Archive for July, 2010

This story illustrates a number of things we have taught for years. Firstly, many shootings start out over some trivial matter, or nothing at all. Secondly, if the unidentified man who had avoided the fight the assailant tried to start had just dropped the matter, gotten in the car and left, his friend would still be alive. Instead he went back to the car, told his friend who then confronted the assailant and got shot to death for his trouble.

This was a situation that could have been completely avoided, even after the trouble had started.

Story here.

Another senseless attack, to be sure. But the media and prosecutor make it sound like this could not have been avoided.

Should we be able to be safe everywhere we go? Sure, that would be lovely. It is, however, not reality.

Sitting in a public park at 11:00  p.m. is asking for trouble. Note that one man was beaten unconscious before the attackers even asked for “all your stuff”. My guess is they did not like the 2 on 2 odds, and acted accordingly.

Again, evaluate your behaviors and lifestyle choices. Residents of major cities are 60 times more likely to be the victim of a robbery.

Story here.

With little but witness statements, it is impossible to say if this qualifies as self-defense, but knives are capable of doing more damage than firearms in many cases.

We will keep you posted as this story develops.

Story here.

The fact remains, despite the media hype about guns, most crime does not involve them.

In 2007 in MN 83% of aggravated assaults and 67% of robberies did NOT involve a gun.

Learn to protect yourself, as we are most likely to be a victim of a crime committed by someone we know.

Story here.

Once again, proof that you need to lock your doors and windows when away from home. We teach to keep them locked when home whenever feasible. If you are mowing the back yard, and your front door is not locked, you could easily wind up a victim. The average home burglary lasts 45 seconds to 2 minutes. Think of the normal, daily things you do that take you away from the main area of your house for that long. Never mind the risk that they may come in when you are present.

Story here.

These drivers are lucky that losing some cash is all that happened to them. This can be a tough one, you can’t just stop obeying the police on the chance it’s not a real officer, but you can educate yourself on the uniforms worn by your local department. Some departments use a number of unmarked vehicles, so if in doubt, keep your doors locked, give nothing to them, ask for a badge number and a name, call 911 and verify this is a real officer. Make sure to explain the reasons for your actions, or you can wind up in a rather tense situation, even arrested for failure to comply.

Story here.

So yet another shooting, 1 dead, 2 wounded, no one talks to the cops, and the cops have nothing to go on, so the trend continues.

Story here.

Once again, a man shot outside a Minneapolis bar near close, this was a fatal shooting. Now even if you are not involved in risky lifestyles, keep in mind that many people out at that hour are. And that is often enough to result in an argument, fight, injury, or even death.

Awareness and avoidance, our core principles, are hard to follow when in a chaotic environment. This can be mitigated by advanced training to a degree, but the overall risk factor is still significantly higher.

Story here.

I am going to avoid my personal bias on this as best I can and stick to attacking this article.

The esteemed PR dept at the Minneapolis PD has been taking lessons. Quoting Minneapolis Police Sgt. Michael Young;

• Young credits dedicated officers for the drop in crime.
• He believes their experience and determination to stop the violence is paying off.
• He said Saturday nights are typically quiet. His officers know the hotspots and know many of the faces of those who have caused problems in the past.

Now the quotes about the crime in North Minneapolis;

> 15 of the city’s 26 homicides this year happened there.

> “Things can get very volatile, very fast up here,” said Minneapolis Police Sgt. Michael Young.

> “Every day there is something that you’ve never run into before. Every single day,” said Young.

>”Almost every night we’re getting multiple guns either off of vehicle stops or shots fired calls or at shooting scenes. They’ve got one already today,” said Young.

Way to go Sarge, I can sleep better now knowing that rape, robbery and arson are down “double digit” (I read as just breaking 10% or they would be touting it), I only have to worry about being killed.

Well isn’t that just dandy.

Being in the wrong place at the wrong time can, to a degree, be avoided. Bike riding at 10:30 p.m. in North Minneapolis will carry some risks, and it’s too bad we can’t go out for a ride at night anymore, but this is the way of things in the inner city. I hope for a speedy recovery for this man, shot through no fault of his own.

Story here.