"He was arrested for protecting his property and family.
But it’s how the Long Island man did it that police say crossed the line.
He got an AK-47 assault rifle, pulled the trigger and he ended up in jail, reports CBS 2’s Pablo Guzman.
George Grier said he had to use his rifle on Sunday night to stop what he thought was going to be an invasion of his Uniondale home by a gang he thought might have been the vicious “MS-13.” He said the whole deal happened as he was about to drive his cousin home.
“I went around and went into the house, ran upstairs and told my wife to call the police. I get the gun and I go outside and I come into the doorway and now, by this time, they are in the driveway, back here near the house. I tell them, you know, ‘Can you please leave?’ Grier said.
Grier said the five men dared him to use the gun; and that their shouts brought another larger group of gang members in front of his house.
“He starts threatening my family, my life. ‘Oh you’re dead. I’m gonna kill your family and your babies. You’re dead.’ So when he says that, 20 others guys come rushing around the corner. And so I fired four warning shots into the grass,” Grier said."
New York CBS
Let's review. A man and his family are threatened on their property. He gets his gun, a dreaded "assault weapon", which is a force multiplier and exactly what the situation demands, and asks those that are threatening his family to leave HIS PROPERTY. When they refuse to do so and in fact more threats arrive and the promises of violence from the threats increase the man fires the only tool at his disposal into the ground as a warning.
The property owner could have shot one of his antagonists or he could have fired into the air and endangered an innocent citizen, but he did neither. He safely and competently, without harming anyone, removed the threat to his family and himself from the area. He also knew that the shot would alert police and bring them to his door.
This guy did the right thing and now he'll be forced to pay massive legal bills just to defend his heroic actions. Should he have waited for the police to arrive? After all, his wife was supposed to call them. Should he have cowered in front of these cowards that were threatening his family and begged for mercy? HELL NO!!!
A husband's primary responsibility is to defend his family and that is just what Mr. Grier did. The police may or may not have shown up on time but the threat was right there in front of him. He had no other reasonable course of action.
My guess is that the cops didn't want to arrest this guy but they're just doing their job. Most of the police I've talked to advise arming yourself for protection because they won't be there when things go wrong to do it for you.
When faced with the number of threats that Mr. Grier faced, especially if they are members of a group known for violence, what would you do? Personally, I may have retreated inside my house because that could have narrowed the areas of attack. I know, because I've thought it through, where the bottlenecks are in my home that will reduce the number of targets to the absolute minimum if I have to defend my family. I want the threats coming through a funnel so I can focus my fire most effectively. A wood frame house with vinyl siding may not be good cover but it will provide concealment.
In Missouri we have the right to defend our homes and property, with deadly force if necessary. It's called Castle Doctrine. In other words, if you enter onto my property, not just into my house, and threaten me then I can use a weapon and defend myself, even if I kill you. If the facts of the case show that I was within the framework for defense allowed in the law I cannot be sued or prosecuted for using deadly force. Castle Doctrine removes the "duty to retreat" laws found in many states and replaces it with "stand your ground", effectively placing the burden of proof on the state to show that the shooter acted improperly in defending his property. In other words, if I shoot someone on my property the law will give me, as the property owner, the benefit of the doubt. If the law in New York was the same my guess is that Mr. Grier would not have been arrested.
When did we became a nation of wussies? When did it become even kind of illegal to defend a mans hearth and home? Why does Mr. Grier's whole life have to be turned upside down just because he did his duty?
What in the hell is the matter with us?
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