A Phoenix police officer who mistakenly shot an armed homeowner during a search for an intruder was cleared of wrongdoing this week by a committee that reviews such shootings. [More]Let's review:
Citizen's home is invaded.
Citizen confronts intruder and holds him at bay, using a gun to deter violence. If he'd deployed with anything else--a kitchen knife, a fireplace poker, a Louisville Slugger--chance are there would have been blood.
There was anyway.
An "Only One" comes barging in with his gun blazing without knowing what the hell the situation is and f***s everything up, shooting the homeowner in the back.
All according to official protocol, mind you. He did nothing wrong.
I guess if that's the way they want things to go down, we must adjust our home defense protocols accordingly, to where no one uninvited under our roof gets out moving.
No one.
Pity--most of us were prepared to trust our judgment to determine situation-appropriate responses. Looks like our options have been blown away...
[Via Tony F]