Here's a little news story you might not have heard:
In Anoka county, Minnesota, on Thursday, an off-duty, out-of-uniform police officer, driving an unmarked car, got into a little traffic spat with another driver, one Martin Treptow, aged 35.
Treptow had his wife and two children in the car, so when the other driver - the police officer, unbeknowsnt to Treptow - parked his car behind the Treptow's at a stoplight, got out, and pulled a gun, Treptow did the only thing he could think of to protect his family from what he saw as an immediate threat to their life.
He pulled out his firearm and fired three shots at his assailant; hitting the officer once in each leg, and once in his arm.
The officer, having been punked out by a civilian, failed to return fire. Thankfully, he is fine, and hopefully will know better than to pull a weapon on someone when out of uniform in the future; he was treated at the hospital and released.
Treptow has been released - as it should be - without charges; he had a permit for his gun, and used it exactly as it should be used - to defend his family from an immediate, imminent threat.
Personally, as I tend to take the Constitution seriously, I don't like the permits at all, but I understand them. But that is an argument for another time, and certainly another blog post.
What happened here is that a law-abiding citizen used force in defense of his family, in exactly the way the Second Amendment was originally intended to provide for; he was released without charge, because he complied with the law; and for once, justice appears to have been served.
Not too common these days. And I hope the officer has the good sense - although personally I doubt it based on his behavior - to NOT sue the Treptows; this incident was entirely his fault, and should not be laid at the Treptow's door.
Mr. Treptow: I salute you. Not very many people these days have the balls to defend their families at all, much less to do so with firearms.
Next time, stop watching so many movies, and aim center mass, though, hmmmm? Much as I admire and respect the officers of the law, anyone stupid enough to pull a gun while out of uniform because of road rage deserves a Darwin Award.
