Citizens and police make an effective team to stop crime. Where there is high cooperation with, and trust of the police, crime rates tend to be very low. In this case in Brentwood, Florida, cooperation went a bit further than exchanging information. The police and homeowner cooperated in returning fire against criminals that had broken into the occupied home, refused to follow police orders, and fired at the police.
In the Brentwood case, the homeowner had been victimized the day before, on 11 March, 2015. His house had been broken into, and guns had been stolen. The next day, his children, about 15 and 16 years of age, were home while he was at work. He received a call from them, saying that there were two men at the front door, knocking and ringing the doorbell. He told them to hang up and call police. At that time his children told him that the men had broken into the residence.
Both the homeowner and the children called 911. The homeowner and the first responding officer, Matthew Krueger, arrived at the residence at the same time. They had a brief conference, then split up. The officer went to one side of the residence on Brick street, where he saw a suspect exiting a window. He drew his taser and ordered the suspect to stop and get on the ground. The suspect ignored the order and moved to the back yard, which contained a truck, car, and large gas grill. The officer then received gunfire from the area of these objects, transitioned to his firearm, and returned fire. The officer loses sight of the suspects.
During this gunfight, the homeowner also fired shots. Additional officers arrived, finding the homeowner and a neighbor holding a wounded suspect at gunpoint at the front of the house. The suspect was wounded in the shoulder. A second suspect escaped. Brentwood school was briefly locked down.
Officer Krueger has been placed on administrative leave, a standard policy for a police shooting at this department.
Link to video interview of Jacksonville police
The police do not know if it was officer Krueger or the homeowner who wounded the burglary suspect. The suspect is in the hospital and is said to be cooperating with the police. The second suspect is described as a young black male, wearing tan shorts and a dark shirt. He was wearing a red beanie type cap, which was recovered in a neighbor's yard.
The police have not determined if these burglars are the same who committed the crime from the day before, or if any of the shots fired came from firearms stolen the day before.
Most of the crime in the country occurs in areas where the police are not trusted, or in bordering areas. People in those border areas have to be on constant alert for what are essentially "raids" from the areas where the criminals live. The areas were police are not trusted have become the modern frontier.
©2015 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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