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As chicagotribune.com reports, even an off-duty cop can be robbed. In Chicago a police officer was robbed of his wallet, his 5 star badge but not his gun. His gun? I know what you’re thinking. How does a cop carrying a gun not kill at least one of the two people who held him up at gun point? Well, I’ll tell you why. One of the men, wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, pulled a chrome .357 Magnum handgun and demanded cash, police said. I’m pretty proficient with my handgun regardless of the consistent training I do as a police officer. But not proficient enough to take on a .357 Magnum point blank to the face . . .

It’s a superior gun to say the least and the bad guy already was two steps ahead of that particular police officer when they 1) Were able to approach him and 2) Had the gun in his face.

If this article showed one thing is that the bad guys had a pretty cool individual in front of them. The police officer (in his 40’s) was aware that tactically he was at a disadvantage and that his life was worth more then what was in his wallet. He gave them what they wanted and the perps fled without incident.

Carrying your gun doesn’t make you invincible. It allows you to defend yourself in case of maniac on a school campus or your favorite restaurant decides to go on a shooting rampage. It also gives you peace of mind that you can protect yourself when the opportunity presents itself.

If that opportunity should arise, you must learn to be tactically sound. Simply carrying your gun isn’t enough. Most people reading this won’t be competing on Top Shot, thus quick drawing your gun to shoot someone who already has the drop on you isn’t an option.

Knowing your surroundings and environment is very important and tactically safe. Walking to an ATM or out of a store completely oblivious to what is going on around you will only make you the target of the predator watching those who are coming in and out of the area. Like a lioness in the Serengeti Plains over seeing its potential dinner. Tactically you have to make yourself uninviting.

Why this police officer became a target for these bad guys is beyond me. Crime has no rhyme or reason; just time, place and opportunity. Your gun will give you peace of mind but what good is having it when you give the bad guy the opportunity to point his gun in your face? Yes you did the right thing and walked away with your life but never let yourself get to that point to begin with. Be tactically aware of what’s going on around you.

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23 COMMENTS

  1. Drawing on a guy who already has a gun pointed at you is generally a losing proposition. Glad the cop kept his cool and walked away.

    I wonder why they didn’t take his gun too? If I rob a guy and get a badge in the bargain, I might assume he’s got a gun.

    • Maybe they didn’t want to ask him to hand it over or get close enough to take it themselves? If I were robbing someone I wouldn’t want to give them an oppertunity to put their hand on their firearm.

        • Good point, I hadn’t thought of it like that. I suppose the office is very lucky the scumbags didn’t think if it like that either. Or at lest, not make the connection between badge and firearm.

    • Maybe the thugs are unemployed and ex-ATF agents who are now politically reformed and supporters of the RKBA Right to Keep and Bear Arms?

  2. Hmm. Since he was out drinking hopefully he was responsible enough to leave his carry gun at home. More likely he just lost his wallet, and made up a b.s. story to avoid departmental sanctions over losing his badge and i.d.

  3. He probably wasn’t carrying a gun off duty.

    A smart guy who made a well thought out decision to not carry a gun off-duty also wouldn’t carry his badge, at least not where it could be found trivially. For a lot of cops carrying your badge off-duty gives you the ability to throw your weight around, carrying a gun is just a pain. When they punch out they are sheep with a badge.

    The idea that they might actually need the gun literally NEVER occurs to them. The idea that someone might stick them up, find they are a cop and just kill them is something that can only happen to someone else. I bet at least one cops has rethought his decisions.

  4. I read a story about a holdup in Philly where the perp was a scared drug addict with a crappy 22 revolver and the two men he was robbing were packing large bore automatics. He calmly walked up to them to ask for a cigarette light and brandished a gun and asked for their wallets while shaking profusely.

    They gave him their wallets and he turned and split. Nobody got hurt and they caught him two blocks away after they flagged down a cop. The cop asked them the same question, why not draw? And the point was he had the drop on them and was just interested in their money.

    Just like in Westerns, when one guy gets the draw first, nothing can be done.

  5. Here we go again with another story that might be true but just doesn’t sound right.

    The perps took the cop’s wallet and badge, but not his service piece. That leads me to believe that the cop didn’t have his service piece with him. I guess that’s okay. If he had his gun with him, he probably would have used it at some point in the confrontation, or when it was over and the BGs were making their retreat (unlike mere citizens, cops can use deadly force to prevent the flight of a person immediately after the commission of a violent felony).

    If the cop was going out for a night on the town, he probably did the right thing if he left the firepower at home. So let’s give the guy the benefit of the doubt on that point.

    Then we read that “Police had only a vague description of the gunman and none of the second man.” Hmmmm. The cop could tell that the gun was a .357, as opposed to a .38, but couldn’t remember the important details about the attacker? That doesn’t make sense to me.

    Anyone who’s started into the muzzle of a gun up close and personal can tell you two things. First, the black hole of the muzzle looks as big around as the Channel Tunnel. Nobody sees the roll stamps on the barrel that say .357 Magnum. Second, the face of the bastard behind the gun is indelibly seared into memory. So maybe the officer had consumed one too many. I’m okay with that; the guy wasn’t driving. Or maybe he’s embellishing. I’m okay with that. Or maybe he just lost his badge through carelessness and is covering for it. I’m not okay with that.

    I’m not saying this is a bogus story, but if I told the same story to a cop, he’d be suspicious.

    • The face of the robber who did my walletectomy still is with me. He had a small semi, no larger than .32 and I did the same cool thing. However he had the gun in his left hand pointing at the right side of my chest so I felt that a fight was needless BUT if he did shoot me I would survive long enough to go for broke as my heart is on the left side. I felt like if I wasn’t walking away then 12 .40 hollowpoints were going to assure me he wasn’t either but that it was not worth complicating unless I simply had to.

      As I can recall the incident with total clarity six years later I’m sure there’s more to it. Maybe he just left his wallet and badge in a really seedy place and didn’t want to cop to it. Two guys, big gun, surprise, likely boozing, sounds like a winner to me if it was a dive he shouldn’t have been in.

      • Through the years I have dealt with people who can either remember their robbery verbatim down to the very gun, or had such tunnel vision, they don’t remember a thing.

  6. Here is my $0.02. He most likely had his gun conceled. The robbers come up to him thinking he is just some guy. They demand money, he gives them his wallet that has his badge attached. They never ask for his firearm because they never see it.
    I have known several cops who carried a concealed handgun whenever they were off duty. They were very discrete about it, and most people were never the wiser.

  7. There’s no shame in going home alive. Massad Ayoob recommends (or used to recommend) keeping some throw-away cash in a weighted money clip for placating and de-escalating some off-duty confrontations. It’s in “In The Gravest Extreme,” if memory serves.

      • The night I was robbed I was on a pizza delivery. I had purchased a wallet with a belt chain that I wore clipped and hanging in plain sight. I unclipped it and gave it to the robber. No personal effects, none of my personal money but tips, even told him there was over $100 when it was just $34. There’s a lot of value in a decoy or disposable wallet.

    • I was thinking about keeping some separate cash in a money clip away from my wallet with my drivers license, credit cards, etc.

      • Same difference, effectively. The main thing about separating your effects and a stash of money for an eventuality is remembering and managing to stick to your guns. Humans usually tell the truth when asked and your robber will ask “is this all you got?” And you’ve got to sell the lie under pressure. Otherwise you get all your valuables taken and likely hit with the gun for your trouble.

  8. Good read. Too many carry holders think just because they have a gun they need to use it. In many cases the smartest move is NOT using your handgun. Again a good read that I am going to share on Facebook.

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