Picked the Wrong Car

Late last night, an off duty police officer shot a man he caught breaking in to his car.

According to Guglielmi, the officer involved in Friday’s incident was eating dinner at an area restaurant, when he heard a car alarm go off just before midnight. He went outside to investigate and discovered it was his car alarm.

The officer approached the vehicle, parked in a community lot behind North Charles Street, and found the front driver’s-side window smashed and the suspect inside the car, headed out the rear passenger-side door.

The officer identified himself and told the suspect to “stop,” Guglielmi said. But the man allegedly reached for something, and the officer shot one round, hitting the suspect in his right knee. The officer was not injured.

The suspect, in his 30s, was found to have “a screwdriver on his person,” Guglielmi said. He’s expected to be hospitalized for several days.

I have no problem with this, other than another example of BPD officers having poor aim.  What troubles me is the idea the thief picked ‘the wrong car’.  Why?  Because if it were my car, and I caught him, and he reached for a screwdriver, and I shot him, I would go to jail.

Every car should be the wrong car, and every person should be able to protect his property and his person, not just off duty police officers.