I think we can all agree that there is a "War on Cops" out there. And, like most folks who arm themselves legally (whether in open carry or in CCW states), we are good, upstanding, law-abiding people who want to "do good" as it pertains to self-defense or (if we choose) defense of others, especially law enforcement officers. I've always maintained that defending yourself via the use of deadly force would be hard enough...defending others brings on a whole new set of challenges that can result in even more tragedy, as happened in Arvada, Colorado. Tragically, a police officer was killed by a gunman, and a Good Samaritan by the name of John Hurley was also killed by responding officers as he tried to help the officer being shot. As people who have incorporated firearms into our own personal defense plans, what can we learn from this? My advice -- resist the temptation to rush into a gunfight. Yes, we have a more developed sense of right vs. wrong, good vs. evil, fairness vs. unfairness than most of the population. If we get a sense that "someone is in trouble" we have that urge to do what we can to help. But...as we saw with Joseph Wilcox at the Las Vegas Walmart and as we see here, an armed citizen purposefully inserting himself into a tragic situation that resulted in even more tragedy. As much as we want to help others, we need to take care of ourselves (and our loved ones if they are with us at the time) first. I can only relate what I would do in a situation like the one faced by John Hurley:
Draw my firearm.
Call 9-1-1 (if safe to do so).
Take a defensive position in the best location possible with minimal movement to that location.
Engage only if the shooter comes into my line of sight and I trust my abilities to be successful at that moment in time and at that distance.
The only good that came out of that horrific tragedy was that the steaming pile of K9 excrement perpetrating it was permanently removed from our society, never to do harm to anyone again. Please...stay safe out there. Michael