10 May 04

Confrontation with a blade, from a friend in SA:

"One of our students is part of the local Critical Incident Response Unit here in Port Elizabeth. He was called out last week to subdue and arrest a deranged suspect threatening people with a knife. Local police decided they couldn't handle it. Because of our government's intense paranoia with regard to guns, most law enforcement officers here are terrified at the thought of using theirs, so much so that they routinely expose themselves to suicidal risk rather than use deadly force. Case in point:

Our friend approached the suspect who was confronting him defiantly, still holding his knife. The officer got close enough to strike the suspect in the arm with his baton in an attempt to persuade him to drop the knife. No luck! The suspect charged and stabbed the officer on the left side before he could get out of the way. A single downward thrust opened a deep gash from the deltoid to the elbow, completely severing the triceps. With his remaining hand, the officer drew his G23 (acquired and paid for by himself) and began shooting as the knife attack continued.

First shot went through the attacker's right foot. The second hit the knee cap on his right leg and deflected down his calf. First two shots were obviously jerked low and left. The third hit him in the navel. That one dropped him and effectively ended the fight. The bullet penetrated to the descending aorta and perforated it, through and through. Suspect was DRT within a minute. Our officer will be okay but will suffer some permeant disablement.

I asked him why he chose to use the baton instead of confronting the suspect at gunpoint immediately, but I knew the answer before I asked. People here are so afraid of going to jail for any kind of self defense that they dither when confronted by criminals and end us as statistics."

Comment: At the ultimate time of individual reckoning, our personal resolve, determination, and superiority of purpose will carry the day. In the end, our fighting skills, strengthened by our training and mental preparation, will prevail in the face of the evil that now confronts us.

/John