FIRST RESPONDER

Reports out now show that Fort Worth Police Department is now reaching the ten minute mark on priority 1 calls. Priority 1 means there is an immediate threat to human life. So if you are being attacked in your home by an intruder, you can expect the police to show up in 9 minutes and 45 seconds.

**Please do NOT misunderstand this...I am extremely thankful for the police, and all that they do.  I thank God for them every day.**

But this report shows one thing:

YOU ARE THE FIRST RESPONDER

When you or your family are being threatened, YOU are the only one you can count on to defend yourself.

The police do a wonderful job. However, there are 20 officers for every 10,000 citizens. They can only do so much.

Should you find yourself being awakened in the middle of the night by someone kicking in your front door, you have a couple of options:

1. You can dial 911 and pray there is an officer rolling down your street at that exact moment

2. You can defend yourself

In 1996, the average was 12 seconds from the time a home invasion begins, and the moment you were faced with a deadly force decision. So the instant someone begins to kick your door in (or climb in a window), you have 12 seconds before you decide whether to pull the trigger or not.

So picture a police officer driving up your street. Even if he is sitting two houses down, the likelihood that he will make it to your house in time to stop you or your family from being injured or killed is slim. Count the seconds to yourself as you think about what has to happen.

You are startled from your sleep by a horrendous sound.

The stopwatch has started.

It takes you at least a second to convince yourself that the sound you heard is real, and not just a dream.

"Someone is breaking in" you think to yourself.

You waste at least a half-second trying to decide what to do as you shake the sleepy cobwebs from your brain.

"Call 911" you think and reach for your phone.

tick-tick

You unlock your phone, (we'll say you actually get it right the first time, even though you are still not fully functioning), and dial 911.

It rings.

tick-tick

"911, what is your emergency?"

You are relieved that they answered on the first ring.

"Yes, I live at....."

You have to give them your address, since you are likely on a cell phone.

"Someone just kicked my front door in, and I think they're in the house"

Your 12 seconds are up. You look up, and see a man (or two or three men) walking into your bedroom. One has a gun, and the other two have knives.

NOW what do you do?

I'm not going to try to talk to you about buying a gun for home defense, or getting your Concealed Handgun License so you can defend your family.

I just want you to realize that you may not be able to depend on the police during the few seconds you really need them.

Seat belts do a great job, but if you wait until you start to get into an accident before putting them on, it is too late.

The police will get there as soon as they can, but they will likely only be able to take a report about what happened.

What do you do to defend yourself?

Make no mistake...you are the first responder. It is up to you to defend your life, and the lives of your family. If you do not prepare now, you may simply become another statistic.

Break-In

This was what I came home to on Tuesday afternoon.

Letting the dogs out through the bedroom door, I saw someone had

renovated one side of our French Doors leading to the dining room.

I found a rock in the dog bed in the far end of the living room, thirty

feet away.

So they had entered my backyard through my gate, which now has a
lock, and thrown a baseball-sized rock through the door, intending to

get inside.

Thankfully, our dogs kept them from actually entering the house. But
as I was standing outside, I wasn’t aware of that fact. As far as I knew,
they were still inside. So I had to go back inside to make sure it was safe.
Also, thankfully, my wife was having dinner with friends, and my
daughter was not home from work yet. I hate to think what would have
happened if they had come home and found a burglary in progress.

As I walked through the house, (armed), I was preparing myself for a
potential encounter. Would there be more than one? Would they have
knives, or guns? If they managed to catch me coming around a corner,
and went for my gun, would I be able to keep control, and/or fight one
or two possibly armed assailants?
 

These are the thoughts going through my head as I walked through the house.

After my adrenaline settled, and I realized they hadn't actually made it inside,
I began to calm down. That's when the anger set in.

I'm sure it was some young kid who needed a little money for his habit, or
whatever. To that unfortunate, misguided soul, I just want to say:

"Keep your lazy, punk butt off my property and go get a job."
 

I'm afraid if they had been in the house when I came in, my instinct would
have been to shoot, and then ask who they were, and what they were doing in
my home.

I was talking to a neighbor, asking if he had seen anything, since he is frequently
home during the day. He hadn't, but as we were talking, a deputy Sheriff who
lives a few houses down was driving by. I waved him down, and he got out and
took a look at the damage.

"Call NRHPD," he said. "They have a crime scene, and can help you out."

Excellent. So I call NRH, and explained what happened.

"Do you need an officer to come out, or do you just want to file a phone report?"

"I'd like an officer to come out in case 'someone' is walking around," I said.

I wanted them to know I was taking this seriously.

"Well, we have some major incidents going on, so it will be awhile, but we'll
send an officer by when we can."

"No problem," I said.

I wondered what kind of major incidents North Richland Hills would have on
a Tuesday evening. An hour and a half later, they called back, and took a phone
report. Looking on the website today, I don't see anything about my report, or the
house on the street behind us, that was apparently entered. I'm not sure what they
had stolen, but it doesn't show up on the NRH website.

I thank God for Police and Fire personnel. They are all heroes to me. But when I
\see NRH Police, able to radar to catch speeders every single afternoon; and
consistently see people pulled over all over our area, it's hard for me to understand
why they couldn't spare one officer fifteen minutes to come make a citizen feel like
we actually matter. Maybe they were really busy that evening.

At any rate, I've taken the day off to get my back door replaced. I've also put a lock

on my gate. I'm working on getting my wife her CHL. I will also show her how to
use the guns I have until we get one for her.

On a side note, this all cause me to get back in touch with a friend from years past.
He does construction work on homes, and has been a wonderful help any time I've
needed work done. He showed up this morning, and in two hours, had my old double
French doors removed, and the new on put in. He does excellent work, and is priced
better than anyone else I've found.

It's good to have friends.

After the initial anger subsided, I was truly thankful. Yes, it costs some money
to repair the damage. But no one was hurt, including my dogs. Nothing was
taken (from us). And when I think of my wife walking in on someone, I'm very
thankful it was only a broken door.

Thank you God. Once again, your mercy and grace surround us.