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Old November 30, 2005, 02:49 AM   #1
AndrewTB
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Scenario #4020312

So lets say pme day you come home and sit down on your couch to watch the football game or whatever it is you watch. After a few moments you then hear your neighbor (a single woman with no kids) screaming. You go outside to get a better ear and you hear the woman screaming HELLLPPP etc...

You walk up to the door and its locked but you still hear screaming.

So what do you do?


Personally id grab my gun and kick her door down. The police here have the worst response time so id take the action into my hands if it means saving a life.


Id like to hear your opinions and what you would think you would do.
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Old November 30, 2005, 04:54 AM   #2
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I would make popcorn and enjoy a cold one. I responded to such a case years ago. The woman was screaming and fairly shouting "NO!" When back-up arrived, the front door went down and we entered the house. Upon entering a long hallway we heard and traced down the woman in her bedroom. She was quite redfaced and so was her partner. It was two consenting adults, thin apartment walls, imaginations run wild and not 100% legal. Call 911 and stand by.
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Old November 30, 2005, 08:51 AM   #3
BerettaCougar
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I wouldnt enter her house.
I would make sure my doors are locked, Make sure my gun is ready to -bangbang-

Call 911 if I think the screams are indeed a cry for help.
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Old November 30, 2005, 08:58 AM   #4
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Thats a tough one. I've seen situations like that turn ugly, as Sir William pointed out.

But, I think I would call 911, and keep a close ear to the situation. If it got to a point where I thought there was actual danger to life, and I liked the neighbor particularly well, I might have to investigate further. Remember, police are on the way, responding to an unknown, possibly violent situation. YOU don't want to be the first one they see, smoking gun in hand, standing over a body......
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Old November 30, 2005, 09:29 AM   #5
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I would have to go with Beretta Cougar on this one - the risks of entering a neighbor's place without permission - yeah - you could find yourself shot. With no justification on your side.

If she is your friend - call her on her phone and find out whats up. After calling 911 if you seriously feel that she is in danger. But playing hero - leave that to the professionals.
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Old November 30, 2005, 09:47 AM   #6
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This is another one of those scenerios where there just is not enough information. How well do you know this woman? Are you sure she is yelling help? Are there other indicators? Crashes? Signs of entry? Unfamiliar vehicles?
I know this sounds cold, but is she a nut job or a sane person?

If I heard this from within my home, then chances are something is extremely amiss. I would grab a shotgun and enter if I had the screams with crashes or other indicators, and I knew the woman well and this was not in her character. My wife would be calling 911.

If I were outside, I would still enter, and I would not waste time going to get a shotgun. I would simply be prepared to use my CCW.

I might be wrong, and end up on the wrong end of a court case, but in this situation with a known neighbor I would intervene. Maybe it's just the Southerner in me, I don't know.........

What puzzles me is how I could intervene in this case, yet fall back and protect my family in the Tacoma Mall scenerio.........Maybe it is chances of success, I don't know, but I'm pretty doggone sure I would intervene, and if I was wrong the neighbor would understand. Repair a door jamb for her and it would likely be over with.
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Old November 30, 2005, 10:17 AM   #7
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I guess it all depends on where you live and who are your neighbors.

In the first place, . . . I would have to be outside to hear anything like that as our houses here are all quite far apart, . . . but if I heard it, . . . because I personally know (and have for over 10 years) all of these families, . . . that door is going down, . . . I'm going in with my 1911, . . . and of that there is no doubt whatsoever.

The seven husbands of those 7 women would all pretty much do the same for me and for my wife. But, . . . I have lived in communities where I would dial 911 and step outside to be a witness, . . . but probably not much more at all.

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Old November 30, 2005, 10:46 AM   #8
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A tough one, and as others here point out, Andrew, a lot depends on factors you don't define in the scenerio. I would first certainly call 911 and report what I had heard, and I believe I would surely arm myself and investigate, at least cursorily, by knocking on the door to see what response I could get from inside. Any action beyond that would depend on what happened next. Breaking through the door is fraught with danger from many angles, dangers both physical and legal. It's far better to let the police handle the situation if at all possible.
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Old November 30, 2005, 01:41 PM   #9
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Yeah im still not 100% certain what I would do. The police here suck so bad.
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Old November 30, 2005, 03:40 PM   #10
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The toaster is on fire and she is calling for her boyfriend who is another room.
There is a scorpion on the ceiling and she is freaking out.

Both have happened in our house.

You kick in the door and I (the male) since I usually carry - light you up. Or you shoot me and go to jail.

Sorry your cops stink. One might call 911 first to establish what were doing for mitigating circumstances at your trial. One might pound on the door and ask loudly if someone needs help.

I'm going to come down on the side breaking in with this little information is risky.
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Old November 30, 2005, 04:50 PM   #11
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somebody call 9-1-1!!!!!!!

Quote:
I would make popcorn and enjoy a cold one. I responded to such a case years ago. The woman was screaming and fairly shouting "NO!" When back-up arrived, the front door went down and we entered the house. Upon entering a long hallway we heard and traced down the woman in her bedroom. She was quite redfaced and so was her partner. It was two consenting adults, thin apartment walls, imaginations run wild and not 100% legal. Call 911 and stand by
I laughed until I could hardly breathe, Sir William!!! That would be just my luck, too.... ride to the rescue and then wish you could dig a deep hole and pull it in over you.

I'd say, call 911. If in Houston, given that 911 calls sometimes take 8 hours to answer, you might wish to do differently, but realize that you may find yourself in an awkward situation, at least.

Springmom, who is glad she does NOT live IN Houston!
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Old November 30, 2005, 06:27 PM   #12
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These threads surely come in handy! They make me think of stuff I wouldnt have beforhand.
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Old November 30, 2005, 07:00 PM   #13
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first i grab my belt-o-cool-gadgets-and-gizmos (i simply refer to it as 'belt' for simplicity) and i push the 'play' button on the small tape player (its got the theme to star wars that repeats over and over), and then i plug my video transmitter into my tactical shades (because any good ninja has covertly planted video cameras in the entire neighborhoods homes for just this sort of potential emergency, right? RIGHT???) and then i scan the various channels until i find the right one with the cries for help emanating.

then i formulate a strategy, two backup strategies, and put them all into a flowchart on my palm pilot, which i then fax it over to my local PD so the responding officers will have a heads up as to what to expect (if its close enough to my wifi connection they can stream the video feed as well).

then i gear up with weapons. i take the ninjaed AR, with ten fully loaded 30 rd magazines, the kimber on the hip, the tactical 12 gauge is slung on my back, and with my off hand i take the single shot 20 gauge just in case things go sour.

i have homemade smoke 'nades (tennis balls filled with flour and tossed into a room throws up some decent cover) and on my shiny red wagon i have a 12 v battery hooked up to one of those bazillion candlepower flashlights that i have rigged up to strobe, not as noisy as a flashbang, but almost as much fun.

then i put on my 'pizza shack' hat (its a disguise, most idiots dont know that there isnt a pizza SHACK, i'm so clever it hurts) and go ring the doorbell of the home where the cries for help are coming from. if its a really bad situation, i can pose as a pizza delivery dude and stall them long enough for me to catch my breath from lugging all the gear over there. (trust me, i'm a professional, i've done this once or never, i know what i'm talking about).

once the bogies and tangos have closed the door i step my plan into high gear. i toss one of those lifesize dummies through a window as a decoy, so the perps can waste ammo shooting at nothing. then i run home because the thought of a steaming hot pizza pie has me hungrier than kirstie alley. plus while i'm there i can check my emails and see if anyones replied to my posts on TFL and THR.

but then its back to business, now the criminals are feeling comfortable and they'll make the biggest mistake yet: underestimating the power of my ninjatude! the rest of the plan is classified, so i have to end this now. but its only another 28 years until this will qualify for declassification, so stay tuned!
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Old November 30, 2005, 07:06 PM   #14
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I would do the same as Spiff, but the Star Wars theme? Come on Spiff, Thunderstruck by AC/DC is the way to go in that situation.
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Old December 1, 2005, 07:19 PM   #15
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Unless the person was a very close friend or relative, I would let my fingers do the walking---911
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Old December 2, 2005, 12:26 AM   #16
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Glen Meyer wrote : >One might pound on the door and ask loudly if someone needs help. <

BINGO! And do not stand in direct line of the door frame, do it at an angle. You never know what could be going on inside a strangers house, and it's best not to be overzealous but you don't want to let your neighbor be stabbed to death if that's what's actually happening. Asking a simple, loud question will solve a lot of your problems and give you a lot more information very quickly.
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Old December 2, 2005, 12:34 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by IZInterrogator
I would do the same as Spiff, but the Star Wars theme? Come on Spiff, Thunderstruck by AC/DC is the way to go in that situation.
I'd personally pick the main theme from Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty... but that's meeeee. If you've heard it, though, you probably know why I woulda picked it.
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Old December 2, 2005, 03:14 AM   #18
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Spiffy and Izi, sorry to disappoint

but the correct them music is........


Stranglehold by Ted Nugent.


at 8 minutes+ it has adequate play time for spiff to lug his little red wagon with his tacticool segway......
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Old December 2, 2005, 04:33 AM   #19
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Hey man. You will address Spiff's tactical transportation module as its proper technical term: the Radio Flyer.
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Old December 2, 2005, 12:17 PM   #20
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come on now! i've got this down to a science! i could do the trip at least 1 and a tenth times in 8 minutes!

but wouldnt kyuss' "demon cleaner" be a good choice as well?
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Old December 2, 2005, 03:26 PM   #21
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demon cleaner

sounds like an enema in hell
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Old December 2, 2005, 08:54 PM   #22
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It would depend on what she looked like.
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Old December 5, 2005, 04:27 PM   #23
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call her phone first, call 9-11 second, crappy response time or not. then load up and go bang the hell out of her door. just pound till someone answers, standing well away from the door, calling her name the whole time. I would prolly take my dog too preventing him from going out the back and sneaking up on me. the doggie does not care for that.

I have had this happen r/t twice once it was an ex beating the *&(&^ out of my neighbor. He ran away from the back door. the other was a different lady in a different apt and she was as my wife came to phrase it "porn star loud" and liked to play games. But at two AM hearing the racket she was putting up, we both thought nope, someone is getting killed in there.
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Old December 8, 2005, 03:19 AM   #24
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Depends on situation is the best answer.

The only neighbor within earshot is a very single (and will be that way awhile) young woman with a very religious background thats about as pretty as I am tactical. Lets just say kinky sex is out of the possibilities.

She lives alone (and will be that way awhile) so I would then assume this is not a good noise coming from her house. I would definitely enter her house (I know her, we graduated together). If I got to the door and it was locked I would REALLY know something was up as we live in a small neighborhood and locked doors are not the norm ever, especially when someone is home.
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Old December 8, 2005, 08:08 AM   #25
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You gotta love the wannabes, you have no idea what is going on, its none of your business anyway, and you are going to grab a gun and break into a house to see whats up? The law calls that playing policeman, you can get shot like that, call 911 and then go watch an episode of crime story to satisfy your urges.
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