Kevin R. Davis - Citizens Guide to Armed Defense

It was seventh grade at middle school. John was a good kid from a good family. Raised in the old-fashioned way, he confronted Karlos, a thug, about some problem or confrontation they had at school. Lets meet after school and settle this, or some other offer to meet outside the gym after soccer practice one day. I was witness as I waited for my mother to pick me up. John squared off and Karlos, who outweighed John by 25 to 50 pounds, moved in for the kill. Karlos picked John up and slammed him to the asphalt. Karlos then drew a shiv, which looked like welding rod stolen from metal shop, and stabbed John in the side.

I dont remember Johns injuries, but he was bleeding from his wound. He did survive.

Years later, after I became a city police officer, I arrested Karlos for drug trafficking. After his release a few years later, he was present during an officer-involved shooting. When detectives with warrants for his arrest for breaking and entering attempted to take him into custody, a violent subject came out of the house where Karlos was hiding swinging a brush ax, a machete on an ax handle. That man was shot and killed by the two investigators (one of whom was saved from serious injury by the sleeve of his new leather coat).

Im sure that Karlos is still in the system. Such criminals seldom get rehabilitated. They have long ago chosen their lifes path or vocation and wake each afternoon with only the thought of getting enough money from crime to satisfy their addictions or predilections. They kick their way into your homes in the middle of the day to commit burglary. They rob you at the ATM at night. And they break into your cars as well as commit heinous assaults and rapes whenever and wherever they chose.

There was no fair fight in the John versus Karlos match-up. Karlos was skilled in fighting and he was armed. John was thinking fistfight. Karlos was thinking felonious assault and had the street experience and the weaponry to make it happen.

Over my 35-year security and police career, Ive come into countless Karlos types and personalities. They have no plan to work for a living. They only have thoughts of who will be their next victim or prey. They are exceedingly violent. Regardless of previous felony convictions, they are armed with no thought as to their actions other than to evade detection and arrest.

On-duty and off, I carry pepper spray and an expandable baton. Over the years Ive had operational access to 12 gauge beanbag rounds, 37mm chemical munitions and ECW electronic control weapons, such as the Taser.

The author has used and does carry less-lethal devices, such as these Kimber Pepper Blaster II OC control devices.

Ive pepper sprayed suspects, struck them with flashlights and batons, fired barricade penetrating rounds into locations where they were taking refuge, thrown flash-bangs in their homes and rooms to distract them, pointed revolvers, semi-auto pistols, shotguns, sub-machine guns, M4 carbines and .308 sniper rifles at hundreds of folks.

Author routinely carries two handguns off-duty this Glock 19 with a spare magazine and a S&W MP340 in a DeSantis pocket holster.

And yes, I was involved in a tactical operation that resulted in the death of a criminal suspect firing at our police tactical team with two handguns.

Im six feet, two inches tall and weigh in excess of 240 lbs. I have trained in the martial arts and suspect control tactics my entire career.

And I still carry at least one gun on my person while off-duty.

You see, I reached the conclusion long ago that violent crime was omnipresent and indiscriminate, that my family or I could be the intended victim of an assault, robbery or burglary at any time, in virtually any place.

This conclusion, which you may have reached as well, was fomented outside an inner-city middle school gymnasium years ago and has been reinforced by dealing with violent offenders and criminal suspects throughout a long career.

If criminal suspects dont have a second thought about attacking a uniformed police officer and they dont then why do citizens believe theyre immune?