Armed civilian on site?

Okay... the pastor shot by the cop story got me to thinking...

Say one night, very late, you hear something you know isn't right. Enough so that you grab your gun to investigate.

Now all specifics aside... should you decide to call 911 at this point to notify them of one or more intruders on your property, is it in your best interest to advise them that you are on site as an armed civilian?

Or would this backfire in court in the event you actually had to shoot somebody?

I am thinking that if cops show up on a call like that and see me snooping on my own property with a gun the chances of an incident are pretty high, no?

I think i would check it out and if i had to shoot an intruder then call the cops the cops around here would shoot whoever they saw first

Depends

I think it depends on the situation and location you are in. My house is on a dirt road outside city limits and is not within walking distance of any public place. No gas stations, no corner stores. As a result there is very little foot traffic around my place aside from the occassional neighbor who jogs by. If I hear a noise out in the yard in the middle of the night it is more likely to be an animal than a person. Someone would really have to go out of their way to prowl around my yard.

That being said, if I hear a noise outside that arouses my curiosity, I'll usually look out a window first to scope it out. Nine times out of ten it is just some critter. If it turned out to be a person I'd evaluate the situation from there and decide whether to call 5-0 and standby or to open my door (or window) and ask what they're doing. As a general rule, I'm inside the house, they're outside the house, and that's the way I want things to stay. Usually I won't go poking around out in the yard chasing strange noises or interviewing trespassers unless I've got a darn good reason (ie Immediate action is required on my part)

When I lived in a more suburban neighborhood I don't think I ever called the cops just because someone was in my yard, although I would if it looked like they were up to something. I've had more 'weird encounters' with people who come up and ring the doorbell at odd hours of the night, and once the cops have actually showed up on scene when it turned out the kid was casing houses in the neighborhood. A neighbor called when he tried to gain entrance to their house through a locked basement door. When he failed he moved on to my house. (The story has been posted before so I won't get into it here.)

Situational awareness is key. Go with your gut.

Bumps in the night....

1. Investigate in a prepared for the worst manner.
a. Take the things you might need with you... flashlight, firearm, phone...

2. Identify the source of the disturbance.
b. Human, animal, mechanical, nature.

3. Assess the situation.
c. Immediate threat, possible threat, no threat.

4. Decide on the best course of action.
d. Choose best option according to the threat level.

5. Act on that decision.
e. Stop immediate threat and call 911, potential threats call 911 and perhaps.. or perhaps not.. verbally engage, if no threat go back to bed.