Posted on 03/20/2004 6:28:32 AM PST by OldBlondBabe
Four years ago, she was helpless as a man robbed her at gunpoint. On Friday, legally armed with a handgun, she may have saved her life. And Farmington Hills Police Chief William Dwyer, who dreaded a change in the law in 2001 to make it easier to receive a concealed weapons permit, admits that he's changing his mind about that law.
Dwyer said the woman could easily have been killed after she was targeted by a couple looking for an easy score. They were waiting at 6:30 a.m. outside an office building at the southeast corner of 12 Mile and Drake roads.
Angela, a married mother of two, was arriving at the office where she has worked for six years. She asked that her last name and hometown not be made public.
She saw a car in the lot that she did not recognize, with two people inside, putting her on her guard. When she left her car, a man got out of that car and walked toward her.
He passed the entrance to the building and continued toward her. The man came within 10 feet of her, and she knew she had to act.
"I didn't get a chance to get in the office," she said. "He had his hands in his pocket with his hood pulled up. I opened my purse and pulled my gun out.
"I felt my life was in trouble. The first instinct was to pull out my gun."
The man turned tail and walked away, and the car pulled up to him near the roadway. He jumped in and they drove off.
No shots were fired.
Dwyer said there was "no question" she was in trouble.
"She took the appropriate action," Dwyer said. "She probably saved her life. She is a very fortunate young lady. (Also) she did an excellent job as far as giving a description of the vehicle and the suspect. She's a very courageous young lady."
Her calm demeanor and quick thinking - she called police from her cell phone immediately after the suspect drove off - led police to the man and his female accomplice within a minute of the robbery attempt, Dwyer said.
He said the couple - a 21-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman from Detroit - would be charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery.
Police confiscated a loaded 9 mm handgun from the couple's car. The man has several outstanding warrants and the woman was convicted for receiving stolen property.
Later Friday, Dwyer said a 28-year-old Southfield woman who knows Angela had been arrested for setting up her robbery.
Police are seeking a fourth suspect.
Dwyer, who as head of the state's police chief's association opposed the change in state law that made it easier for residents without criminal backgrounds to carry guns, acknowledges that the law has saved at least one person.
"I always said the CCW (Carrying a Concealed Weapon permit) legislation is somewhat controversial," he said. "I'm certainly rethinking it."
He credited her for taking the appropriate training and, equally important, using common sense.
"I'm just a woman," Angela said. "You hear about things like this. I didn't want to be a victim again."
First, you need proof that he would run.
The man turned tail and walked away, and the car pulled up to him near the roadway. He jumped in and they drove off.
Too bad she didn't shoot this vermin. He'll just move on to some easier prey.
Very few people who do carry a gun "want" to shoot anybody,I certainly don't (unless you include Osama, him I want to shoot) anymore than they want to put out a fire. Still they might need to do either someday, and without the appropriate tools, they wouldn't be able to do so.
Happened to me just last Thursday. A punk kid claiming to want to sell me some cologne. (I don't look like the cologne type, and in any event it makes my wife sneeze :) ). He started coming toward my car as I was getting out of it. Then he saw the "Texas State Rifle Association" "Raging Bull" sticker on the back window and backed off, although keeping up his spiel. As I advanced toward him but also cowards the entrance to the "The Crazy Chicken", he retreated to an older car containing three more punk kids. They pulled right out after that. It probably doesn't hurt that I weigh around 300 pounds either, he probably was less than half of that, maybe 30 or 40 pounds less. I'm also told, by a Tejano friend of long standing, that I resemble Pancho Villa, even though I've not a drop of Latin American blood in me (I may have some Spanish ancestry, my grandfather's middle name was Carlos, and he was adopted out after his parents both died, and the last name he took was his stepfather's. Pancho Villa probably had some German ancestry considering his father's name, so I guess there could be some wider genetic convergence there.)
"I always said the CCW (Carrying a Concealed Weapon permit) legislation is somewhat controversial," he said. "I'm certainly rethinking it."
This is significant. Notwithstanding his (previous) opposition to concealed carry, Bill Dwyer has a reputation as an honorable man. A few members of the MACP (the chief's association) had dissented from the organization's stand. Not holding my breath, but over time we may see more converts.
Yeah, if you're lucky, the cops will show up before you bleed to death.
Police are seeking a fourth suspect.
No one seems to have noticed this little tidbit. She was set up by a "friend." Good grief. And maybe it's just as well she didn't shoot the guy, because if she had, the police might not have learned these further details.
Once one understands use of a firearm is an appropriate response against deadly force only, the reluctance will disappear.
That's almost like Mike Duggan(except he's just a joker) converting.
I suppose I could keep it in my shoulder bag in the building while at work but it is still against corp. policy and I would be jeopardizing my job in doing so......
LOL! You forgot your (/sarcasm) tag......
Did you forget a < /sarcasm > tag on that one?
I don't know what response time is in her jurisdiction, but in the City of Atlanta we had a break-in with a burglar IN the house, and it took the police almost one hour to arrive. And that was almost 30 years ago - the response time is even longer now if they show up at all.
And what's more, the criminals KNOW this. Everybody in town knows that the APD "lost" over 22,000 police reports in an attempt to make their crime stats look better. Everybody knows that they don't respond to anything but "officer down" in less than an hour, if they respond at all.
So the police would arrive to find her bleeding to death or dead on the sidewalk (since she may well have known her attackers - see the third arrest were she was set up for this robbery by a "friend" - they would kill her to eliminate the witness) with the useless cellphone clutched in her hand (assuming the guy didn't steal it).
Dial 911 and die. Dial 1911A1 and live.
I'll take your word for it. When reading postings I usually don't have time to click and highlight looking for add-ons that may or may not be there especially since it gives the impression that I'm looking for something that I have no idea actually exists....
Just go to #25, go to the top of the post, click, hold and drag down to the bottom of the post and you will see it magically appear. It takes about 4/10th of a second.
In fact, there is one right here between the arrows ----> < /sarcasm> <-----
Thanks
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