was reduced dramatically as soon as they touched his gun. However, in the owner’s case, there was nothing that could be done but compliance. It all worked out, but by no fault of the officers.

– Getting involved in a fight as a 3rd party carries risk.

Our advice is that of Mas Ayoob: Get involved when what you’re witnessing shocks your conscience.

Meaning: you know that if you walk away from what is occurring you won’t be able to sleep at night.

Domestic squabbles, fleeing shoplifters, even armed robbers making their escape, are not examples of conscience shocking events.

A 4-year-old child being close fist punched in the head, and an elderly woman out walking in the park having a bottle bashed against her skull, are examples that qualify for involvement. But, as we see, it does not come without a price.

Our student’s son had providence, angels, Odin, luck – whatever – on his side Monday, and just happen to have a steel bar in his hand. If he hadn’t, his gun would not have come into play before he sustained severe injury – if it came into play at all!

Yes, it all worked out, and in our eyes he’s a hero!

However, personal injury is only one form of risk. A secondary risk is contact with authorities. Blue cities are not known for their sympathetic attitude towards legally armed citizens who defend themselves.

Had the gun been deployed, the outcome of this may have been far different.

Although shooting this attacker was 100% justified under IL law, it is an election year. And due to the ethnic make up of the parties involved, it easily could have become the typical media firestorm of “poor, misunderstood scholar on his way to choir practice murdered by racist vigilante!” The reports will conveniently omit the details of the elderly woman being attacked, she being of Hispanic descent, or the possession of a broken bottle by the VCA.

Regardless of legality of actions, once a crying mother is on TV, the marches start, and the chants of “no justice, no peace!” are heard through the windows of city hall, someone will have to be sacrificed to the mob.

These are the dice we roll.

– Because of the last point’s potential, join the Armed Citizen’s Legal Defense Network TODAY!

None of us will be able to navigate the circus of a false murder charge alone. In the event some Soros funded prosecutor decides to make one of us an example, we’ll need all the assistance the ACLDN can provide.

– Lastly: CARRY YOUR GUN

There are all kinds of problems that will result from a use of lethal force in a self defense situation, but  our families making funeral arrangements should not be one of them!

“Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect.” – Eleanor Roosevelt