Responding to violence without deadly force

Even our small city has its share of violent incidents requiring a forceful response from police. Maybe we’ve been lucky, or maybe being in a small city makes a difference, or maybe our police and sheriff departments are well-trained and well-disciplined. Whatever the reason, we have not had to face questions about whether the police were justified in using deadly force.

Recently an armed man with a history of violence sent a text to another household that he was on the way to kill them. Members of that household prepared themselves with their own weapons. More information came in that the man had forced a relative at gunpoint to drive him to the house of his intended victims. You can see where this could lead.

From what I know, our police department convinced the members of the household to put their weapons away in a safe, secure place. They conducted a textbook felony stop of the car, secured the release of the driver, and, in over an hour of hard work, disarmed the man and took him into custody. No one got killed, no one got physically hurt.