Posted on 11/30/2011 11:14:21 AM PST by Idabilly
COEUR d'ALENE - Tim Patterson has no doubts he would have pulled the trigger.
He's glad he didn't have to.
But when a woman is being attacked by a man with a knife, Patterson says he'll do what must be done.
"If he had not stopped what he was doing," he says, his voice fading. "He came very close to dying. Really, really close."
Monday afternoon was another normal day of cooking burgers and fries and hot dogs and Philly cheesesteaks for Tim and Debbie Patterson.
Then, about 2 p.m., they heard a scream.
Tim rushed out the back door of The Big Yellow mobile kitchen at the corner of Harrison and Fourth. He looked around the Goodwill parking lot full of cars, and heard another scream. Then, he heard a woman's voice.
"Let go of me," it shrieked.
Patterson charged around a car and stopped. A man had a woman's head pulled back with one hand, and a knife to her throat with the other.
Patterson didn't hesitate.
He drew his Kimber 1911 .45 with a six-shot clip.
"Drop it, or I'll shoot you," he shouted.
(Excerpt) Read more at cdapress.com ...
"A hero is putting his life at risk in order to sacrifice part of himself in order to help somebody else. In my case, I don't believe I was putting my life at risk at all. I had a gun. I was going to help her. I never felt in jeopardy by this guy at all."
But he did say he hopes his actions deliver a message to the bad guys:
"In Idaho, there's a lot of folks who carry a weapon with them, and they're not afraid to protect their friends and family."
Isn't that the truth? :-)
In North Idaho, if a guy tells you to "drop it, or I'll shoot", you may consider yourself fortunate that you're being confronted by such a polite guy. Make no mistake, though. If you do not drop it, he will shoot you.
On Killing is an outstanding piece of research and well written. I disagree with several of Lt. Col Grossman's conclusions at the end of the book, but I it was an important read. Well done.
Semper Fi,
TS
I can’t either,was going to get a 40 at this site.
http://www.hi-pointfirearms.com/handguns/45acp/hi_point_45acp.html
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Funny how that works.
Sgt. Christie Wood, Coeur d'Alene police spokeswoman, said while Patterson's actions were certainly brave and appreciated, police face a fine line when it comes to citizens trying to stop a crime. Some are more qualified than others to be of assistance, she said. Individuals need to assess the situation and decide whether it's safe for them to get involved.
Blow it out your shorts, copper. Doing the right thing carries risks. Clearly people do assess those risks which is why some people do something and some don't.
First heard this from Lt Col Dave Grossman at killology.com. “If you are legally authorized to carry a weapon and you go out your front door without it, you have chosen to be a sheep.”
FWIW there is nothing in that statement that suggests that any authorization other than the 2nd A. is required. If anything the wording might be taken as a caution that not all jurisdictions respect the 2nd A. but it doesn't infer in any way that such restrictions are appropriate.
If our MSM was not so biased this would be on all news stations. But, it will not see the light of day.
I couldn’t help but chuckle once I visualized this:
“The suspect, described as a man with dark hair about 6-feet tall,”
Man, that dude’s got some BIG hair! LOL
In the early 1970s, fresh out of in-country service in Viet Nam, I used to mail bills and do night deposits for dad's business. This was late at night and I'd take my M1911A1 Colt along for the ride. The main post office was near a whole block of bars and honkey tonks across the railroad tracks several blocks south.
One summer night, I decided to go home through the seedy section of town. It had been a hot day and it was a Friday or Saturday night — I knew the bars would be packed and jumping — so I made sure the doors were locked and windows were up (as if I had air conditioning).
I cruised into the bar district that was on both sides of the street for three blocks before my left turn across the bridge and home. As usual, there we a lot of folks standing about outside the bars — probably negotiating “dates”. I slowed and stopped for the light that changed from yellow to red. I took a quick look around and locked eyes for a second with one guy who was leaning a against a building. I thought nothing about it and turned my attention to the light.
The next thing I knew the same guy I noticed was standing at my door trying to open it (I'd locked it). I held onto the steering wheel with my left hand and brought up the .45, cocking the hammer as I did, with my right. My visitor was now face-to-face with the end of the pistol about six inches in front of his face. His jaw flopped open, eyes got big as saucers, and he did the fastest 180 degree turn I'd ever seen. He took about three giant steps (or so it seemed) to recross the street and disappear into the bar. The light turned green and I got out of there. I'd like to think he'd gotten a bad laundry problem from his experience.
Like Tim Patterson, no shooting occurred and the perp decided to flee rather than force the issue. He didn't want to take a chance on being dead and I didn't want to shoot him (the shot would have taken out the driver's window at minimum and would have deafened me, plus the legal hassles). I was glad to see him break the encounter and run, but if he'd gotten more aggressive I'd have shot him.
Good story. I’m glad you didn’t have to shoot. Not only would it have deafened you but that close to your face you might have caught something in the eyes. More likely with a revolver I suppose but... potentially bad. Sometimes that’s what has to be done though.
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