While there are plenty of people in the world who wouldn’t piss on a cop if they were on fire, there are still many of us who would be willing to put ourselves in harm’s way to help. But, stepping up to assist law enforcement is something that almost nobody really trains for.

Even if we wanted to prepare for that, how would we go about it? A CCW class certainly isn’t going to cover the ins and outs of this, and the police themselves would often tell you to “be a good witness” and keep your gun in its holster instead of providing tips or resources.

Fortunately, a recent story out of Washington gives us an opportunity to at least visualize this scenario and think about the opportunity to help as well as the perils involved. In this article (which continues after the video), I want to explore this topic further and actually provide some useful information.

In this case, nothing went wrong and the police officer is grateful for both the help and the cooperation she got from the man who came to assist her with a carload of trouble she was facing alone.

The #1 Thing: Do As You’re Told When Assisting

On the side of what TO do, the first big lesson we can take away from this is that if you’re going to assist, be sure to do as you’re asked to do.

In some cases, a police officer might feel that they don’t need your help, and may ask or order you to put the gun away. They might be very rude and nasty about this, so don’t be thin-skinned if that happens. Some cops aren’t open to the idea of you helping, while others might not feel they can trust you. They don’t know you, and it’s their job to control the scene, not yours. Most critically, another gun can simply complicate the scenario when it comes to the person’s level of training, potential for crossfires, state of mind, etc.

In other cases, they might give you direction on how to be helpful, so be sure to listen. Whatever you do, don’t walk into that kind of a situation and try to tell them how to do their job, because that’ll lead to both conflict and possible liability if things go wrong. Police officers are trained to control the scene, and you’re part of the scene.

In other situations, they may be in a bad enough position that they cannot direct you. An officer who has been shot or who has lost consciousness is obviously not going to be able to guide you in any way, so you’ve got to have some common sense.

Discretion Is The Better Part of Valor

While there are certainly situations where it’s both wise and moral to assist a police officer (and perhaps even required by law depending on the state and the situation), there are plenty of reasons to not get involved. As a grown-up, you’ve got to make the judgment call in each situation, so I’ll quickly explore some bad things that can happen so you can at least be aware of them.

The biggest potential problem is that you could get shot. This has happened before, with good guys being confused for bad guys. A police officer may not know whether you’re there to help them or to help someone else, and they’ve got fractions of a second to decide whether you’re a threat or a resource.

There’s also a high probability that the officer will be experiencing tunnel vision (due to adrenaline), so they might not even know you’re there. If you walk into that situation, thinking they know you’re there, and they suddenly become aware that you’re there, things can go badly.

This can all be bypassed by making an offer to help instead of drawing your gun, when possible. It’s best to offer to help BEFORE announcing that you’re armed, and perhaps saying something to indicate that you’re trained and not just some guy who had $300. For example:

“Officer! Do you need help? I’m a CCW holder.”

If you have greater relevant training that you can quickly convey (former or current police officer, military, etc) you might convey that, but don’t read your whole resume off. Keep it simple and quick, and then see what they say.

Another even bigger problem is that other police officers might not read the situation right, even if the first cop wants your help and you’re acting under their direction. One possible way to mitigate this danger would be to quickly ask the cop to let others on the way know that you’re helping. For example, after they’ve accepted the offer to help, consider saying something like:

“Will do. Let dispatch know I’m here helping if you can.”

This gives a reminder and an opportunity for them to quickly transmit, which not only alerts dispatch, but others who are on the way eagerly awaiting updates.

One Thing You Definitely Shouldn’t Do

I’ll close by dispelling one final bad idea: a CCW badge. The downsides to buying a bogus badge online are obvious (or should be), but let’s have a quick laugh about it before we go!

For those law enforcement officers (or lawyers and instructors) reading this, we’d love to hear your thoughts and comments on this.

 

 

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

70 COMMENTS

  1. You’re not cop, you’re little people. You do not have exceptions baked into nearly every gun law. You do not have qualified immunity. You are the one that will be handcuffed outside your child’s school while hundreds of cops stand around listening to children get massacred. Officer safety is more important than your safety, just ask ’em. When the next adrenaline junky cop appears on the scene where you’re trying to help, and sees you with a gun, he might just hit you with the spray-n-pray mag dump. There are too many reasons to get gone ASAP.

    • You are a mere CIVILIAN (said with a condescending sneer).

      You are lower on the police rankings than criminals.

      • The whole “civilians” thing really bothers me. The United States isn’t a war zone. Police aren’t military. We are all civilians. Training police to say otherwise is training them to adopt an “us vs. them” attitude with respect to the public.

        This also bothers me: “They might be very rude and nasty about this…” Yes, they very well might be. Let’s give a pass for situations where time matters and lives are at stake. Barking orders makes sense in these moments. But a lot of police now seem to bark orders in moments when it’s entirely unnecessary. It’s certainly not every officer who does this, and I know some departments go out of their way to train police to be exceptionally courteous, even in the face of abuse and nastiness from the general public (and kudos to those departments and officers). On the other hand, a not insignificant number of officers approach every situation, no matter how innocuous or trivial, as if it’s a mob riot that needs to be quelled RIGHT. FREAKING. NOW.

        Relax my dudes! Not everyone you encounter is looking to have a beef with you. De-escalation is a real thing that you can be trained for. Look into it.

        The police have squandered a lot of trust with the public over the past decade or so, and it isn’t just because of the high-profile examples of LEO misbehavior we see from time to time. Growling and snapping at ordinary people erodes public trust and sets the stage for worse interactions in the future. It’s not rocket science.

        • “The United States isn’t a war zone. Police aren’t military. We are all civilians“

          This is why we should think carefully before allowing ex military to become police officers.

        • Of course you would discriminate against vets, miner.

          Proper police training is what is needed. Not discrimination.

        • I didn’t say to discriminate against veterans, I said we should think carefully about hiring ex military.

          I have no problem with MPs/sky cops, etc. who have been trained on actual law-enforcement.

          Combat arms is a bit different, soldiers’ task and purpose is completely different from civilian law-enforcement.

          And we’ve seen what happens when poorly trained and supervised soldiers are placed in a law-enforcement or corrections role.

          “This undated still photo made available by The Washington Post on May 21, 2004, shows a U.S. soldier holding a dog in front an Iraqi detainee at Abu Ghraib prison, on the outskirts of Baghdad.

          image618950.jpg
          WASHINGTONPOST.COM
          An unidentified U.S. soldier stands poised to punch a detainee at Abu Ghraib prison, as other hooded detainees lay bound at the hands, in this undated still photo provided by The Washington Post on May 21, 2004.
          image618940.jpg
          WASHINGTONPOST.COM
          A hooded Iraqi detainee at the Abu Ghraib prison appears to be cuffed at the ankle and chained to a door handle while being made to balance on two boxes, in this undated still photo provided by The Washington Post on May 21, 2004.

          image618941.jpg
          WASHINGTONPOST.COM
          A hooded Iraqi detainee at the Abu Ghraib prison appears to be cuffed at both wrists and collapsed over a rail, in this undated still photo provided by The Washington Post on May 21, 2004.

          image618947.jpg
          WASHINGTONPOST.COM
          A naked Iraqi detainee appears to be cuffed at the ankles and covered with an unknown substance, under the guard of a baton-weilding U.S. soldier at the Abu Ghraib prison, in this undated still photo provided by The Washington Post on May 21, 2004.“

          https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/abuse-photos-ii/6/

        • Miner49er has to be the most popular member of this forum. His postings expand the discussion far afield from the central topic of guns, allowing everyone to pitch in on a wide variety of topics. He often generates the greatest amount of responses, driving traffic and increasing reader involvement. And he always brings a contrarian view, guaranteeing a lively discussion. Why, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was a sock puppet of one of the moderators.

        • “I didn’t say to discriminate against veterans, I said we should think carefully about hiring ex military.”

          Soooo basically discriminate against “ex military” by
          ‘thinking carefully about hiring them’ to apply a different set of criteria of ‘thinking carefully about it’ than we do others because they are ex-military? So basically, discrimination in hiring practices. Once again you display your lack of understanding what ‘context’ means.

          I think we should think carefully about letting you continue to roam free in society.

          So we should “think carefully about hiring ex military” who have actually been willing to put their lives on the line…..

          but think nothing at all about that lawless constitution violating dementia ridden man called Joe Biden that would not know what the truth was if it bit him in the ass and introduced its self and is quietly selling out the country, trying to overthrow the country, deliberately makes our country less secure, wants to remove constitutional rights (not just the 2A), trying to remove the right of the people to fair and free elections (currently through ‘lawfare’), agreed with Obama that he (and now Biden wants it too) should have his own ‘militarized federal police force’ free of any control except for that of the president, and taking money from our country adversaries? Yeah, maybe a little ’employment discrimination’ is called for in that case… our founders called it ‘tyranny’.

        • Miner49’r might be surprised to find out that the U.S. military has more restrictive ROE requirements than most law enforcement agencies.

    • 100%

      I’m a human and I’ll only risk my life (and freedoms) for other humans or perhaps a cherished pet.

      cops don’t factor into this equation.

    • Cops will just see you as a “wacker,” which is a term they apply to anyone they view as a wannabe. They pretty much see all non LEOs as wannabes. At best they won’t appreciate you.

      • Not true in all cases. I crossed paths today with an LAPD Sergeant with 32 years on the force. Our “consensual conversation” turned to the topic of training, then to thoughts on CCWs, choices of EDC, etc. Then – and I’ve never encountered this before from a LEO – proceeded with a “show and tell” of our respective gats we had on us, ending with his advice on how to conduct myself if I ever become involved in a DGU with approaching LE. He was very appreciate of my presence and with CCW issuance overall, stating that LAPD morale is at rock bottom and he’s finally retiring.

    • The chance most people will ever need a gun is very low.
      The chance that you’ll stumble onto a situation where a cop is being overpowered and due to timing, you can help, is even less.
      This is more for entertainment than real life.

  2. My personal opinion is that there are VERY FEW situations where it is in everyone’s best interest if I jump-in with my everyday-carry handgun to assist police. And I am saying that from a pragmatic perspective, not from a “cops suck” mindset.

    If multiple cops are already onsite and engaging suspects (whether verbally or in a gunfight), stay out of their way. There are far too many ways where police could make an honest mistake and shoot you or vice versa.

    If you come up on a lone law enforcement officer who is verbally engaging suspects and you want to assist, simply hang in the background with your hands at your side and your handgun in your holster. Period. And you should be in a position where you have cover and are NOT in the potential line of fire between that officer and the suspects. If a gunfight erupts at that point, I would only consider drawing and shooting if the attackers shoot the officer, the officer goes down, and the attackers start advancing on the officer rather than take that opportunity to leave the area.

    And even in the above scenario (lone officer down from gunfight and I start shooting at the attackers), there is still substantial risk of the attackers now trying to advance on me or arriving backup confusing me for an attacker and engaging me. In terms of arriving backup, I believe my best chance of those backup officers immediately recognizing me as a helper is if I am immediately in front of the downed officer and engaging the attackers out in front. (In that scenario it is absolutely instantly obvious by inspection that I am saving the downed cop’s bacon and I am NOT a threat.) However, jumping between the downed cop and the attackers probably requires that I leave any cover and expose myself which is very perilous.

    • In my comment above, note that I am differentiating policing action from life-saving action which are not necessarily the same thing.

      I only refer to jumping-in with my handgun at the point where it is strictly a life-saving action (after attackers shot cop, cop is down, and attackers are advancing on cop at which time it is reasonable to believe that attackers will continue shooting the cop). And even then I only refer to jumping-in when the officer is alone–if other police are nearby on scene they can change to life-saving mode to save their fellow officer.

      Jumping-in at other times which are policing actions can hinder just as easily as help which is why I will NOT assist in policing actions.

  4. Female Deputy did an outstanding job, especially the stealth deployment of the Stop Sticks. Armed civilian knew what he was doing. He listened to the deputy and followed her instructions.

    Then comes sergeant clueless, who wasn’t there and wasn’t in danger. He comes across like he was disappointed a civilian came to the aid of one of his deputies.

  5. I’ve only had a citizen assist me with an arrest once. The citizen wasn’t armed. Only me and the suspect. On two occasions I had assistance from LEO that were out of jurisdiction. They clearly identified themselves and presented LEO credentials. And firearms. Be very careful if you think you want to get involved in things.

  6. RE: “Officer! Do you need help? I’m a CCW holder.”

    Oh boy just what you need in a life and death situation is for some inquisitive Karen to come along who cannot weigh time and outcome against a guaranteed disaster. Instead they ask a dumb question followed by saying they have a permit to wear a coat over a firearm. Sure Karen here’s my gun, badge and cuffs you take over and I’ll go get Donuts.
    Nonetheless some help can be better than the no-help-whatsoever seen in this vid…
    https://youtube.com/watch?v=4jrchHAN_tY&feature=shared

    • .40 cal Booger,

      Yesterday in the Hawaii 2nd Amendment article, you stated:

      “Several of these NGO’s groups have already been spotted aiding in the movement of arms and ammunition and supplies along with large groups of these military aged males to our southern border, arms and ammunition and equipment now known to be inside the United States with these military aged males.”

      While that is certainly plausible, I need a really good source (or better yet multiple sources) for that information before I rearrange my priorities and expend additional resources on preparatory measures beyond what I already have in place.

      Second, what sort of action are we anticipating? Are 5 dudes going to deploy homemade pressure-cooker contraptions (whose gases will expand at 10,000+ feet-per-second) in crowded urban venues? Are 50,000 military age males from United States adversaries going to launch a sudden coordinated attack and rape / mutilate / murder as many people as they can? Something else?

      • Sorry I didn’t replay earlier, just noticed you post. You specifically quoited this part…

        “Several of these NGO’s groups have already been spotted aiding in the movement of arms and ammunition and supplies along with large groups of these military aged males to our southern border, arms and ammunition and equipment now known to be inside the United States with these military aged males.”

        I got that from our sheriff.

        “Second, what sort of action are we anticipating?”

        From what I can find out from our sheriff; Everything from cyber attacks attempting to compromise and hamper response and take out infrastructure to actual physical ground attacks like Hamas did to Isreal, and more.

        • “already been spotted aiding in the movement of arms and ammunition“

          “I got that from our sheriff.“

          Really? So tell us about the shoot out when the police attempted to interdict the movement of the arms and ammunition across the border.

          Where are the photos showing the captured munitions, any info on the booking of suspects regarding the movement of the munitions.

          Or was it too late, and the guns have all been moved into the underground tunnels below the abandoned Walmarts?

        • “tell us about the shoot out when the police attempted to interdict”

          He didn’t say that there was a shootout.

          “Where are the photos showing the captured munitions”

          He didn’t say that anything was captured.

          “the underground tunnels below the abandoned Walmarts”

          He didn’t say anything about tunnels or Walmart.

          It’s almost as if you imagined the whole thing. Oh, wait …

        • I’m really not surprised that you would accept hearsay anecdotes as fact.

          Some folks require just a bit more than a bold statement.

          Really, if the high sheriff of the county is aware of illegal arms and ammunition moving through his county he better get his ass out there and do something about it, not just stand around and tell random folks how fearful he is.

          Fact is, it’s all bullshit, designed to manipulate people through fear and anger.

          Local reporting usually has the accurate story:

          “Eagle Pass residents say right-wing convoy, not migrants, making border town unsafe
          At least one person tied to the convoy was arrested, and an immigrant processing center was evacuated following threats, Democratic lawmakers said.
          By Michael Karlis on Mon, Feb 5, 2024 at 12:19 pm

          “However, some Eagle Pass residents said the only invasion happening in their city was the arrival of right-wing extremists who traveled with the caravan.

          “I’ve always felt very safe here, so I would say it’s a good place to raise your children,” one Eagle Pass resident said during a weekend press conference organized by city faith leaders and the progressive group Vote Common Good. “Today, downtown, was the first day that I felt unsafe just walking down the street in broad daylight.”

          Indeed, some so-called patriots who traveled with the convoy appeared shocked by the lack of chaos they found in Eagle Pass.

          “It’s not what I expected, but then again, I didn’t know what I expected,” rally goer Misty Gregory told MSNBC of what she saw at the city’s Shelby Park. “I can tell you that it’s not as bad as I thought, so that’s kind of eye-opening in itself.”

          https://www.sacurrent.com/news/eagle-pass-residents-say-right-wing-convoy-not-migrants-making-border-town-unsafe-33737689

        • “Fact is, it’s all bullshit, designed to manipulate people through fear and anger.”

          Then stop posting your bullshit.

        • “Then stop posting your bullshit“

          I posted an actual news story from a local news source, the reporter’s name and contact info was provided and the name of the individuals he interviewed were provided as well.
          I included the website so you could review the story yourself.

          It is unfortunate the actual facts on the ground don’t match the delusional narrative the conservatives feature in their nightly propaganda, but reality rarely adjusts itself to meet peoples’ fantasies.

        • “I posted an actual news story from a local news source”

          From your “news source”:

          “At least one person tied to the convoy was arrested, and an immigrant processing center was evacuated following threats, Democratic lawmakers said.”

          That calls into question the veracity of the entire article.
          Because Democrats lie.

  8. In ILL annoy NO help from me. Much more likely in Indiana. Which is sad for the ILLANNOY cretins. Especially now with Cook county & state PO-leece doing Satan’s bdding🙄

  10. The only way I’m going to help the Police officer under those circumstances. Is if they are screaming for help. Because they’re about ready to be killed.

    And there are many videos of police officers who were are weak and overwhelmed even by a single suspect.

    Unfortunately , a lot of those cops were females being overwhelmed by a stronger male criminal. They do just fine when they have a gun. But if they can’t get to their gun???
    They’re just another scrawny female going up against a large muscular angry man.

    And then it’s good guys with two good arms. Who come to the rescue of the damsel wearing a blue uniform in distress.

  11. Amazing with all the cop hatred on TTAG and elsewhere. The cop haters totally support the cops killing to protect state property.
    But those same cop haters are against the law abiding, killing criminals to protect private property.

    • Maybe you need to put things in context. Anyone who shot a 10 year old kid for stealing a candy bar needs to face the executioner himself – cop, or no cop. Stopping an armed robbery qualifies as self defense, cop or no cop. So, that pretty much defines the spectrum of protecting property. Why don’t you design a survey, that determines how much force people think is justified all across that spectrum? Like, maybe the angsty kid throwing rocks through the windows of an abandoned property deserves a butt kicking, but his ghetto cousin waving a knife at the convenience store clerk needs a forty caliber hole through his head. You design it, I’ll take the survey.

  12. I see some amount of mealy-mouthed indecisive cowardice here. Twice in my life, I’ve assisted a cop on duty. Both times, I was on scene before the cop, I informed the cop what the situation was, and I stood at hand to assist in subduing the crazies. Weapons weren’t drawn in either case, but things could have gone that way. But, hey, life is dangerous. If you’re afraid, maybe you should just stay in bed, give up your driver’s license, and let life pass you by.

    I’ll agree with the premise that it may not be wise to run around waving a firearm like some mad man. At least not until you’ve made contact with the cop(s) involved. If the cop really can’t tell the difference between you and the mad man who caused the scene, then yes, you are part of the problem.

    • Paul,

      “I was on scene before the cop, I informed the cop what the situation was, and I stood at hand to assist in subduing the crazies.”

      Your description is very similar to my mindset that I typed above. Standing at hand WITHOUT A FIREARM IN HAND to assist a lone cop who arrives at YOUR location seems fine to me. Arriving after the cop and offering to help WITHOUT A FIREARM IN HAND may make sense although your offer diverts the cop’s attention and that could improve the ability of attackers to reek havoc. And I would never recommend arriving after the cop and offering to help with a firearm in hand. Arriving after multiple police are already on scene and offering to help (with or without a firearm in hand) is unwise in almost every situation.

        • Darkman,

          In my very top comment of this article, I speak to those scenarios in my third paragraph. The most relevant bits in my third paragraph:

          “If you come up on a lone law enforcement officer …”

          “I would only consider drawing and shooting if the attackers shoot the officer, the officer goes down, and the attackers start advancing on the officer rather than take that opportunity to leave the area.”

          And in my reply to my own comment, I clarify that the situations which you describe (and I spoke to) are life-saving actions which I would always try to do. What I will NOT try to do are police-actions such as insert myself into a felony stop to assist. (In such a scenario, while I know that I am a good citizen and there to help, the police who are already on-scene and already engaging potentially dangerous criminals don’t know that and have to try and evaluate me at the same time.)

    • .40 cal Booger,

      I replied to your comment above and inquired about more details on this specific topic. Please respond to my reply to your comment above.

      • They hate us because they are taught to hate us by their religious leaders. It is much the same thing as we see in the US with academia and media teaching hate towards conservatives. They love to tell their followers about what happened leaving out the detail that they instigated the action. Zealots training in other zealots.

        • “They hate us because they are taught to hate us by their religious leaders.”

          which is why we are having to bomb them now

      • “Gee, I wonder why they hate us?”

        It’s because the Democrat party under President Linden Johnson made war on a country that was not making war on America.

        It’s because the Democrat President Clinton was bombing Countries that did not bomb and attack the United States.

        It’s because the Democrat Obama dropped more bombs and attacked more countries than President Bush ever did.

        And now the Democrat Biden is doing the same thing. Bombing countries attacking countries that did not harm the United States.

        But I understand why the atheists , the h0m0 sexu@ls and the s0ci@ list pr0gres sives support the democrats.

        Because they are war lovers.

        But they just want the Christians do all the fighting. The @theis ts would never be joining the US military in large numbers.

        And like it are not, and I know many people don’t like it. Christians have always been the backbone of the US military.

    • ‘IT’S COMING’: “Sheriff echoes warning on terror threats facing US homeland.“

      Yep, Timothy McVeigh was just the beginning:

      “FBI foils 2022 plot by militiamen to “start a war” at the Texas-Mexico border

      A Tennessee man arrested Monday hoped to travel to the southern border with a militia group that allegedly plotted to go “to war with the border patrol,” believing that the country was being invaded by migrants.

      BY URIEL J. GARCÍA AND WILLIAM MELHADO
      FEB. 7, 2024
      10 PM CENTRAL
      Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

      FBI agents disrupted a plot by three men — two of whom said they were part of a militia — to travel to the Texas-Mexico border to kill Border Patrol agents and immigrants crossing illegally because they believed the country was being invaded, according to court documents filed in federal courts.“

      .

      “FBI Arrests Alleged MAGA Sniper Plotting Attack on Southern Border
      February 7, 2024 Brigitte Bowen
      AUSTIN, Texas – Greg Abbott’s physical blockade of Shelby Park and other locations along the Texas Southern border has gained support from dozens of MAGA Republican elected officials – and armed, white nationalist militias. A Tennessee man was arrested by the FBI for trying to sell an unregistered AK-47 suppressor. Paul Faye Sr., a self-proclaimed militia sniper, later revealed a multi-state militia plot to carry out a violent attack at the southern border.“

      .

      “Feds arrest five members of ‘B Squad’ militia allegedly run by former GOP House candidate in Jan. 6 case
      The Three Percenters subgroup is associated with Jeremy Liggett, who was briefly a Republican candidate for a House seat in Florida.
      Aug. 24, 2022, 12:28 PM EDT / Updated Aug. 24, 2022, 7:26 PM EDT
      By Ryan J. Reilly
      WASHINGTON — Federal authorities have arrested and charged five members of a militia alleged to be run by a former candidate for Congress in connection with the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

      A criminal complaint names only one of the five people, Brian Preller, who, according to court records, was arrested in Vermont in connection with the case. Four of the people face a felony count of civil disorder apiece, while one faces two misdemeanor counts.”

      • “Four of the people face a felony count of civil disorder apiece, while one faces two misdemeanor counts.”

        Ohhhhh… so scary, some civil disorder and misdemeanor’s. And some, along with these, misguided and mentally ill crime and violence or threatening violence like what happens thousands of time daily across the United States by left wing’ers that the government ignores ’cause left wing.

        Ya know, like the violent-militant-extremist left wing BLM and ANTIFA and violent-militant-LGBTQ, among other groups and people (even left wing politicians in office) the government and media ignores or ‘excuses’ for their actions ’cause left wing.

        You are just another delusional left-wing anti-gun hypocrite Miner49er.

      • “FBI foils 2022 plot”

        The FBI? This FBI?

        The roughly 300-page report catalogs what Durham says were a series of missteps by the FBI and Justice Department as investigators undertook a politically explosive probe in the heat of the 2016 election into whether the Trump campaign was colluding with Russia to tip the outcome. It criticized the FBI for opening a full-fledged investigation based on “raw, unanalyzed and uncorroborated intelligence,” saying the speed at which it did so was a departure from the norm. And it said investigators repeatedly relied on “confirmation bias,” ignoring or rationalizing away evidence that undercut their premise of a Trump-Russia conspiracy as they pushed the probe forward.

        “Again, the FBI’s failure to critically analyze information that ran counter to the narrative of a Trump/Russia collusive relationship exhibited throughout Crossfire Hurricane is extremely troublesome,” the report said. “Crossfire Hurricane” was the FBI code name for its investigation. — PBS

        “FBI Arrests Alleged MAGA Sniper”

        This FBI?

        THE TEN MOST DISTURBING THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE FBI SINCE 9/11 — ACLU

        1.USA Patriot Act Abuse
        2.2008 Amendments to the Attorney General’s Guidelines
        3.Racial and Ethnic Mapping
        4.Unrestrained Data Collection and Data Mining
        5.Suppressing Internal Dissent: The FBI War on Whistleblowers
        6.Targeting Journalists
        7.Thwarting Congressional Oversight
        8.Targeting First Amendment Activity
        9.Proxy Detentions
        10.Use of No-Fly List to Pressure Americans Abroad to Become Informants

        “Federal authorities have arrested”

        This FBI?

        FBI wrongdoing has been alleged for decades. Their use of confidential informants is standard, as we have previously reported in the case of the Whitmer Kidnapping plot. But infiltrating Patriot Groups, a practice known as PATCON (Patriot conspiracy) and attempting to get them to commit crimes is another problem altogether. The FBI’s use of moles in the legacy media is another serious issue. It’s information that Utah Attorney Jesse Trentadue wants to find., and has filed lawsuits toward that end. Why? It may be related to Trentadue’s brother’s murder. — Conservative Firing Line

        “Timothy McVeigh?” One more:

        24 witnesses told the FBI that they saw McVeigh with someone during the morning of the attack—and none were used by the government during the trial. The FBI initially released sketches and appealed to the public for help in finding this mysterious “John Doe #2,” only to later deny that the man ever existed.

        Then it was revealed in 2004 that the U.S. Secret Service had conducted its own investigation of the Oklahoma City bombing, separate from the FBI’s.

        A Secret Service document on the investigation shocked observers with the following statement: “Security videotapes from the area [around the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building] show the truck detonation three minutes and six seconds after the suspects exited the truck”—supporting suspicions by many that McVeigh indeed had an accomplice and that there exists surveillance footage that confirms this. — Epoch Times

  14. Sgt. Darren Moss is cringe. I hope nobody helps him when he needs it most. They probably don’t have enough training to save his life anyway.

  15. I don’t believe in the police as much as i do my community and people.
    So i would probably help a police officer if there is no great risk to my family or me. Both bodily and legally.
    But of course the usual ranking applies: elected sheriff and his deputies good if they believe in my constitutional rights, bad if they don’t. City police department probably bad, and worse the bigger the city gets. If it says FBI or ATF, i didn’t see anything and have places to be, no help for you.
    If we could reduce the power of politicians, the amount of taxes and laws by 90% and put proper oversight so that there are no more officers on power trips feeling like they are better than “civilians” and i don’t have to fear any legal consequences anymore? Then 100% yes i would help every officer.

  17. Does this conversation also apply to helping Border Patrol? I think there’s some folks “filling the gaps” right now. Probably not considered helpful by FJB standards. Maybe 100k deputized Americans could help.

  19. Plain clothes police have been mistaken as a threat by uniformed police and shot until the perceived threat was ended. Holding up a badge in plain clothes with others under duress might be mistaken.

  20. As for stepping in to assist a police officer, I would have to assess the situation at the time. Is the office down? Injured, or disarmed? Are more officers nearby? Do I grab my first aid bag or will a weapon be needed?
    How likely is it I will be mistaken for the perp?
    I have, several years ago, helped an officer subdue an individual who was possibly under the influence of narcotics. Even if he wasn’t he was a large, muscular male and quite upset at the prospect of going to jail. Even got a nice thank you letter from the county Sherriff. And I’ve held a couple idiots at gunpoint until the local LEO’s showed up.
    All I can say is be mindful of possible consequences and problems should you choose to step into a situation. And make damn sure the LEO’s know you are trying to assist and not part of the problem.

  21. Based on what I see here if I see some of yall getting jacked up I am going to walk away and pretend I saw nothing and you can call 911 if you need help because my gun is not leaving its holster nor am I looking twice while I walk away wondering if you have what it really takes to survive. But, rest assured I WILL call 911 if you are shot, stabbed or stomped. I will tell dispatch that you need an ambulance but no need for police because you are so good you don’t need them.

  23. Although I have allowed the local police tactical teams as well as the USAF Para rescue unit to train on my property, I would be extremely reluctant to intercede unless I personally knew the officers. Most cops have been conditioned by the gun control lobby to view mere citizens as morally indistinguishable from the criminals. At the Uvalde mass shooting, the cops who were engaging in a circular jerk while they waited for the shooting to stop were arresting other cops who were attempting to rescue their own families. Many of today’s cops are morally indistinguishable from the Gestapo Goons who were rounding up Jews for the gas chambers.

    My probable threshold for intervention would be only if officers were down and the perpetrator was an eminent threat to myself or my family. Given my abiding hatred for the local courts declaring open season on my family in retaliation for my objecting to the expropriation of our property by the Oregon Marijuana Mafia, my response to a mass shooting that doesn’t threat my family would be to pop popcorn.

  24. As a Texas License to Carry instructor (and an ex-cop), this is an excellent article. I will discuss it in my classes.

  25. To respond to Miner49er,
    If you didn’t know there are bad apples in every group. There are bad doctors, ministers, teachers etc. The military is no exception. And when the military finds these bad apples they hammer them. I’ve been in the army since 1993-2001 (reserves) and just retired last year at 22 years active duty (2021-2023) as an Apache pilot, Military Intelligence officer. I served in Iraq (Mosul 08-09) as a trainer advisor to the Iraqi Police. If we saw any detainee abuse it was immediately reported up even if the Iraqis sis the abuse. In the military we do reflexive firing and train to only shoot if we can positively identify our targets. Thanks

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