Posted on Wed, Oct 28, 2009 : 11:09 a.m.
What would you do if you found a burglar in your home?
By Stefanie Murray
This week's story about an Ann Arbor woman who patted down a burglar in her West Jefferson Street home generated a lot of comments on AnnArbor.com.
Folks debated whether that was a smart thing to do or not, should you come across an intruder in your house.
Comments
Ricebrnr
Fri, Oct 30, 2009 : 9:06 a.m.
Just goes to prove that indivduals are responsible for the protection of themselves and their loved ones first and foremost. The Supreme Court has determined in multiple cases that the Police have NO DUTY to protect you. from http://publicrights.org/Kennesaw/PoliceResponsibility.html Police have no legal duty to respond and prevent crime or protect the victim. There have BEEN OVER 10 various supreme and state court cases the individual has never won. Notably, the Supreme Court STATED about the responsibility of police for the security of your family and loved ones is "You, and only you, are responsible for your security and the security of your family and loved ones. That was the essence of a U.S. Supreme Court decision in the early 1980's when they ruled that the police do not have a duty to protect you as an individual, but to protect society as a whole." "It is well-settled fact of American law that the police have no legal duty to protect any individual citizen from crime, even if the citizen has received death threats and the police have negligently failed to provide protection." Sources: 7/15/05 SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES No. 04-278 TOWN OF CASTLE ROCK, COLORADO, PETITIONER v. JESSICA GONZALES, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS NEXT BEST FRIEND OF HER DECEASED MINOR CHILDREN, REBECCA GONZALES, KATHERYN GONZALES, AND LESLIE GONZALES On June 27, in the case of Castle Rock v. Gonzales, the Supreme Court found that Jessica Gonzales did not have a constitutional right to individual police protection even in the presence of a restraining order. Mrs. Gonzales' husband with a track record of violence, stabbing Mrs. Gonzales to death, Mrs. Gonzales' family could not get the Supreme Court to change their unanimous decision for one's individual protection. YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN FOLKS AND GOVERNMENT BODIES ARE REFUSING TO PASS THE Safety Ordinance. (1) Richard W. Stevens. 1999. Dial 911 and Die. Hartford, Wisconsin: Mazel Freedom Press. (2) Barillari v. City of Milwaukee, 533 N.W.2d 759 (Wis. 1995). (3) Bowers v. DeVito, 686 F.2d 616 (7th Cir. 1982). (4) DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services, 489 U.S. 189 (1989). (5) Ford v. Town of Grafton, 693 N.E.2d 1047 (Mass. App. 1998). (6) Warren v. District of Columbia, 444 A.2d 1 (D.C. 1981). "...a government and its agencies are under no general duty to provide public services, such as police protection, to any particular individual citizen..." -Warren v. District of Columbia, 444 A.2d 1 (D.C. App. 1981) (7) "What makes the City's position particularly difficult to understand is that, in conformity to the dictates of the law, Linda did not carry any weapon for self-defense. Thus by a rather bitter irony she was required to rely for protection on the City of NY which now denies all responsibility to her." Riss v. New York, 22 N.Y.2d 579,293 N.Y.S.2d 897, 240 N.E.2d 806 (1958). (8) "Law enforcement agencies and personnel have no duty to protect individuals from the criminal acts of others; instead their duty is to preserve the peace and arrest law breakers for the protection of the general public." Lynch v. N.C. Dept. of Justice, 376 S.E. 2nd 247 (N.C. App. 1989) New York Times, Washington DC Justices Rule Police Do Not Have a Constitutional Duty to Protect Someone By LINDA GREENHOUSE Published: June 28, 2005 The ruling applies even for a woman who had obtained a court-issued protective order against a violent husband making an arrest mandatory for a violation.
Sherry
Fri, Oct 30, 2009 : 7:13 a.m.
I live in Scio Township and my family and neighbors were told by a Washtenaw County Deputy that even if there is blood shooting all over the place do not call 911 as if they hear it is on our Road they WILL NOT RESPOND. So, heck I chose to run because I would be running to a neighbor that would help me and the same goes for neighbors coming to my house. We had a man who had just bought a new jeep and someone tried to get gas out of that jeep. No one called the Police. We knew they would not come. I tried out what this Deputy said just recently someone tried to break into our home and I called the Police while the guy was still on our front Porch and told them that and he was babbling something about getting the stolen car. I yelled through the door and asked him what he was talking about and he said" oh, I have the wrong house". Dispatch was on the phone with me and no one did show up. I had another Deputy call me at 1:30 a.m. to ask me what was going on and I told him that I had called at 11:10 p.m. when the guy was on the porch and the when I asked his name, he gave it to me and I gave Dispatch the info as well. The Deputy that finally lifted a finger to call over 2 hours later told me " I'll drive by the guy's house to see if the stolen car was in his driveway". Yeah, like someone steals a car and then they are going to park it in their driveway? So, in Scio Township we have some bad apples that make the rest of the decent deputies look bad as well. So, in this incident I confronted who was trying to break into our home. Had there been someone in our home, we all know to run to a neighbor for safety.
treetowncartel
Thu, Oct 29, 2009 : 11:19 a.m.
Get a big dog or two and chances are likely you won't have to decide what to do.
Ricebrnr
Thu, Oct 29, 2009 : 9:30 a.m.
ezbngreen, agreed that any long gun will be preferable to a hand gun if you plan on going into a fight BUT in this scenario where you find a burglar upon returning home, which is the more likely weapon to have on hand? The hand gun that you are hopefully carrying or the shotgun that was most likely left at home and the burglar may now have?
Ricebrnr
Thu, Oct 29, 2009 : 9:26 a.m.
A guitar? Seriously? Hand to hand combat is for the young AND with the proper tools/training. I think you'll find that a guitar is less than optimal in an enclosed space especially if it's acoustic. Hope it was electric and you had space to swing but don't you think a firearm that you were already carrying might have been a better option?
Shark
Thu, Oct 29, 2009 : 12:09 a.m.
I like the sign that says forget the dog beware the owner. Picture of hand pointing a gun at you.
ezbngreen
Wed, Oct 28, 2009 : 11:03 p.m.
While I like the Smith & Wesson option I prefer my 12 guage with double odd buck followed by Slug option better.
bigfella
Wed, Oct 28, 2009 : 3:14 p.m.
where is the " introduce 'em to smith n wesson" option
mrk
Wed, Oct 28, 2009 : 11:57 a.m.
It's difficult to make a decision like that when it happens. Luckily the burglars were gone when my house was broken into, but I stupidly grabbed a guitar that remained and walked through the house... maybe if we have these discussions and decide what to do ahead of time we'll make smarter choices. I'll bet that woman, now in a safe situation, looks back at it and wonders why she did it. Of course, she got her stuff back unlike me.
wendy
Wed, Oct 28, 2009 : 11:36 a.m.
Where is the "all of the above" option?