Iraq vet foils burglar
Old Trooper sends this video from Fox News about an Iraq veteran, Joseph Vallar, whose neighbor called him at work to report that it appeared as if a burglar was entering his house. Vallar returned home and used his training to clear his house, during which time he encountered a burglar. The burglar was found with some of Vallar’s medals.
Vallar credits Indiana’s CCW laws with his actions backed by his legal gun ownership.
I commend his bravery, but I disagree with Vallar and the actions he took in that he should have called 9-1-1 and let the police clear his house. He was lucky that the burglar wasn’t armed and desperate. I think gun ownership is for immediately protecting yourself when the police haven’t arrived, not to go looking for trouble. But that’s me.
Category: Guns
Jonn,
Do the police know how to clear houses or handle weapons better than a soldier or Marine? I hardly think so. Taking responsibility for his own safety is commendable in my book.
I agree with John on this one. The correct course of action would have been to remnain outside his home (armed) and wait for the police to show up. If the burglar tried to exit, he would be there, but he shouldn’t have entered the house to clear it himself. I’m a CCW holder myself and an Iraq vet (2003-2004) but the right thing to do is to call the cops.
His call, his decision based on the his own risk management and abilities.
Everything’s situationally dependant of course, but as a CCW’er and formare Marine, my own would have been dependant on whether or not any of my loved ones were in the house. If not, I probably would have called and waited outside and tried to stop the SOB if he runs.
But wait….I wonder if in his state that might be considered brandishing, or if the protection of personal property is illegal with potential deadly force there. It’s possible that in fact, he legally might have been better off inside his home instead of outside if the guy engages him.
Of course, a good dog probably would’ve prevented the guy from entering at all, or at least, made him go search for easier pickings.
C-
Wait for the cops? A delivery pizza get to a house faster than the police.
I am from Indiana, and if a suspect is fleeing your property, you CANNOT use lethal force, or any force at all.I would have done the same.Personally, our PD does not always arrive in a quick manner, and I do not take kindly to someone being inside my home without my permission.
I would do the same thing… why wait for them to break or destroy more of your property… if you live in a rural area the nearest Law Enforcement response could be 30 mins or more away, that’s if they aren’t on a call at the time. Why leave him/her in my home and allow them to arm themselves if they weren’t already and possibly barricade themselves in my home. If you have the element of surprise… by all means exploit it.. “A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week.” George S. Patton
Rather be judged by 12 than carried by six!
I find it interesting that the medals were being stolen. Quite literally Stolen Valor?
I wanted to see what the responses would be, because everyone has their own take on whether they think the guy took the correct course of action. Personally, I agree with Jonn. However, it comes down to if he knew his house was unoccupied at the time. Did he think his wife and kid were there? My course would have been to notify the police immediately, as I am on the road towards my home. If the cops beat me there, fine, but I wouldn’t have gone in knowing no one was home, until I gave proper time for the police to arrive. If they didn’t arrive in a reasonable amount of time, then I would have gone in and cleared my house. If my wife and kid were home, I wouldn’t have waited at all and the knife in the perp’s hand would have been my reason for him being ventilated inside my house when the police finally did arrive. But that’s just me.
Having been on one side of this, the LEO side, and being a CCW holder now, I’m going with most posters on this. Why let the asshat arm himself.
And, like someone said, the local LEO’s could be tied up with Bobby Joe and Elle Jane, fighting for the 37th time this month, and on the opposite side of the city/county.
If you’re inside, you can defend yourself, as Christian said. Indiana, and some other states won’t let you use force, once the ass who’s stealing your stuff gets outside.
I would also be concerned if I had additional firearms inside the house with which the intruder could arm himself and become a greater threat. Hard to say without being there and knowing the whole story.
Since we have Texas Castle Law, very well done Mr. Vallar! Locally we have one cop I know of that has any house clearing experience, the others? Uh well….they might show up well after the perp got away. BTDT…
A few years back, I experienced a very similar situation–I was at work and got a phone call that someone was breaking into my house. I did the same thing Mr. Vallar did–I rushed home and immediately cleared the house myself. Should I have waited for the police? Yeah, probably, legally and personal-safety-wise that would have been the smartest thing to do. But, frankly, I was so angry I wanted to find the intruder myself and just hope he gave me an excuse to kill him. If you’ve ever been the victim of a burglary, you probably know what I mean, and the kind of rage it provokes when some dirtbag breaks into the house where you raise your family.
In the end, the intruder was already gone by the time I got there. Aside from deductible, the insurance company (USAA) took care of me.
And incidentally, it took the police over an hour to arrive. And this was in a major metropolitan area, not out in the boondocks somewhere. So I don’t put much credence in relying on police response in critical situations.
I absolutely agree with Jonn on this one.
It’s come to the point society ‘expects’ those with a military background, particularly Marines, to be super duper high speed and confront thieves and criminals on their own accord. Witness the disappointment some here expressed in regards to a story where several Marines were allegedly mugged. Some were ‘sad’ that their story book version of Marines disarming and disabling thugs was dashed.
But I do agree with Kong’s points. Sometimes when you are confronted with a situation like that, your first instinct may be to rush home. I’d probably be upset and do the same. But that way of thinking is irrelevant if you are military or not.
I don’t know if that state has the castle doctrine, but here in MO we do, and if I thought someone was in my home, I would have no second thoughts about locating, closing with and destroying them. That is part of the reason why crime is down in the states with CCW and Castle doctrines. Criminals know we can now kill them with near impunity so they are going to the pussy states to steal, rob and murder.
@UMSC Steve Yes, we have the Castle Doctrine in Indiana.