A few days ago, an extremely graphic set of videos was released by the Las Cruces Police Department in New Mexico. In the videos, we see the brutal murder of a police officer. After the officer is stabbed, a citizen with a concealed handgun license shoots the homeless man who murdered the police officer and then attempts to save the officer’s life. TTAG reported on the case earlier this week.
I’ve watched a lot of defensive videos and body/dash cams, and I’d have to say that this is one of the most terrible ones I’ve ever seen. If you can’t handle seeing blood, you probably will not want to watch it. If you think you can handle it, you can watch it here.
In short, the police officer approaches a homeless man who had been a problem at a private business. Within seconds, the man pulled out a knife and stabbed the officer several times, causing him to bleed profusely and rapidly.
While the interim police chief says that the officer did nothing wrong, that’s not technically true. It’s well known in policing and concealed carry alike that distance is safety. The closer you are to a dangerous person, the less time you have to draw a pistol and fire it. So, if that person pulls a knife out, they can kill you with it before you have any opportunity to stop them.
The distance a person with a knife can close before you can get a shot off is usually greater than 20 feet, so it pays to keep your distance from a potentially dangerous person. In the event that you have to do something like put handcuffs on them and search them for weapons, it’s a good idea to already have a second police officer with a gun drawn and ready to go to eliminate that time delay. If you’re not a police officer, it’s best to never get within 30 feet of an agitated homeless person if it’s at all avoidable.
After the officer was brutally stabbed, a citizen attempted to save the officer. When threatened by the homeless man, the citizen drew his own concealed pistol and fired several shots, ending the danger. Then, he attempted to use the officer’s radio to get help. But, the wounds were too great and too much blood had been lost and the officer’s life could not be saved.
The other police officers in the department appear to have learned something from this. When I called them about a homeless man who was doing drugs and masturbating on the sidewalk in front of my house, the officer didn’t get anywhere close to the man.
I was a little disappointed that they didn’t remove him from the neighborhood, but after the officer drove away, the man did at least leave. But, more importantly, we can see that they know better now than to approach unstable homeless people.
Bottom line: always assume that homeless people have a knife and might stab you with it, keep your distance, and you’ll be safer. Any threatening or unstable person can be a danger, so always stay on high alert.