Mentally Ill Patient takes Police Officer's Gun

imported post

Some years ago I was casually watching a Police Officer speaking with a receptionist in the ER of an inner city hospital when a person waiting to see someone from the psychiatric department leaned forward from his wheel chair and grabbed the officers exposed gun and pointed it directly at me. After some tense moments a Dr. was able to sneak up behind him, raise his arm in the air, we rushed him, and no shots were fired. This experience made me intimately aware of the seriousnessof keeping your firearm protected at all times. Many holsters today are designed just for that purpose, and we have come a long way in an effort to make this type of situation less likely to happen. I thank the holster manufacturers' for their efforts in providing us with retention enhancing equpment to help avoid such situations. Mark Cortis / Member Oakland County Gun Board / Owner Wild West Academy of Firearms Training

imported post

SecretSoldierfrs wrote:

Some years ago I was casually watching a Police Officer speaking with a receptionist in the ER of an inner city hospital when a person waiting to see someone from the psychiatric department leaned forward from his wheel chair and grabbed the officers exposed gun and pointed it directly at me. After some tense moments a Dr. was able to sneak up behind him, raise his arm in the air, we rushed him, and no shots were fired. This experience made me intimately aware of the seriousnessof keeping your firearm protected at all times. Many holsters today are designed just for that purpose, and we have come a long way in an effort to make this type of situation less likely to happen. I thank the holster manufacturers' for their efforts in providing us with retention enhancing equpment to help avoid such situations. Mark Cortis / Member Oakland County Gun Board / Owner Wild West Academy of Firearms Training

Click to expand...

Welcome to OCDO SecretSoldier.

http://www.wildwestacademy.com/training.htm

imported post

SecretSoldierfrs wrote:

Some years ago...

Click to expand...

Hi, Mark, welcome aboard!

Your story is interesting.Which inner city hospital was this? Henry Ford (the one you worked at), Sinai (Joanne's), or other? Especially intriguing, what do you recall the officer's reaction being during the moments before the Dr. took control of the situation because the officer wouldn't or couldn't? Seems to me, I would be all over a person who just took my gun out of its holster. There would be no "tense moments" before that. But what happened? Was the officer like, "Whoa, dude, you just, like,took my gun out of myholster and, like, you're pointing it around and I'm, like,thinking about jumping on you in your wheelchair and, like,grabbing the gun but, like, I totally don't want to harsh your buzz."?

How would I react, and any police officer I would imagine? Jump on the wheelchair, grab the gun, andkick the dude-in-the-wheelchair's ass in order to get the gun back. No "tense moments" until a doctor rescues me. Very strange that the officer didn't go into IMMEDIATE action. What was up with THATsituation you encountered? Please give us the details!

imported post

Mark, my brother, and myself had a meeting today, and I told him all about us. He's the one I mentioned that I'm going to be taking the CPL class with.

At the meeting, I agreed to arrange a presentation for the class on OCing. This is definitely a good idea for MOC. It's something we who are intimately aware of the rules regarding OCing, and practice it regularly, can volunteer to do at CPL classes all over the state. This will ensure new MOC members, and spread awareness in a very effective way.

Thanks Mark, for signing up here! As I said at the meeting, I'd definitely like to think that MOC and the Wild West Academy can enjoy a prosperous partnership.

imported post

Henry Ford Hospital is right. The guy in the wheelchair was up and standing with the gun and out of reach of everyone. That's what I describe to students as the worst situation, having someone with a gun pointed at you out of reach, and you don't know what they are going to do. In my first experience of being at the wrong end of a gun that was the situation. A guy turned around who was walking in front of me in the narrow hallway of an apartment building, pointed a gun at me, and told me to put my head on the floor.

Your idea sounds great, wish you were there, but no action was taken by anyone but the doctor.

One last comment, I NEVER tell my students that open carry is illegal. I always tell them that it is legal. I then tell them almost verbatim what you print here on your site, so please don't put me in with the group of the misinformed okay?

Glad to be aboard for sure. Best way to avoid having to use a gun...

"Be nice to people whenever possible, and remember, it is almost always possible" Dalai lama

imported post

Great! I hope it is you who does a brief presentation at the class you are attending Sunday. You speak well, and I'm sure the information will be well received.

Thank You

Mark

imported post

SecretSoldierfrs wrote:

Henry Ford Hospital is right....

Click to expand...

Thanks for the details, Mark. Wow, what a situation! That guy must have moved like lightning. Glad you guys were able to handle it and survive.

imported post

I greatly admire the courage of that doctor. I don't know that I'd have been able to do that. I'd like to think I could, but I guess you can't say unless you get put in that position.

imported post

Having worked at 3 different psychiatric hospitals in the area, rest assured that this doesn't happen often. If security is armed in a hospital, from my understanding, they are still required to remove their gun before entering a psychiatric unit. (So instances like this don't happen.) Most psychiatric units have lock boxes right outside the door for this purpose. Henry Ford doesn't have armed security at any of their locations, (I work there) however, in the ER, unfortunately things are more fair game.

imported post

You know this happens way too often.

I think it's time we unarmed the police. They would be so much more safe then and they wouldn't have to worry about weapon retention.

They could then concentrate on doing their job....writtting traffic tickets.

imported post

While many decry the need for a safety on a gun and proclaim that the best safety is between your ears this points out that a retention holster is just another safety. It still requires the one between your ears. A retention holster does make it more difficult for someone to take your gun it doesn't make it impossible. If you can get it out so can someone else.