I agree with him coming to your house is a bad thing however, once he tries to come to your door or enter the house, you have an obligation to protect you and your family with deadly force. That option would not have been the same had he come out on his front lawn. Once the woman was safe, I'd retreat and defend as necessary; you stand a much better chance in court of defending you and your family in your own home rather than in the street a couple houses down.
I agree 100% I should have went back to my house. But that is easy to think about and say now when it's not happening. All I know is I didn't hesitate to go as soon as I heard that kid say my dad is trying to kill my mom. If I would have gotten to that house, and she wasn't coming out the door I would have been loaded and ready to do something if I had to, I can say that with out a doubt. On a little update to this. Had a cop stop by last night to get a statement from me. The guy was arrested yesterday. The cop also said he thought I did what I should have, he also said he was obligated to tell me the ramifications of what could have happened if I used the gun, but none the less i did the right thing, and he shook my hand and said thanks...
Oh yes it's easy for me to "arm chair quarterback" the whole thing now and believe me when I say I'm not judging anything you did. You acted and did what you knew was right given the situation. It takes a lot of courage to do what you did and would shake your hand as well. The only reason I've given any suggestions and my 2 cents is because you've acted in this capacity once so it's likely you will again in a similar situation. Now you have a few more options to think about should you find yourself in a situation like this again. I was wondering when he would get arrested if he wasn't that night. I thought it was mutual across the nation if officers got to a domestic violence call, someone goes to jail regardless of signs of injury or not. They have to remove someone from the argument because too many disturbances in the past ended up with the cops leaving both parties in the home and then later one ends up really hurt or dead because the cops were called. Ultimately you, your family and the victims were not harmed. Like I said it takes a lot of courage to do the right thing and kudos to you for it. By the way if you feel there could be any retaliation from this guy when he gets out of jail you should be able to be notified when he does. Contact the police department or jail that is holding him and ask if they have a "Victim / Witness Notification" that can be done when he gets out. They should call you if/when he's released so you can keep an extra eye out. Good luck and Merry Christmas!
I applaud you. If I had been the responding officer you would have been fine. You being told what you were told and with her still being in there you made the right choice. Only thing I could recommend if unfortunately there is a next time, is that once everyone is out of the house except him, back away down the road and just keep an eye to see if he leaves. Did right by putting gun down and hands up though. Sent from my cellular device using the TapaTalk application.
