True story. My 88 year old dad (now of blessed memory) cornered a home intruder with a gun. But the story doesn't end the way you think it does. /1
He found the guy in the next room, aimed the gun at him and marched him to the front door. The guy then bolted. My dad, a former cop and lifelong gun owner, was startled and angry, and opened fire. /2
He missed. The cops rolled up just moments later -- so soon that they caught the would-be thief on the next street over. They coached my dad through the post-shooting questioning. /3
The cops knew that my dad had nearly killed an unarmed man. (The thief had no weapons at all, not even a knife.) They calmed my dad down and told him he was lucky. My dad agreed. /4
Would my dad have been worse off to lock his door and call 911? I don't know. Not my dad's way, as a cop. He was livid. But he damn near killed an unarmed man after clearly being *out* of danger. /5
There is a funny coda to this story, tho. The guy wouldn't accept a plea deal, and insisted putting my father on the stand in hopes of getting an old man to contradict his testimony. /6
Lawyer: "What did you say to my client when you encountered him?"
Dad: "I'd rather not say."
Lawyer: "This is court. You have to."
Dad: "Well, okay. I called him a cocksucker."
Jury: *muffled laughter*
/7
Dad: "I'd rather not say."
Lawyer: "This is court. You have to."
Dad: "Well, okay. I called him a cocksucker."
Jury: *muffled laughter*
/7
The jury sided with Dad, and the guy got a longer stretch in state prison than the deal the DA offered. /8x
