Scarier than Stephen King...

[Jackson]

Okay, so yesterday I had one of the scariest experiences of my entire life. I'm having trouble getting it out of my head, so I thought I'd share it and see if it bothers me any less after discussing.
Early yesterday morning I put my 9 month old daughter in her high chair and started making her cereal. Through our open sliding patio door I all of a sudden heard the dogs behind us going crazy and a man shouting at the top of his lungs. My first thought was that it was a domestic situation of some sort. I lean over to look out the glass door and see a man pacing around the yard behind me carrying a gigantic shotgun (think Denzel Washington in Training Day) and yelling over the fence towards the back door of the house behind me. My heart literally stopped beating and fell through the floor!
Now the man whose house he was yelling at is a really scary huge man who I've heard is a prison guard. My first thought was that this was an escaped convict of some sort trying to settle a score. My patio door is wide open and my daughter and I are in plain sight. I spent about 3 seconds trying to figure out if I could shut and lock the door without him seeing me, decided I couldn't, so I grabbed my daughter and the phone and headed upstairs to get my 4 year old. I put them both in my bedroom, locked the door and called 911.
I was shaking so hard I could barely hold the phone. The operator answered and I launch into the story and she immediately starts asking questions. It was so difficult to answer because I was so focused on trying to tell her what I was seeing. So I describe the guy to her and she asks some tactical type questions and I then realize that I can no longer see him out of my window. My first thought is that he is in my house (why he would be in my house I'm not sure, but I wasn't overly rational at that point). The operator then asks me if I can tell her anything else that would help the officers ID the guy and I said "you mean besides the GIGANTIC shotgun he's carrying???"
Then she says "It's a cop" and I say "at my door?" and she says "no, the man with the gun is an officer. He's serving out a warrant on the house behind you." What in the world???? I said "he doesn't LOOK like a cop! Are you sure???" and she said she was positive.
That was the end of it. I got no further explanation, nothing to ease my mind. It seems like they maybe could have done something different to be a little safer but maybe not.
So now everywhere I look I see that freaky guy with a shotgun pacing 40 feet from me. I know it's not a really big deal and that people see things much much worse, but it's by far the worst thing I've ever seen! After reading Stephen King books for over 20 years, this scared me worse than I've ever been scared (except for maybe when I read IT) I really felt like I needed to share and who better to share something scary with than a bunch of Stephen King fans?!?

[Bryan James]

The truth is stranger than fiction. That sounds so out of place from what I imagine to be your normal routine that it must have been very unsettling (to say the least).

Hopefully you can get over it now that you've "sicked it up." Your daughter probably won't remember/understand any of it. You might have a nightmare or two, but when you wake up, know that you can saddle the horse.

I've grabbed a rattlesnake to toss out of my yard before. But I knew where it was in advance, and I had time to think. I've also had a harmless black racer snake loosen my bowels, because I didn't expect it.

Best wishes, and I hope you work through it soon.
BJS

[smjohn]

Okay, so yesterday I had one of the scariest experiences of my entire life. I'm having trouble getting it out of my head, so I thought I'd share it and see if it bothers me any less after discussing.
Early yesterday morning I put my 9 month old daughter in her high chair and started making her cereal. Through our open sliding patio door I all of a sudden heard the dogs behind us going crazy and a man shouting at the top of his lungs. My first thought was that it was a domestic situation of some sort. I lean over to look out the glass door and see a man pacing around the yard behind me carrying a gigantic shotgun (think Denzel Washington in Training Day) and yelling over the fence towards the back door of the house behind me. My heart literally stopped beating and fell through the floor!
Now the man whose house he was yelling at is a really scary huge man who I've heard is a prison guard. My first thought was that this was an escaped convict of some sort trying to settle a score. My patio door is wide open and my daughter and I are in plain sight. I spent about 3 seconds trying to figure out if I could shut and lock the door without him seeing me, decided I couldn't, so I grabbed my daughter and the phone and headed upstairs to get my 4 year old. I put them both in my bedroom, locked the door and called 911.
I was shaking so hard I could barely hold the phone. The operator answered and I launch into the story and she immediately starts asking questions. It was so difficult to answer because I was so focused on trying to tell her what I was seeing. So I describe the guy to her and she asks some tactical type questions and I then realize that I can no longer see him out of my window. My first thought is that he is in my house (why he would be in my house I'm not sure, but I wasn't overly rational at that point). The operator then asks me if I can tell her anything else that would help the officers ID the guy and I said "you mean besides the GIGANTIC shotgun he's carrying???"
Then she says "It's a cop" and I say "at my door?" and she says "no, the man with the gun is an officer. He's serving out a warrant on the house behind you." What in the world???? I said "he doesn't LOOK like a cop! Are you sure???" and she said she was positive.
That was the end of it. I got no further explanation, nothing to ease my mind. It seems like they maybe could have done something different to be a little safer but maybe not.
So now everywhere I look I see that freaky guy with a shotgun pacing 40 feet from me. I know it's not a really big deal and that people see things much much worse, but it's by far the worst thing I've ever seen! After reading Stephen King books for over 20 years, this scared me worse than I've ever been scared (except for maybe when I read IT) I really felt like I needed to share and who better to share something scary with than a bunch of Stephen King fans?!?

My, Lord...That would scare the cripes right out of me! They owed you the courtesy of letting you know they were going to use your yard!

[Cowboy]

In the right part of the country, he could get shot doing that. No uniform, no letting you know that he would be cutting through your yard? Not safe or smart on his part.

[Jackson]

In the right part of the country, he could get shot doing that. No uniform, no letting you know that he would be cutting through your yard? Not safe or smart on his part.

No jive! He was wearing a black sleeveless muscle shirt, black cutoff jean shorts, and a black wave cap thing on his head. He looked more like a drug dealer! He in no way gave off the impression of being an officer.

[aneaglesangel]

Jeeeesh! That's awful!! You'd think they could have given fair warning on that one! Ya know a telephone call maybe something like, "Hello, there will be a gun toting dude walking across your yard today. Nothing to worry about!" Just seems really stupid and really rude! Not to mention dangerous!! What if you had a heart condition and they made you have a heart attack!?? Sometimes it's not so hard to see how the police got their nickname!! Glad you and your children are all right! Hugs!

[pandora]

Gesh!!!! Lucky you!! It would have scared the crap out of me too but to know that your Police Dept. is keeping your area safe (cleaning out the house right next to you) is killer. It might take awhile to shake off the scare, but do it as your kids play safely in the yard and you hold a fresh pot of coffee and some cake for passing officers.

[BlackThorn]

Serving a warrant? And he didn't look like a cop, and he had a shotgun?

Right now, there's a handful of officers being sued for over one million dollars in damages, because after the police showed up at his house, they didn't state clearly enough that they were police, and a shoot out ensued. The victims arm got shot off in the process.

Also, there is no such thing as "shoot to wound" anymore. If an officer considers that you are a threat to himself, fellow officers, or even yourself, they are required to use deadly force against you. If bullets are being shot, they're aiming for your head and heart, in other words.

If I get some clown with a shotgun dancing around my house like an idiot, I'd be more than happy to show them (and their next of kin) what time it was, and then I'd call the police after, and say I just killed a freak on my lawn, and "oh, that was a cop... well, let me through to the seargent, confirm that they're pigs on my land, and I'll come quietly with the video evidence of the incident that was already uploaded in real time to accounts through the internet, to protect me in my trial.

I'd love to have a dead idiot cop icon with a line through it painted on the side of my vehicle. (or two or five, I show absolutely no remorse for idiot use of power)

I still bet the cops would kick my head in when they came through my door though, after I surrendered. They "wouldn't get it", that they came to your house and you resisted. They were doing their job (even if it was through unforgivably incorrect procedures that started the shooting), and since they're the 'protectors of the people', they must be in the right.

I'd aim for the freakin' eyeball.

[Srbo]

Yeah, that is pretty scary.

The operator there pissed me right off -"ummm, yeah, it`s on officer, relax and go feed your kid "...and that`s it?

WTH?

Like Cowboy says...the guy is lucky...

[jenboxer77]

That is very unsettling! Especially with young children in the home. The motherly instinct kicks in and the adrenaline starts pumping when there is a potential for harm or witnessing violence. If it were me, I would complain to the local police department about protocol or at least file a complaint with the Police Cheif or City Administrator. (I don't know if that's possible where you live.) It can take some time to get back to feeling safe again after something like that and I would let someone know, if it were me! Everything did turn out okay, right?

[CorbinKale]

That would be terrifying. You did the right thing, under the circumstances.

Plus, it gave you something to think about. What if some crazy DID show up and start waving a shotgun? You just had first hand experience what you will get when you call 911. Would that have saved your family? If the police don't arrive in time to save your family, are they responsible any crimes they failed to prevent?

Don't get a firearm if you think you would not be able to use it safely, but if you determine that you can assume the responsibility to defend your family in the worst case scenario... well, you can dial 911 with one hand and cover the door with the other hand.

Good luck!

[aptpupil]

I was a police officer for more than twenty years, and was routinely armed for the last fifteen of those (yes, they do exist in England), and I ended up in someone's "backyard" with a gun on more than one occasion. And I can assure you that there wasn't always the time or opportunity to inform the resident of what was going on.

But then I was always in uniform, and secure in the knowledge that our tight firearms controls made it a near certainty that none of the local residents had any access to a gun of any kind. So the risk of me being mistaken for a criminal and shot at by a concerned citizen was very small.

And I'm here to tell the tale! :cool2:

[Moderator]

Not nearly as terrifying as it must have been for you, but a few years ago I heard some loud noises that sounded like they might have been gunshots but couldn't tell for sure. I live on 72 acres of land, mostly wooded but my town is semi-rural so my property is at the end of a cul-de-sac in a subdivision and another subdivision is on the other side of the woods. Hearing people target practicing isn't a major thing so didn't think too much of it. Not too long afterwards--perhaps a half hour or so--I was sitting on my back deck when I heard thrashing about in the woods and then out came a sheriff with a rifle in his hands. Quite surprised, I asked him what was going on and he just glared at me and told me I needed to put some trails through my property and then stomped off across my driveway to the road. Ummm...yeah....I'll get right on that. :glare:

[Srbo]

Quite surprised, I asked him what was going on and he just glared at me and told me I needed to put some trails through my property and then stomped off across my driveway to the road. Ummm...yeah....I'll get right on that. :glare:

What is it with their "hollier than Though" attitude ?

They are here to serve...not only protect, in case they have forgotten that.

I must admit, I had my share in getting into heavy discussions with cops, so heavy that it almost got me arrested several times...only for saying my piece, in a non-offensive way...
But, sorry to say, many of them are really dumb, and they think handcuffs are the answer to everything...

[Roseasharn]

In the right part of the country, he could get shot doing that. No uniform, no letting you know that he would be cutting through your yard? Not safe or smart on his part.

Oh, in the right backyard anywhere in the country a man could get shot for that.
In mine, for sure. And I live in a big ole liberal democrat city. And about most things, I am a big ole liberal democrat. Just not about my guns and my money.
Seriously, that would get someone killed in my backyard. Especially with as dangerous as my neighborhood is. Well, maybe that isn't true, I would probably ask what he was doing first and demand he drop his weapon. But seriously. What a bad, dumbass cop.

[Cash & Carrie]

To all American friends: ban those weapons! THat **** doesn't happen in Europe. And if it did, my reaction would be: hey, wtf is that officer doing in my backyard?!!!!

[aneaglesangel]

Wow! Ms. Mod that's plain rude!!

I'd think twice about getting a gun though. Quite a few years ago when it was only my oldest son and I living in my home, I had a stalker. It was really frightening for me and the police did nothing. He would break in my car and put all my glovebox stuff all over the car...just so I'd know he was there. He broke into my house a few times, didn't take anything, just moved things and would leave the window he got in by and the door he left by wide open...just so I'd know he was there. Finally one night as I was reading...a Stephen King book of course...there was a loud bang on my bedroom window. I was so scared!! I ran and called the police. It took them 45 minutes to get to my house!! I sat in my chair with my biggest knife, my only weapon waiting for them. Now if this guy's intention had been to do more than scare me that night, there only would have been a dead body to find when the police got there.

Needless to say I was upset when it took them 45 minutes to get to my house. I called in asking what I was supposed to do about this. Maybe I should just buy a gun, I said and protect myself, if the police wouldn't. The police man on the other end of the phone told me if I shot this guy, breaking into my house, they'd charge ME with murder!!! The gun laws in Mass are really tight and that to me is ridiculous!! They'd rather have a dead mother and child than a dead stalker!!

To tell ya the truth, if it had come to that (which it didn't, they finally caught him) I would have gladly shot him. In my eyes, it was him or me. They let this guy off with a slap on the hand. Oh poor guy, he was mixed up. He entered the military shortly afterward and was never heard from again. Note to ladies here, watch your rearview mirror. This guy had followed me home one night!!!

[Spideyman]

If this cop was serving out a warrant, then some type of notification should have been given to neighbors. It wasn't as though he was chasing a suspect through yards. Seems the policy needs to be adjusted.

[KeyboardSamurai]

I was a police officer for more than twenty years, and was routinely armed for the last fifteen of those (yes, they do exist in England), and I ended up in someone's "backyard" with a gun on more than one occasion. And I can assure you that there wasn't always the time or opportunity to inform the resident of what was going on.

You couldn't knock on the door or leave a note?

[rose key]

If there was a warrant issued, there was advanced knowledge of this taking place. What if the person they were after was to shoot at the cop and a shooting match went on? They could have telephoned, or had an undercover officer knock on your door first if they were going to be on your property.

[michal]

live in a society quite different than your own. In my country may people carry big guns, so it will hardly get anyone's attention. However, I can only imagined how scared you were for your life and the lives of your loved ones.

We often forget how fast our so called "Safe and Ordinary" lives can be taken away, and the potential chaos that resides outside our doors.

[Roseasharn]

To all American friends: ban those weapons! THat **** doesn't happen in Europe. And if it did, my reaction would be: hey, wtf is that officer doing in my backyard?!!!!

With the flow of illegal guns into this country, my reaction would not be hey, wtf is that officer doing in my yard? I simply still wouldn't be able to tell. In my area, a large number of gun crimes are committed by unregistered, illegally bought weapons. A good portion of those come through mexico. Unless we could completely police every square foot of our borders, outlawing guns wouldn't solve that problem. And since we aren't even doing that now when illegal immigration is supposedly such a problem, I have my doubts about it happening if we outlawed guns.