29 Jan 03

From an LEO friend and student on the East Coast:

"One of our officers was just involved in a fatal shooting here. A local convicted felon, out on parole in a stolen automobile, attempted to cause the airbag to deploy on one of our Crown Vic beat cars by suddenly backing into it during a traffic stop. The maneuver didn't work, and the chase was on. The suspect vehicle subsequently suffered tire damage when it ran off the road and slowed to a crawl. The suspect then bailed out, simultaneously firing at our officers (380Auto) over his left shoulder. A single round struck our beat car's open door. No injuries.

Our sergeant, who had just arrived, fired three rounds from his G23 (Gold Dot) at the running suspect. All three rounds found their mark, one through and through on the forearm, and two through the upper portion of his buttocks. The suspect's descending aorta was severed, and he bled out posthaste. Neither bullet exited. Suspect was DRT. No one else was hurt."

Lesson: When asked to summarize a recent gunfight, Bill Hickock (known for his short answers) was quoted at saying simply, "He missed. I didn't." Bill correctly concluded that his point was made and that additional details would be superfluous.

There is no substitute for surgical accuracy, no matter how exciting the situation. "Lots of shooting" doesn't end fights. Hits do!

/John

29 Jan 03

Good news from an attorney friend:

"Two days ago, the Judge in West Palm Beach, FL in the Raven pistol case, ruling on post-trial motions, issued a directed verdict overturning the entire judgment against Valor Corp, the pistol's distributor.

You will recall this is the case where 13-year-old Nathaniel Brazil, upon being suspended from school, went home, retrieved a 25ACP Raven pistol he ha d stolen several days earlier from his 'grandfather' (actually no rela tion), returned to school with the gun, and shot his teacher in the face, killing him. Brazil was tried as an adult and convicted of murder. This present cas e is a civil suit, sponsored by Handgun Control Inc, against Valor Corp.

With the judgment against Valor now being overturned, the only remaining judgments are against the school district (which wasn't a party so isn't liable to pay the judgment) and the elderly 'grandfather' (judgment- proof by virtue of no significant assets) who owned the pistol and kept it unsecured where Nathaniel Brazil could take it.

The jury found that the pistol in question contained no design defect, no manufacturing defect, and was not 'negligently made' (whatever that means). In ruling on the motions, the Judge agreed that the fourth issue, the only one on which the jury had found Valor liable (for not selling the pistol, in 1988, with a trigger guard lock) was improper under Florida law.

This is a tremendous victory for the good guys, as Handgun Control Inc was trying to prove the Raven pistol was 'inherently defective,' simply because it was small, inexpensive, of small caliber, and therefore had 'no l egitimate purpose other than as a crime gun.' NO gun manufacturer provided trigger guard locks with their pistols in 1988, when the Raven was sold, and Valor wasn't even the manufacturer. The manufacturer, Raven Arms, has been out of business for years.

If allowed to stand, a decision against Valor in this case might have been usable to say that ANY seller of ANY gun, new or used, big or small, at least, as far back as 1988 if not further, would be liable for criminal misuse of the gun or for gun accidents."

Comment: You won't hear about any of the above on the mainstream media, as i t is bad news for them and their left-wing agenda. When good news like this comes along, being the ideological prostitutes that they are, they simply pretend they didn't see it.

/John

29 Jan 03

More from a friend and student in the middle of things overseas:

"The silliness continues: Every deployed Battalion out here has its own 'kabal' (depression surrounded by earthen berms). Each and every one, of course, has its own 'clearing barrels' at the gate.

When traveling between these kabals (most only a few kilometers apart), one is permitted to have a magazine inserted in his weapon (but no round chambered, of course, as that would be far too dangerous), but, upon enterin g a kabal, one is required to sterilize completely. As you might imagine, traveling from kabal to kabal (as I must do daily) is so absurdly frustratin g and time consuming that we laugh about it. We are supposed to stop and exit our vehicle in order to clear our weapon(s) at each kabal. The time wasted with this idiocy is substantial. To add insult to injury, there is no place for us to 'load' (insert magazines) on the way out. That is apparen tly unimportant.

All of this because our 'leaders' unconditionally distrust warriors with loaded weapons. They are afraid of guns, and they are afraid of us. Knowin g the poor training that most military personnel receive, I understand their fear, but instead of providing proper training, they order everyone to carry an unloaded weapon or no weapon at all. The 'cannon fodder mentalit y' is alive and well over here. 'Enough of this nonsense already,' I said to myself. I carry concea led under my cammies in a Blade-Tech kydex holster (which I purchased myself). Most gate guards just assume I don't have a pistol and thus give me puzzled looks , but wave me through anyway. Kydex is the best product for this environment.

I met our main body yesterday. They all arrived from the airport in (of course) condition three (magazine inserted; chamber empty). The first thing our S-4 (a VMI graduate no less) asked me, 'Sir, where is the armory ? These Marines have loaded weapons, and we need to turn them in before they have a negligent discharge.'

I looks at him indignantly and replied, 'I'm sorry, lieutenant. I' ve obviously been misinformed. I was told that you folks were men of honor, me n of integrity, fearless warriors, ready and eager to defend our country. I see instead that you are pitiable and fearful worms, afraid of your own guns!' Not a word was said in reply, but they all slept with their weapons last night, and there were no NDs. Imagine that!

Anyway, I wish officers who were afraid of Marines carrying loaded weapons would find another line of work, preferably in the UK. I, for one, wear my (loaded) pistol constantly. After only one day of being screwed with, my Captains all do likewise. We're slowly spreading the sunshine here!"

Comment: Good show, colonel!

/John