My idea of 'perfect' self-defense has always been this 'Gold Standard' self-defense shooting. IMHO, this man did everything right.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/guns/subway.asp
Let's review.
Lovell, age 71 was eating dinner at a Subway restaurant in Florida. He was licensed to carry a concealed weapon and indeed, he was carrying a .45 ACP pistol concealed.
* Lesson One: If you have a CCW, carry. A weapon left in the car or at home because it's too heavy or too big or you just don't feel like you'll need it is the day you will die from not having it.
Two armed men enter, approach the cashier and demand the register receipts. The clerk gives it to them and dives for the floor.
* Lesson Two: Note your surroundings. You are not the only innocent person present. What you do or do not do may affect them and their lives as well. When you choose to act, be aware that they are not part of your decision, but they will be affected by your actions. (Kempo Hakku: You Must See (sense) Beyond the Obvious.
One of the armed men goes to the employee room in the back, the other approaches Lovell and demands his wallet. He rises, raises his hands, and surrenders all the case he has on him (about $500), despite being armed.
* Lesson Three: Money is not worth your life. Honor is not worth your life. Dead people have use for neither.
The armed man facing Lovell decides that he is going to herd Lovell, the clerk, and other customers into the employee room in the back, and orders Lovell to go into the back room.
* Lesson Four: Know when the situation is no longer about money. Lovell correctly understood that having given up his money voluntarily, being moved to a less visible location was prelude to being killed. He correctly feared for his life.
Lovell noticed that the armed man facing him was momentarily distracted by his accomplice emerging from the employee room in back. He drew his weapon and fired, striking the man who had just robbed him twice in the head and missing once. He then turned and fired at the armed man emerging from the employee room in the back, striking him once in the chest and missing once. The man shot in the head died instantly. The man shot in the chest got up and ran away, being found in the bushes later on by responding police.
* Lesson Five: Know how to shoot your damned weapon. If you carry, you'd damned well better be proficient, or you're a damned menace to everyone.
* Lesson Six: Learn to recognize when the situation changes. There is no 'one rule' regarding armed robbery. Different situations require different responses, and as the situation changes, so do the appropriate responses.
* Lesson Seven: The time to strike is when the opportunity presents itself (also, a good part of the Kempo Hakku, the Eight Laws of the Fist). http://noxdojo.com/articles/kempo-hakku/
The man left alive was charged with Murder in the First Degree. That is because even though he did not shoot his partner, his partner was killed by the actions the two of them took. He is legally responsible for the result and was charged accordingly.
Lesson Eight: As you sow, so shall ye reap.
I could apply the Lovell Lessons to any self-defense situation; but it is important to understand that the outcome could be different each time. And there are
STILL no guarantees.
Let's explore what MIGHT have happened.
1) Lovell refuses to turn over his cash and draws his weapon and fires instead.
a) Lovell kills assailant(s). Robbery over.
b) Lovell is killed. Robbery over, victim dead.
c) Both exchange gunfire, clerk and/or other patrons dead.
2) Lovell turns over wallet and complies when herded into the back room.
a) Robbers ties customers up and leave.
b) Robbers execute customers.
In other words, anything might have happened, and there is no way to predict with certainty what might have occurred had things gone even a little differently. Even in the original scenario, Lovell might have drawn and fired and missed, or the assailant might have shot first and killed Lovell. There are no guarantees.
However, in my opinion, Lovell did exactly what he should have. He understood that money was not worth his life; even though he might have been shot anyway, he decided that the chances of it were lower than the risk of drawing his weapon when his wallet was demanded, so he complied. When the situation changed, however, he also realized that being herded into the back room was a Bad Thing, and might well signal that he was about to be executed. At that point, he felt that his chances were better drawing his weapon and firing than passively accepting whatever fate had in store for him. He might have guessed wrong; the armed men might have not been planning to kill him; but he could not know that, and the potential was obvious; any intelligent man would immediately suspect if not believe that he was about to die. Because his situation had changed, so did his response. He watched the gunman; when his attention was distracted, he took advantage of that without hesitation. Once he had decided to act, he found his moment and acted without stopping to think about it. He did not stop responding until the threat was ended (the second man ran away after Lovell plugged him in the chest).
That, to me, is picture-perfect. He could not have done it better, even though the outcome might have been very different than it was. His skill and training were in evidence as well as his common sense and ability to judge a threat correctly; as without being able to accurately draw and fire his weapon, his correct decisions might have been for naught.
You hit the nail on the head. And yeah, thats pretty much where my thinking was with what I said to Bill. But now that I read what I said again...and who knows, maybe it'll still not sound right...but my views are....you can yell, scream, stomp your feet, whatever, from a distance. Once you start moving closer to me, draw your hand back, pull a weapon...I just dont see anything good happening.
