South Side Chicago. Off-duty cop dressed up as a clown for a day-care fundraiser with roughly 50 kids in attendance. Afterwards, at around 10:10 pm, the clown headed home. He was approached by a teen who “asked” for money. Denied, the teen pulled a gun . . .
The Chicago Tribune reports that the off-duty cop took the gun from the teen and shot him dead. (Good thing the cop didn’t try to tie a gun out of a balloon. It’s not known whether there was a SWAT team in his car.)
Not sure if the off-duty LEO was packing his own piece, but clown suits probably wouldn’t provide fast access to a concealed weapon even if he was carrying. It’s likely whatever training the cop had in disarming a perp kicked in and he was able to do so without getting shot himself.
Which raises the question, if you aren’t packing heat and are in a situation where you would definitely go for your gun and use it, what would you do if you didn’t have a gun to use? Do you go for the perps gun? Do you run? Have you been trained in disarming someone else? To what degree do you utilize the Speed, Surprise, and Violence of Action mantra?
The LEO in a clown suit is lucky to be alive. Maybe next time he’ll think twice about clowning around without a gun of his own.
I don’t feel bad about a bad guy getting capped but once you have disarmed him, how can you justify killing him?
Obviously, there’s a lot to this story that we don’t know. Maybe the bad guy also had a knife or maybe the bad guy had a backup gun.
Full agreement – disarming the perp means the threat essentially ended, unless as you said, he had a knife or a BUG, or possibly was aggressively trying to retrieve it.
Perhaps the story was reported slightly inaccurately and the weapon discharged as the officer wrestled it away?
No, they could have still been fighting. Just because the cop had the gun doesn’t mean the threat was over.
“but once you have disarmed him, how can you justify killing him?” Because if you don’t kill him he will come around later and kill your children.
That won’t hold up in court. In most states, the law requires that there be an immediate threat to life or limb. I’m not sure what the statute is in Illinois, since citizens aren’t allowed to carry firearms in the first place. Which makes me think its a good thing this clown (the one actually dressed like a clown) was a cop. If he had been a private citizen, he’d probably get charged for illegal possession/carry/brandishing of a firearm after taking the teen’s gun away. (Yes, Chicago hates self-defense that much.)
That’s scarier than “It” or even “Killer Klowns From Outer Space.”
Bozo the ninja clown. The only other thing I can speculate is if the suspect had the better of him and was beating him to death. Maybe he was after the clown’s (pea)nuts. In the situation of being unarmed and being close enough to take control of the piece-oh, yes. I always have a blade, so my other hand would have stabbed him as my “distraction” to get him to release the pistol. Sorry, but if one of you has to live… The Spyderco Civilian blade was designed to do particularly nasty defensive damage as it’s curve is done so the serrated edge catches wrists and from primarily a reverse grip, catch your goodies as it is ripped upwards from the crotch. That’ll make you drop ANYTHING.
CUJO, I personally run the Spyderco Endura 4 with the Emerson Wave opener. It is faster than any auto because the knife opens when you pull it out of your pocket. I’ve seen pictures of the Civilian and it does have a pretty wicked blade.
Oh yes, the Spyderco’s are serious. I had an old rescue model and cut steel banding off a shipping crate once. I usually carry a Police model, a Cold Steel Recon folder and an A G Russell Mariner folder daily. If I carry a fixed blade it’s usually a Fred Perrin Military Bowie inside the waist. Kel Tec makes an awesome folder-ugly, but well balanced and strong. Don’t ever slip with a Spyderco, it’ll cut until it hits bone.
The lowlife pulled a gun on a cop and now he’s dead, I don’t understand why there’s a problem. The cop could just as easily been killed, but he didn’t lay down and die like a good lil sheep and he’s still alive and we have one less scumbug walking the streets.
Clowns 1 – Lowlifes 0
It would have sucked dying in a clown outfit.
Who he was, what he was wearing doesn’t matter as far as I’m concerned. Human, law abiding citizen right? So, let’s change it up and re-read it.
Mother of 2 mugged on way home from birthday party, disarms perp and in process kills perp with their own gun in self defense. Simple, no issues for me.
Now the fact the perp was killed by a clown, that’s entertaining.
He should have notified the next of kin in the same outfit.
Maybe he thought that only confetti would come out of the gun…
who cares if he shot the kid. if someone has the balls to pull a gun out on a unarmed person with the intension of hurting said person, he deserves to die. at least thats one less mugger on the street. if the government would stop protecting the muggers, gang members and others that deal damage to other people, let people shot them with out getting punished, i would think our streets would be safer.
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