Coming home and you notice a police cruiser...

[soundwave]

OK, I haven't read any of the responses and I'm going purely on the first thought that popped into my head once I finished reading the scenario... *PUNT* ;O) Gun as needed, but my first thought was punt, literally, a swift kick straight to the head.

Cheers.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[XD in SC]

The problem with "punt" is that it only works if they are wrestling on the ground. Not if they are standing.

[soundwave]

True, but as I said, two on the ground, first thing that I thought of when I read it. But I would think my first reaction would be to do something physical like tackling rather than training a gun on the guy. Maybe would not be the best thing to do, but very truthfully it would be the first action I'd take without thinking.

I'm 5'10, 235 lbs and built like a football player, might as well use it. lol

Cheers.

[walther1]

Alright, time for me to reveal how I would react. First thing I would do, would be open the front door and yell inside to wife to call 911 and have her tell them "officer down". That will get the police to my home, faster than 45 minutes. Also, I will be able to instantly verify if my wife is o.k.

If police officer is still struggling and losing, I would probably take out gun and warn crazy guy to get on the ground. If he didn't I would ask officer if I should shoot.

If I surveyed the situation and thought the officer had a fighting chance, I would let them duke it out and not get involved. I would figure, it is his cat, he should skin it.

Now if my family wasn't responding, I would want to go in and take care of them. Afterall, if this guy just stabbed my wife and I could assist her so she wouldn't die, I would rather do this then wrestle with two monkeys in the shrubs.

Sure he may get away, but all the police need today is a crime scene and the smell of a fart and they can trace the guy to Hong Kong.

Just another way of thinking that I don't want to get involved if I don't have to.

Whenever I did something good for someone in the past, it seemed to me that I was punished for it. I have lacked going out of my way for people these days.

Hopefully this is not too offensive. I am still nice to everyone but do not go out of my way to help them, especially with a firearm.

Thanks everyone for responding! It is great to see that many people have many different opinions on this matter. Remember, the one thing you do is right for you. Also, in the heat of the moment the situation may yield a different response.

[peacefuljeffrey]

There have been some posts regarding "what if the situation didn't justify deadly force?" One poster mentioned that this might have just been a misdemeanor arrest.

The point is, we don't know the full situation. In the scenario as it was presented, we see a man trying to gain control of the officer's weapon, and the officer screaming for our help. To me that doesn't sound like a minor altercation or a simple case of resisting arrest. It may have started out as something minor but has clearly escalated to a deadly force situation.

[snip]

2) you match the threat of deadly force (we can assume that the guy doesn't want the officer's gun just 'cause he thinks it's pretty) with deadly force of your own. AFAIC, there is no reason to specifically try to minimize the injury/damage to the BG.

First of all, KenpoTex, thanks for the compliment about my earlier posts.

I am in full agreement with every single aspect of your take on this. (How often does that happen on an internet forum?!)

I bolded some parts of your post that I thought were most cogent. Specifically, it doesn't really matter, does it, whether this guy was pulled over for a taillight out or as a murder suspect: he is NOW fighting a police officer in a knockdowndragout, and the prize may well be the officer's gun!

So whatever it started as, it is now clearly a felony, and could have lethal consequences very shortly if not ended ASAP.

So I favor a contact shot, or an extremely close-range shot, whichever can be managed.

[soundwave]

Sure he may get away, but all the police need today is a crime scene and the smell of a fart and they can trace the guy to Hong Kong.

That's funny right thar, I don't care who ya are. lol

Cheers.

[FirefighterEd]

I'm 6'5" 285lbs and solid. Have also had some limited h2h self defense training. There are two options depending on the onsite evaluation of the officers true level of distress and my perception of the likelyhood of the perp getting the weapon out of the officers level III holster.

Worst case: approach with weapon drawn, if unseen by perp a pistol barrel to back or side of head and it's most likely over, if seen and he doesn't obey then he dies.

Most likely: approach from behind or side of perp. If I get my hands on or around his neck, it's over. Let Officer cuff him and then check on my family!

[ezman38]

I expect that some of the suggestions may be changed if one considers that the BG may have an yet unseen partner nearby. I think the BG should be taken care of as quickly as possible.

[Thumper]

No question... if the BG is going for the officers gun, you end it with a contact shot to the head!

[peacefuljeffrey]

Worst case: approach with weapon drawn, if unseen by perp a pistol barrel to back or side of head and it's most likely over, if seen and he doesn't obey then he dies.

Am I the only one who fears a possible unintentional discharge occurring if I decide to pistol whip the attacker?

Granted, I'd be using a GLOCK, and if the finger is off the trigger, no harm should come of it. I just don't want the gun going off -- if at all possible -- and possibly sending a bullet any which way. I also am not enamored of the possibility of getting the guy's blood and hair on my gun or my person. I can imagine that a swung gun can easily open a wound in the scalp. I don't wanna deal with that. If there's gonna be blood, I want it to be on my bullets, not my gun, and I want to be far enough away that I don't get splattered with some unknown criminal dude's body fluids.

[TechGuy]

You have no way of knowing the condition of the BG (high on whatever or not) but I would always assist the LEO best I can. IF other items are available, shovel, garden hose around neck, etc. use that to avoid adding one more person / gun to the mix. If nothing available, use gun. In this case, maybe a warning shot?!?! But in my CCW class they said if you are justified in a warning shot, you are justified in shooting the BG.

[golf97]

I would put a boot to the stomach or head, whichever posed a better target. After that I'd make it known that I am armed and ready to fire. Immediately following that I'd end it with a HS.

Communication with the LEO throughout would be great if available, but I know it takes a lot of breath to speak under stressful situations.