A Legitimate DGU (Defensive Gun Use)

Opposing Views reports

An unidentified man purchased a knife inside a Salt Lake City Smith’s store, and then began randomly stabbing people in the store.

Smith’s employee Dorothy Espinoza told ABC News: “He pulled it out and stood outside the Smiths in the foyer. And just started stabbing people and yelling you killed my people. You killed my people. There is blood all over. One got stabbed in the stomach and got stabbed in the head and held his hands and got stabbed all over the arms.”

Smith described how a gun-wielding citizen stopped the man: “A guy pulled gun on him and told him to drop his weapon or he would shoot him. So, he dropped his weapon and the people from Smith’s grabbed him.”

Lt. Brian Purvis told ABC News that the gun owner did the right thing: “This was a volatile situation that could have gotten worse. We can only assume from what we saw it could have gotten worse. He was definitely in the right place at the right time.”

This is a wonderful example of the proper use of a gun. The man displayed a willingness to get involved as well as restraint in not shooting the bad guy.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Salt Lake City Policeman Justified

Newsday.com reports on the decision to exonerate Officer Louis Jones of all wrongdoing in the shooting death of Christopher Joseph Tucker on August 6th.

The low-speed chase ended on I-80 near the Great Salt Lake. When officers tried to take Tucker into custody, he reportedly rammed a patrol car and then pointed the car at officers who were on foot. Officer Louis Jones opened fire, fatally striking Tucker in the neck and torso.

Additional details about the incident are found in this article from The Salt Lake Tribune.

Salt Lake County sheriff's Lt. Don Hutson said UHP joined the chase to stop Joey Tucker as the man drove on State Road 202. Joey Tucker continued driving erratically at about 30 mph and got onto Interstate 80, where police used a pit maneuver, forcing Tucker's vehicle to turn sideways and stop against a highway barrier.

Hutson said Joey Tucker tried to resume driving, moving the truck forward and backward. As the Salt Lake City police officer walked toward Tucker, he observed Tucker fiddling with the steering column, Hutson said.

"[Tucker] looked like he was going to put the vehicle toward the officer and that is when the shots were fired," Hutson said.

That's a pretty shabby justification for shooting the guy, in my opinion. I realize there may be more to it, but based on the description of Sheriff Hutson, I find it hard to believe Officer Louis Jones was cleared.

What's your opinion? Are there too many of these police shootings? Do you think this could be an example of what the pro-gun guys often say, that civilian concealed carry permit holders are better trained than your average policeman? Is that what accounts for these shootings, a lack of training?

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.