In March of 2005 I was at the hospital with my mother and 3 young boys visiting my wife who had just given birth to my little girl. After the visit my mother, boys, and I left my wife's room to begin the trip back to the car. After getting off the elevator on the first floor I noticed a man in a johnny wrestling with another man just a few feet away down the hall. I quickly grabbed my kids and went through a set of doors trying to get my family farther away from the disturbance. As I pulled everyone down a side hall I saw the man in the johnny break away and run in our direction. While we were huddled by an exit, the man burst through the door an stood about 15 feet away facing us. He paused for a moment as it appeared he was contemplating what his next move should be. With my hands I forced my children behind me while I stood facing the man. As I faced the man down I was not prepared to fight him. Instead of stepping away from my children, to close the gap with the man, I just stood there, perfectly erect, hands near by my side...my stance was such that I could have easily been pushed over.
All of a sudden the man he was fighting with came running and slammed the man against the wall with impressive force. The two went down...the man with the johnny was out of the fight.
I later learned that the man with the johnny was a murderer who had just checked himself into the hospital with wounds he received from killing an individual. A nurse recognized the his description and called the police. The disturbance I came upon was a plain clothes officer attempting to take custody of him.
Lessons...
I was not mentally prepared to protect my family. The events on the ground were occurring faster than I was able to respond to them in my mind. From this I have learned to always have a plan...when I see a potential issue I never keep my hands in my pockets or by my side...I never allow my feet to be place in such a way that I would fall back if pushed...I would never allow my family to be so close to me that they would be in the fight if one ever began. I also carry a handgun when my feet hit the floor till they are back in bed in the evening...add a knife during the day...add a flashlight at night.
All of a sudden the man he was fighting with came running and slammed the man against the wall with impressive force. The two went down...the man with the johnny was out of the fight.
I later learned that the man with the johnny was a murderer who had just checked himself into the hospital with wounds he received from killing an individual. A nurse recognized the his description and called the police. The disturbance I came upon was a plain clothes officer attempting to take custody of him.
Lessons...
I was not mentally prepared to protect my family. The events on the ground were occurring faster than I was able to respond to them in my mind. From this I have learned to always have a plan...when I see a potential issue I never keep my hands in my pockets or by my side...I never allow my feet to be place in such a way that I would fall back if pushed...I would never allow my family to be so close to me that they would be in the fight if one ever began. I also carry a handgun when my feet hit the floor till they are back in bed in the evening...add a knife during the day...add a flashlight at night.
