Posted on 07/22/2003 11:16:38 PM PDT by scripter
We have our home on the market so many realtors and potential buyers are coming through our home daily. If we're not home the realtor can find a secondary code to turn off our alarm in the lock box.
We've had some valuable items broken since we put our house on the market. What's frustrating is we don't notice it right away because the broken pieces are cleaned up and the item moved or turned in a way that doesn't make it obvious the item is broken. All we can do is get a listing of who's been in our home and make phone calls.
I left the house to run some errands and go pick up our oldest son, Jonathan, turning the alarm on as I left. When I returned two hours later I found the alarm off but no realtors cards were left behind. This happens every so often, especially if the realtor has already been to the house at least once.
Jonathan and I played a game of checkers and then headed upstairs. As we reached the top of the stairs we both heard a shuffling noise and a sound as if somebody bumped into something. Turning quickly I noticed the back door slightly open, so I whispered to Jonathan to follow me.
I grabbed an H&K 9mm, put a telephone headset on, called 911 and whispered we might have somebody in our home. While I slowly walked Jonathan to the front door we heard another noise so I told him to run to the neighbors. I stayed behind at the front door, gun in hand.
The dispatcher told me to leave the house as well but I tell her I didn't want to walk outside at the moment. The rest of this is our conversation:
dispatcher: "Sir you should leave your house now"
scripter: "Maam, I don't want to walk out the door and get shot by police"
dispatcher: "Why would the police shoot you?"
scripter: "As you have it documented from my previous call to you last year, I have a gun. I'm armed."
dispatcher: "Yes, we have it documented. Why do you have a gun!?"
scripter: "Ever heard of the second ammendment? [To keep things shorter I'll just document that the dispatcher continually asked me why I had a gun.]"
dispatcher: [silence, pause] "Put the gun down."
scripter: "Why would I put a loaded gun down with somebody in the house? I know you're not PD, you're the dispatcher. Don't tell me to put the gun down. I'm not going to put the gun down and I have the right to protect myself. I also have a copy of the California Firearms Laws 2003 pamphlet."
dispatcher: "Put the gun down and walk outside"
scripter: "Why would I put a loaded gun down and walk outside. If somebody's in my house they can pick the gun up and shoot me in the back as I walk outside. When will the PD arrive?"
dispatcher: [pause] "The police will not come if you're armed. [in the background the dispatcher says] "Possible 459 at ..."
scripter: "When will they arrive?
dispatcher: "Sir, put the gun down and walk outside."
scripter: "Bad advice."
dispatcher: "What?"
scripter: "That's bad advice."
dispatcher: "What?"
scripter: "It's bad advice to tell someone to put a loaded gun down in a house when a potential burglar is in your house."
About 5 minutes go by and we're just arguing about the gun and I can hear her complaining on the radio to the officers that I won't put down the gun and walk outside."
dispatcher: [silence, pause] "Do you have law enforcement training?"
scripter: "Nothing formally. In another county I've trained deputies in combat judo, I shoot at the local range. I read. I have common sense." [At this point the dispatcher completely changed her attitude.]
dispatcher: "Where are you in the house?"
scripter: "I'm near the front door. The police are here, pulling up to my neighbors house. I'm wearing grey shorts with a white T-shirt. [What I'm wearing is relayed to the officers.] I'm going outside."
dispatcher: "DO NOT GO OUTSIDE."
scripter: "Why not?"
dispatcher: "SIR, DO NOT GO OUTSIDE. DO NOT GO OUTSIDE"
scripter: "Why not?"
dispatcher: "SIR, DO NOT GO OUTSIDE."
scripter: [Similar to the last time, at this point I really start pushing her buttons.] "First you tell me to go outside and now you tell me not to go outside. Which is it? The police are talking to me through the door."
dispatcher: "SIR, DO NOT GO OUTSIDE."
scripter: "Calm down. There's no need to yell I heard you the first time but you haven't told me why I shouldn't go outside. The police are trying to talk to me. One of them can see me through the window. They're asking me to open the door. I'm going outside."
dispatcher: "HE'S GOING OUTSIDE!"
scripter: [Walking outside] "Hi guys, thanks for coming. Let me unload."
police: "Sure. Go ahead."
I slipped the magazine out, popped the round out of the chamber and put it back in the magazine. We talk about the situation and three officers head into the house. It took the police about 20 minutes to check it out, then they went into the backyard through the open back door. They never found anything.
While waiting out in front additional officers arrive. One female officer tells me I shouldn't do that. "Do what," I asked? "Own a gun," she replied. "Second ammendment and all, I choose to own a gun and protect myself. What if you couldn't get here in a timely fashion?" She didn't answer me.
The lead officer and I talked about what we can do about some problems we've been having with realtors, broken items, unlocked doors, etc. Perhaps By Appointment Only is the route we need to take. He tells me he had the same problems with realtors when he had his house on the market.
Then he tells me he would have done exactly what I did. I shot a glance at the female officer who told me I shouldn't own a gun and she turned away.
We talked about the dispatcher, how she isn't part of the police department, the second ammendment and California gun laws. He said the dispatcher is just trying to make it safe for us when we arrive. I replied "I can understand that, but she went overboard." The lead officer smiled and hinted that he agreed.
For what it's worth, the dispatcher is probably the same dispatcher from a previous call when we had some trespassers. She said all the same things again. It's really sad to have such anti-gun dispatchers and some police, but I'm grateful for the officers who support the second ammendment.
Oh yeah... the last time we had trespassers, they tried to attack me with a baseball bat and a mop handle. The dispatcher said I could not use a gun to protect myself but had to use a weapon similar to the trespassers. What a loon.
Oh, I dunno - if this is just a typical afternoon in the scripter household up above, then I'm prepared to believe some fairly interesting things about you ;)
Everyone here is well, thanks. Hopefully, you'll get this sale over and done with quickly, so you can put all this behind you...
You don't know how many times she asked! It was ridiculous. I'm glad the wife and younger child were not at home.
She forgot the punch line: "And step away from the Constitution."
--Boot Hill
That dispatcher not only lied, but told a very dangerous lie. There is no law that dictates that one can engage in self-defense only if they are identically as armed as their attacker. The only prerequisite is that you feel your life or the lives of your loved ones is in imminent danger.
Sure, you'll wind up spending $40,000 defending yourself before a grand jury and all that happy horse----, but it's better to be tried by twelve than carried by six.
-Jay
You guys are giving me some great ideas for next time. Maybe I'll get a chance to write something for the local paper and put some of this stuff in.
Yes she did and it's scary. It all happened in my garage so I had access to a number of weapons, but my son was in the garage with me and I thought it best to get him out of there. I returned immediately my with buddies Heckler and Koch and they took off.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.