Comments on: Patriot News Reporter Robbed In Midtown

By: Matty Fo

Matty Fo — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:34:51 +0000

@Shawn Crime is a regular occurrence, also one of the problems we seem to be having is an accurate portrayl of how regular. I’ve been victimized before and am fortunate to be waiting for the evidence locker to release my property (7 months later!).

I believe the phone number to the Chief of Police is (717) 255-7279. Ask him how regular muggings are.

PS Is there a better way to organize and implement ‘Crime Watch’? Web 2.0, crowdsourcing and distributed networks come to mind but is that really feasible? Maybe an SMS service?

By: Shawn Farner

Shawn Farner — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 17:30:52 +0000

Truly a shame. I hope this doesn’t become a regular occurrence.

By: floor9

floor9 — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 14:58:32 +0000

That’s part of it, yes. The Uniform Firearms Act also states in part: “The use of deadly force is not justifiable under this section unless the actor believes that such force is necessary to protect himself against death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping or sexual intercourse compelled by force or threat”, then goes on to list exceptions. One of those exceptions is “(nor is it justifiable if) the actor knows that he can avoid the necessity of using such force with complete safety by retreating … except that the actor is not obliged to retreat from his dwelling…” (emphasis mine)

Another point to consider is that drawing a gun on a group of 10 may not be the wisest idea if more than one of them has a gun. One also needs to give consideration to where those bullets will go if you miss; you’re surrounded by residential dwellings.

By: Elissa Feinstein

Elissa Feinstein — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 03:16:40 +0000

I agree Floor0- proper training is essential. From my understanding, unless you shoot someone in your sleeping quarters, aka bedrrom, guns will not win the courtroom decision. Therefore, I can nor support the guns as a solution.

By: floor9

floor9 — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 17:04:06 +0000

Good points, except for the Taser: Tasers are incredibly easy to have turned on yourself, especially in a hand-to-hand fight. Be careful. Mace is a slightly better choice, but watch out for the blowback; imagine macing your attacker, then not being able to see or breathe well enough to get away. Unfortunately, neither is likely to stop or slow an amped-up crackhead. And once that adrenaline kicks in full-force, expect to lose a substantial amount of vision, hearing, and rational thought. The ability to aim and think rationally are the first to go.