What is a 20+Minute Police Response Like

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-21-2004
What is a 20+Minute Police Response Like
28
Mon, 12-07-2009 - 5:31pm

Or, to put it another way, when seconds count, the police are only 20 minutes away! Good thing she had a gun.You can listen to the 911 call at the link to get a feel for what those 20 minutes were like.

From: http://newsok.com/homeowner-shoots-kills-intruder-in-lincoln-county/article/3422809

Homeowner shoots, kills intruder in Lincoln County
POLICE Situation unfolds Friday morning in a 911 call to lincoln county emergency dispatchers
BY JOHNNY JOHNSON AND ROBERT MEDLEY
Published: December 5, 2009

CUSHING — For 10 minutes and 20 seconds, Donna Jackson remained calm as she stood in the dark pleading for help and repeatedly telling emergency dispatchers that she did not want to shoot the "crazy,” "drunk sounding” man who was yelling and determined to get inside her house early Friday.

Dec 4A Lincoln County woman shot and killed a man who attempted to enter...

But when he threw a table through her sliding glass patio door, the 56-year-old woman — who was home alone — couldn’t wait for deputies any longer.

There is a loud crash on the 911 tape.

The phone drops, and there’s a single shot from a 16-gauge shotgun.

Only then, does the woman who has been so calm throughout the ordeal begin to fall apart.

"I shot. I shot,” Jackson tells the dispatcher frantically. "I’m going out front. I hit him. Oh God, help me! I dropped the phone. ... Oh please, dear God, I think I’ve killed him.”

As the reality sinks in, her voice fades to a whisper, "Please, Father in Heaven. Please, Father in Heaven. Oh my God, ma’am. Please.”

And she begins to sob, "I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

The dispatcher on the other end of the line tries to comfort her, telling her there was nothing she could have done — she had to protect herself.

"No, he’s bleeding,” Jackson said, looking at the body on her back porch. "I’m so sorry, Father.”

A ‘bizarre’ situation
Lincoln County Sheriff Chuck Mangion said dispatchers first got the call from Jackson about 12:40 a.m., after her dogs’ barking woke her up.

The man shot and killed at Jackson’s home, Billy Dean Riley, 53, was no stranger to the sheriff’s office.

"I’d say he’s been in an out of jail since he was old enough to go to jail,” Mangion said. "He has a long history of drug and alcohol-related offenses.”

But what has the sheriff puzzled is why the intruder was so determined to break into Jackson’s rather fortified home, marked by a locked gate and "Beware of the dog” signs.

"As to what his motives were in trying to break into the house remains unclear,” Mangion said.

Jackson said the man was talking "crazy.” He apparently didn’t know where his pickup was, and he kept yelling for someone named "Pat.”

Mangion said his deputies found Riley’s pickup just down the secluded rural road, and it appeared the vehicle had left the roadway and run into a ditch.

Inside the pickup, investigators found Riley’s sister, Patricia Ellen Totty, 45, unconscious from what they called an overdose of alcohol and narcotics. She was taken to a Stroud hospital, where she was later listed in good condition.

Mangion said he couldn’t say whether Riley had gone to the house to get help for his sister.

"He didn’t go to the front door or ring the door bell to try to gain entry,” the sheriff said.

Mangion said Riley is a repeat offender, but local officers have never seen him do anything like this before.

"Dealing with him, I can tell you that when he had a load on, he could be a pretty mean individual,” the sheriff said. "But this is just bizarre. I’ve been doing this for 35 years, and this one is pretty much a mind-blower.”

Court records show Riley, of Sparks, has a number of driving under the influence of alcohol convictions, including convictions in Lincoln County in 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2004. He was convicted of public intoxication in Lincoln County in 2002 and of possession of marijuana in Lincoln County in 1998.

Read more: http://newsok.com/homeowner-shoots-kills-intruder-in-lincoln-county/article/3422809#ixzz0Z2ppAkOo

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martinisnsushi - living the good life since 1963

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Tue, 12-08-2009 - 12:28pm

I'm glad she's safe...but the difference between us would have been that the second the intruder came through the sliding glass doors, I would have been out the front door, cell phone in hand, & off to hide in the dark until the police arrived.


iVillage Member
Registered: 11-13-2009
Tue, 12-08-2009 - 12:59pm

I guess that's a good plan, if you're sure there's no one out the front door waiting on you.

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-21-2004
Tue, 12-08-2009 - 1:02pm

Run away? To where? How would you know there weren't more waiting outside the front door? How would you know you could outrun the bad guy? Running away can be jumping from the frying pan into the fire.

She didn't shoot him to protect her things. She shot him to save her life. She was cornered and had no resort.

I marvel at a mindset that refuses to consider the possibility that sometimes the only choices are to use lethal force or to have lethal force used on you. This seems to me to be as clear cut a case as you could have of using a gun for self defense (it seemed pretty clear cut to the police as well). It also points out the fact that the police can't be counted on to always show up and protect you. Even after they knew there was a violent crime in progress and shots had been fired, it still took them another 10 minutes to get to the house.

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martinisnsushi - living the good life since 1963

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martinisnsushi - the two most important food groups!

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-30-2002
Tue, 12-08-2009 - 1:15pm

I live where there is a 20+ min police response, especially if they think it is something domestic. I am like you. I figure, on my property, I have home field advantage. I know my property and all it's hidey holes better than any stranger ever would. While they were at one door, I'd be going out another and moving towards safety in another direction.


I know that when I was getting divorced, had a restraining order against my H, and he came to my house, I called 911. The cops were the usual 20+ minutes away because they were on another call. I was inside, turning off lights, moving obstacles around, in case he got in, and escaping out another door. I had already looked into getting a firearm. I had been warned by the police that if I had the opportunity to use it, especially against my stalking, abusive husband, that had committed a felony against me, that I was going to have to be able to prove I was in "imminent danger." I also had a teenage boy in the house that was not handling the situation well, so having a gun just didn't seem like the best case scenario. Would I be able to properly secure the gun from an acting out teen, get it in my hands in time to defend myself, from a 6'7" man that was stalking me, while waiting for him to reach the point of being an "imminent danger" or would I end up having the weapon used by him to murder me? Sometimes flight is the better option. I am living, just fine today, with that choice.


I know gun advocates are always sure it's going to go their way, they are going to be able to live with the consequences, and the law will always be on their side. But I've seen people, in my state at least, that have shot intruders (actually, intruders that have injured them), having to go through inquiries and possible manslaughter charges. The fact that my ex's family has tens of millions of dollars, had I killed him, even if he was attacking me, do you think I would have ever been given a moments peace again?



iVillage Member
Registered: 08-30-2002
Tue, 12-08-2009 - 1:50pm

Here is an example from my region. I do believe Mr. Beck was cleared of any wrongdoing, but as the DA says, even if ones home is being invaded one does not have the right to kill a burglar or trespasser.


As for the woman in the OP. She has to live with wondering for the rest of her life, if she killed a confused, intoxicated man, that simply wanted to use a telephone for his ODing sister. Wether he had a rap sheet or not, this woman will go to her grave knowing she killed someone, never truly clear what his actual intention was. Even criminals, sometimes care about others. In spite of their intoxication and inability to communicate, it doesen't mean they are always intending to inflict harm upon others,



iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Tue, 12-08-2009 - 2:35pm

I was responding to the OP & the facts & situation reported.


I told you what I would do under those circumstances.


iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Tue, 12-08-2009 - 3:18pm

Just responding to the OP.


iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Tue, 12-08-2009 - 3:53pm

Having a child in the house (well, she's in college now!) always kept me from even being tempted to own a gun.


iVillage Member
Registered: 04-21-2004
Tue, 12-08-2009 - 4:10pm

I figure, on my property, I have home field advantage. I know my property and all it's hidey holes better than any stranger ever would. While they were at one door, I'd be going out another and moving towards safety in another direction.


Good for you. I'm glad you have the choice. I hope there are never any possible complications to your scenario that would cause it to fail. Personally, by the time someone is in my house, I think it's too late to retreat. They have to leave or I have to stop them.


I had already looked into getting a firearm. I had been warned by the police that if I had the opportunity to use it, especially against my stalking, abusive husband, that had committed a felony against me, that I was going to have to be able to prove I was in "imminent danger."


Of course. Every self defense class, gun shop, CCW curriculum, etc in the country emphasizes the same thing. The same thing is true if you use a knife, a basebal bat, or any other sort of lethal force - you will be expected to show that you were in

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martinisnsushi - the two most important food groups!

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-21-2004
Tue, 12-08-2009 - 4:18pm

As for the woman in the OP. She has to live with wondering for the rest of her life, if she killed a confused, intoxicated man, that simply wanted to use a telephone for his ODing sister. Wether he had a rap sheet or not, this woman will go to her grave knowing she killed someone, never truly clear what his actual intention was.


Oh good grief. Did you listen to the 911 call? The man wasn't knocking on the door yelling "help!" He didn't go to the neighbor's houses. He wandered around the yard yelling for 10 minutes then threw a table through the glass door and came into the house. He ignored verbal warnings. I think this woman can live her life knowing that whatever the man's true intentions were, they weren't to borrow the phone and then go back to his vehicle. She believed she was in imminent danger and used lethal force (with the encouragement of the police) to stop a threat.

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