John Lovell On A Security Breach At His Home
BY Herschel Smith
2 years, 4 months ago
I think he’s being a bit hard on his dog. The dog can’t patrol everywhere all of the time, or the dog may be sick, or simply playing at the time (dogs need play time too). Or the dog may be making a visit to the Vet that particular day and unable to patrol the grounds. Having dogs is a wonderful thing, but we can’t place more on their back than they can handle. And if a dog is wonderful, having more than one is great!
I get the issue of not wanting to carry a pistol on your person everywhere you go, or a phone for that matter. But I also know a man who carries everywhere all of the time, and the only time he ever removes his backup pistol from his ankle is when he’s in the shower.
In the end, I consider the greatest failure to have been leaving children alone in an unlocked house. Even if the house is on your property, you just cannot do that, especially if you live on a large plot in a rural area. Men aren’t the only threats. There are Coyotes, hogs, etc. The children should either (a) go with the parents and learn to care for the chickens, or (b) understand that they have to stay home with the door locked. It’s sad that this is the state of affairs, and it might not have been so 50 years ago. But we are where we are today.
Of the two, I think (a) is the better choice. Jesus taught us to teach our children by carrying them with us in our daily tasks. It’s how He learned to be a carpenter.
By the way, as I’ve said before, I consider the shotgun to the be the best home defense weapon available. I applaud his choice of weapons. Also, if I’m not mistaken, he’s shown carrying a Beretta 1301 with an extended tube mag and red dot sight, my favorite home defense tool.
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On August 19, 2022 at 5:39 am, Len said:
“living in the woods for a couple of days” “fell in with the wrong crowd” So is there a wrong crowd living in the woods within walking distance? Could be a problem.
On August 19, 2022 at 6:39 am, Latigo Morgan said:
He said he had his dog locked up while he was working in the chicken coop, as the dog will kill the birds if it gets in with them.
I carry at least a .22 with me at all times on my place. It’s a little Ruger SR22, which weighs next to nothing but is handy for dispatching varmints that need dispatching. If I should encounter a two-legged varmint, it will enable me to get to a nearby shotgun or rifle. I’m not one for shooting snakes, as a shovel tends to be handier, but I haven’t had to dispatch Jake for a long time.
Honestly, his biggest mistake was putting the meth head in his vehicle and driving him to the hospital. Meth heads are entirely unpredictable and can be very dangerous, even to a Former Action Guy, while on the stuff. He should have kept him on the ground at a reasonable distance and waited for the ambulance. Per a sheriff’s deputy giving a lecture on meth heads at a conference I was at: “If one comes onto your job site, consider him dangerous and take appropriate measures.” (wink wink nod nod – as he knew what kind of Men were attending that conference.)
What would Jesus do? Depends on if the man’s heart was repentant or not – and only Jesus could tell that.
I do agree the kids should have been out helping with the chores, though. Even if they are being homeschooled, animal husbandry should be part of that education.
On August 19, 2022 at 6:40 am, Hedge said:
He’s going to get a lot more of it as the homeless population explodes around the country.
On August 19, 2022 at 8:22 am, J said:
Hindsight is 20-10; but, the meth head told you about the “crowd” in the woods…one properly placed shot takes out your dog…and you decide to take another chance with someone high on meth to drive him to the hospital and leave you family alone (meth was his choice, not your responsibility). Please tell me, what part of this encounter did you do correctly? Like plane crashes…it’s the culmination of lots of poor choices. I think he really needs to realign his priorities.
On August 19, 2022 at 9:49 am, Bill Buppert said:
I am surprised he doesn’t carry at home [if I interpreted correctly], to me that is a no-brainer.
Pants on, gun on.
On August 19, 2022 at 11:17 am, Bradley A Graham said:
For over 22 years at my job I dealt with the worst society has to offer on a daily basis. Everyone got the interview stance regardless of age or gender. Hell, I even had a 10 year old girl threaten to stab me in the eye with a knife.
Our home was burglarized and my wife and I have been subjected to verbal and physical intimidation from random strangers several times during the past 30 years.
That being said I wasn’t there and just taking this at face value for someone who was a former Army Ranger he is damn lucky this shit show didn’t go sideways.
Local steals from you and local kills you.
On August 19, 2022 at 2:21 pm, Fred said:
I wouldn’t have a dog that bites people who aren’t a threat. That’s why he can’t train it not to kill chickens.
Would a handgun have been better than nothing? Obviously. I’m always armed. That’s just life.
There’s an explosion of homeless camps around here. They’re all addicts and most of them have at least one devil. Meth heads are like roaches, if you’ve seen one…
On August 19, 2022 at 2:26 pm, Dov said:
It’s easy to be an armchair quarterback. I think he did well.
A pair of livestock guardian dogs would have been better than one Belgian. They tend to do better with poultry and livestock, and are viscously protective of the children they are raised with from a puppy.
On August 19, 2022 at 7:55 pm, George said:
Don’t want to wear a gun all day. OK, how about a S&W 442 in your pocket.
It is not cumbersome and is easily retreiveable.
Other stuff he said he intends to correct.
On August 19, 2022 at 9:55 pm, Beast5 said:
Good of John to ask for comments. A trend I observe often in veterans/firefighters/police is that they act like they’re still in the service or on the department after they’ve left whatever service they were in. John needs to retrain his mindset- he no longer has a platoon of troopers to do all the tasks on the objective so he’s trying to do all the tasks of all the people in a platoon on a raid, rather than acting like a solo citizen security guard. Off the top of my head, citizen John is trying to play the role of farmer, dog handler, infantryman, interrogator, medic, platoon leader, radioman, recorder, and ambulance driver, all at the same time. In this situation, he should stick with security, outsource the other jobs to his wife, and keep the kids in the house.
His focus on which gun he had is sometimes a symptom of thinking that tools and abilities are a magic talisman that keep bad things from happening. Having a holstered pistol isn’t going to save you while you’re driving 110 mph getting stabbed by a demon possessed drug addict who’s hallucinating on meth. I understand getting spun up when your child is in danger, but slow down and engage your brain and guide the situation instead of reacting and rushing into danger/failure when possible.
In that moment, John should be thinking of the known near threat in front him and then the possibility of additional threats in the woods. This means making sure that neither he nor his family members get stabbed, shot, attacked, or get drug into the middle of who knows what kind of dispute, and becoming additional casualties. Getting in a car wreck or being jailed for breaking a law is not improving the situation. Again, John is not a squad leader in the Army and needs to prioritize his roles and responsibilities as a father and citizen. He is not responsible for the health and welfare of a trespassing drug addict, but he may be morally responsible to his fellow man in that situation only if security can be maintained and/or he is led by the Holy Spirit.
Tell the man to sit down in the shade and toss him a water bottle, not putting your child in harm’s way, while maintaining security from as safe a distance as you can, call the sheriff, request an ambulance, engage in deescalating conversation, ask about the “wrong crowd” squatting in the woods, and wait for backup. Putting someone on drugs in your car is like throwing a rattlesnake in your passenger seat- you have no idea what they’re going to do, or how many demons you just let within striking distance.
Encounters like this are a good excuse to get to talk to neighbors, update the neighborhood watch, find out who’s squatting where, and reevaluate your physical security.
On August 19, 2022 at 11:50 pm, Papa said:
110 mph?
Taking pictures?
On August 20, 2022 at 6:54 am, Nosmo said:
Pretty much “all of the above.”
He ignored the “distraction issue” – one “methhead” monopolizes the primary responder (physically AND mentally AND geographically, in this case) while his from-the-woods buddies break in/ransack/kidnap/kill/whatever. And what’s his plan for dealing with whomever is living in the woods? That MAY be a potential future threat, it may not, but it certainly deserves some degree of examination. Which, hopefully, will lead to A Plan.
Put the guy in the car and drive him? That’s a negative-IQ-number move. One thing it took me years to learn was to ask “Whose problem is this? Who owns it? If it’s me then I need to own it and resolve it. If it’s not me what responsibility to I have to resolve it?” If Methhead experiences a chemically-induced life-threatening event while driving him what will the driver do? An ambulance would – probably – have more resources – skilled technicians who have seen similar problems before plus chemical and mechanical resources to deal with it. I’d be curious about the time factor – the minute delta between “put methhead in car, drive, and hospital care begins” and “ambulance arrives with trained technicians and equipment so treatment can begin.”
If the guy goes ZPR (Zero Pulse and Respiration, aka “zipper”) while the ambo is enroute, too bad, so sad, but you had no responsibility for putting him in that situation and liability is avoided because you did exactly what a non-medically trained (as in “not an EMT, RN or MD”) individual without chemical or mechanical resources would do. (And, I know more and more of us are getting higher level med training, building some very good kits, some even buying Narcan and Epi pens, but….do we have enough training to properly adminster them just based on what a spaced-out druggie says he took? What are the legal liability parameters to the Good Samaritan law in your state? Does your state even have such a law?) If he goes ZPR in your passenger seat 1) what do you do, and with what?; 2) what liability have you assumed by driving him?
Tools are fine and very useful, but tools are dependent upon proper control and activation which is what the human brain is for and it’s a very rare human brain that does not require substantial additional development to bridge from awareness through evaluation to action reliably and correctly.
Obviously, Our Hero has not considered enough potential situations to “brain game” them for a solution. I suspect a lot of it is “we’re on the battlefield, operate in this mode” vs “we’re not on the battlefield, operate in that mode.” Cooper’s Orange/Red (battlefield) vs White (safe at home, inside the well-guarded perimeter). He needs to learn how to do Yellow 24X7 and use it as a foundation for a multi-threat / multi-level response plan.
No idea how old the kids are, but if they’re walking, talking and out of diapers they’re old enough to begin absorbing some basic simple training.
I get not carrying the #$&% phone everywhere, but no comms between house and barn? Between house / barn / ATV? What if he were out in a field tending the horses? FRS radios aren’t big or heavy. He said he has an alarm system with panic buttons; does that just call the monitoring service or also sound a (loud) external audible signal that can be heard in the field(s)? Both? Neither? I also get not carrying a full-size duty gun everywhere, but there are now some quite suitable alternatives. If a predator attacks the chickens while he’s near them with what would he respond? A 1301 with 00 Buck that’s at the other end of the barn or outside in his ATV? Might a compact 9MM on the hip be a better choice? A decent 22LR revolver or semi-auto or 22WRF revolver maybe? Perhaps not the best choice for human predators, but Cooper did say the first rule of gunfighting is “bring a gun.”
On August 20, 2022 at 7:25 am, Heywood said:
Yes I carry a gun at home. Not to be snarky, but I have found that is where most home invasions occur.
On August 20, 2022 at 1:53 pm, Dov said:
Holy cow! Look at what one female on meth can do……….
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/08/oklahoma-woman-meth-held-1-million-bond-slipping-handcuffs-grabbing-rifle-shooting-citizen-officer-back-police-car-video/
Maybe if one comes in my yard I will not be so gracious as to drive it to the hospital.