clearing the house

[EricReynolds]

A thought occurred to me as I pondered if I ever had to clear the house during a break in. What would I do if I caught one BG, made him get on the floor while I call the police, and then heard his partner somewhere in the house. I concluded that if I ever am woken up in the wee hours the second thing I grab will be my handcuffs for just such an incident. I work in security, so I have them but wouldn't have ever thought to use them off duty before. They would certainly be a practical tool to utilize. Most people don't own a pair though, and I wondered what anyone' thoughts are on the subject.

 

[kraigwy]

Duct tape

 

[tighty whitey]

This is of course after you reached for your cell phone to call the police.

 

[OuTcAsT]

First, clearing your house yourself is not the greatest idea, and attempting to "detain" the intruder could be illegal in some areas, YMMV.

 

[Tamara]

Solo cuffing? Brrrr...

Sounds like the start of a wrasslin' match for your gun, and he has backup somewhere in your house? Are you sure you want to go there?

 

[pax]

You could not pay me enough to get within arm's reach of a violent felon.

The beauty of the firearm is that it is a distance weapon. At contact range, the firearm loses its chief advantage -- that it allows the user to stay out of arm's reach.

pax

 

[hardworker]

If I were breaking into someone's house and they tried to handcuff me, me knowing I had backup hidden in the house, all hell would break loose when the homeowner tried to put the cuffs on.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

If there is one thing that the force-on-force training I've done has impressed upon me, it is that clearing a house is a real good way to get shot. One person clearing a house with 2 intruders and the odds go way up - especially if those guys are looking for confrontation (and the fact that they have broken into your occupied dwelling suggests they may not be shy about it).

I think my first thought would be to fort up, not clear the house. If I did get into the unenviable position of having to detain one intruder while another was still free, I think the best strategy is to look for a position of cover where I've got my back to wall and some cover in front of me and hold them at gunpoint. There just aren't a lot of good options there - which is why I wouldn't be clearing the house in the first place if I didn't absolutely have to.

 

[Ricky]

Clearing the house

I assume that if I'm home and someone forced their way into my house then they most likely intend to harm me and my family. If I come out of my bedroom and a BG isn't doing his very best to get to the nearest exit, well he's having a very bad day. I have no intention of trying to arrest anyone inside my home.

 

[EricReynolds]

Wow, there's a lot of negative feedback! Let me explain. First, if I'm home alone and heard something, I'd call the police and wait in my room. No need to play the hero. I'd only clear the house if my kids were home. Maybe I should've stated this in the original post, but my son's room is in the front of the house and mine is in the rear. I can't secure myself in my room and hope all goes well for him. I HAVE to do it if my kids are home. Second, I know the proper way to cuff someone as safe as possible. It is a distance weapon, and getting to close to your adversary does put you in a bad spot. That's why you make them lay on the floor on therir stomach with their arms extended before you even approach. I of course would call the police and if I thought the person was alone, I wouldn't even bother with the cuffs, I'd just await for the police to arrive. If I hear another person in the house though, what should I do then? Hope BG #2 doesn't find his way to my daughter's room? Turn my back on BG#1? Does anyone agree with what I'm saying?

 

[shootingblanks]

two words

Castle Doctrine

Ohio has adopted this and I certainly would not attempt to detain the individual. Multiple assailants increases propensity of harm to myself and family. I would take the appropriate measures necessary to protect my family first.

 

[EricReynolds]

Thank you Blanks. I'm not trying to John Wayne by detaining someone, but what's the alternative?

 

[Skans]

made him get on the floor

The castle doctrine in my state doesn't say anything about having to make the guy get on the floor. So, that is definitely NOT something I'll be doing in this situation if I were ever to find myself in it. If the bad guy is in my house and is on the floor, it's because he has been rendered incapable of anything more than that.

I'm not a cop. I don't have handcuffs. I don't know how to tie people up, nor do I care to learn. I don't always know where my duct tape is anyway. I guess if the guy just drops to the floor on his own, I'll have to deal with that in a non-lethal manner. But I don't see this happening unless you command someone to do this.

 

[EricReynolds]

I hear you Skans, and that's kind of what this thread is asking. I wouldn't have cukks if I were in a different line of work. The question remains "what do you do if you have the guy stopped and you hear a second guy?" I don't want to turn my back on the guy I've stopped and I can't ignore the second. I'm sure this scenario has happened a time or two before and things never play out the way they do in the movies.

 

[Tamara]

"What if I paint myself into a corner I can't get out of?"

I think that I would hope that this scenario never happens.

You approach Guy #1 to cuff him. (Do you hang up on 911? Re-holster? Hold the phone in your teeth?)

Guy #1 makes a play for your gun and yells for help.

Guy #2 shows up and now you're on the bottom of a three-man pigpile with a loose gun somewhere in there.

Now what?

 

[Brian Pfleuger]

I simply can not imagine a circumstance wherein I would attempt to physically detain an intruder.

Assuming that I absolutely MUST clear the house, I would be much more likely to tell the guy to LEAVE.

Two guys break into a house, the odds are high that if one of them gets into a jam then the other is going to help. He's not very likely to just hide and wait for you.

Anyway, my instruction is more likely to be "Get out of here now!!" rather than "Get on the ground!"

"Get on the ground!", is for cops.

 

[EricReynolds]

That's a possible scenario, sure. What about this one: I make #1 lay on the floor as I call the police, holster, speakerphone, kneel on #1's back, cuff him, search out #2, hold him at bay until police arrive. Ideally, that's how I would intend for it to play out if there are 2 assailants. I know there are lot of variables and ways things could go wrong, but I could also see how things could go wrong if I did things differently too. What would be a better alternative than my scenario? If anyone has a safer plan, I want to hear it and it will become my new plan.

 

[EricReynolds]

That though had occurred to me as well Pete. My problem with that is, "how do I know he'll really leave?" If his partner is still in the house and I make him leave, might he exit my front door, run around the back and remain a very real threat? He'd be less of one cuffed. Let me make one thing clear, this isn't something I'd be comfortable doing and I've put cuffs on a lot of people. I would only resort to this if there were 2 people involved.

 

[divil]

What would be a better alternative than my scenario? If anyone has a safer plan, I want to hear it and it will become my new plan.

Tell him to leave. If he does not leave, shoot him and go secure the next room. If he does leave, let him go. If you attempt to detain him, you are telling him that you are not willing to shoot him.

Suppose he resists being cuffed, and he's too much for you. Now you have to shoot him anyway, but it's no longer self defence - he's just trying to escape and you're shooting him. It might be legal, but you might have some explaining to do having shot someone in the back at point blank range.

A gun is not a magical cooperation-inducing wand. It doesn't put you in control - it just gives you the option of killing the other guy. You can't necessarily use a gun to make someone else do what you want. What if they simply say "no, make me"?

 

[Mr. James]

Assuming that I absolutely MUST clear the house, I would be much more likely to tell the guy to LEAVE.

This is my answer. When the guy bolts, and he will, you continue on to the kids' bedrooms to secure them. If BG #2 appears, wash, rinse, repeat as necessary ("Get the ____ out of my house, NOW!!"). If BG#1 returns, I'm going to presume he intends to inflict grave bodily harm upon me and mine (why else would he knowingly return to confront an armed homeowner?), and act accordingly. 'Nuff said.

Cheers.

Bob James