Chambered

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Many, but not all of you know that I am a 34 year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department.  It was during the time of LAPD's glory years.  The time of Dragnet, Police Story, Adam-12, and many  motion pictures.  A time of great pride.

But for me, it was a time that I could only share my experiences with others whom I deemed could relate.  "Insiders" like other cops, firemen, emergency room nurses, and clergy.  Those were the people that shared my experiences and somehow could understand.  Anyway, some seven years after retirement, I am just now becoming able to my stories with others, and I do so that they can benefit.  And here is one such story.

LAPD's Rampart Division was, at that time, the busiest police precinct in the world.  More calls for service and more cops per resident than any other.  Just outside the city center, it was an area long abandoned by the wealthy and left for drugs, alcohol, gangs, prostitution, and the mentally insane.  It was the place where I worked the night shifts for my first six years.  And I loved it!  And it was simply amazing.

An early memory of my career involved an incident in Rampart.  One morning just after midnight, I responded to a single family house which had been converted into a rental that housed several lower income families.  One male resident had been beaten by an intruder when he answered a knock at the door.  Although the man was in his 60's, I considered him elderly and defenseless, I guess because I young and healthy.   

Anyway, the intruder, after entering the residence beat the victim severely, left him for dead, and then stole what little valuables he had before leaving.  The victim lost his sight as the result of the beating and remained in the hospital for over a month.

It was not long after the victim's release that he returned home.  I visited with him a time or two and learned that he was terrified sitting home alone and blind.  As strong as I thought I was, I felt his pain.  And I soon responded to yet another emergency at the victim's residence. 

A week or two after returning home, the victim heard someone outside his door, but this time he refused to answer and screamed at the person to go away.  The victim armed himself with an old surplus rifle that a friend of him gave him after the beating, and chambered a single bullet.  As the victim cowered in a chair in a corner farthest away from his front door, he heard the sounds of his door being kicked in.  The victim fired  his rifle, through the still closed door and into the chest of the person outside, killing him.

Now California had a "Castle Law" that essentially gave a person the right to use deadly force against any threat by an intruder while inside a victim's home.  But this time, this intruder had not yet gained entrance at the time the victim fired the rifle, and the Castle Law would not protect him and he was arrested and prosecuted for murder.  And the court ruled that because the victim was blind and could not visually see the threat of an intruder, he was capable of using his weapon responsibly; therefore he was responsible for the intruder's death.

I've said before, "If you are not prepared to stand and fight, then you better be prepared to run for your life.

You decide.  What would have done do?