self defense in Little Rock, Arkansas

[Rifleman1776]

The owner of a small grocery store in Little Rock, Arkansas shot and seriously wounded two hold-up men yesterday. They were robbing him at the point of a shotgun but got momentarily distracted looking for money. The store owner quickly grabbed his .357 mag. and shot five rounds wounding both. They tried to escape but had to stop and call 911 for an ambulance. The store owner will not be charged with any violation. The ranking police officer on the case said he discourages use of firearms by store owners but they do have a right to use firearms to protect themselves in their place of business. Good for him. He placed rights above his own personal opinion. BTW, the wounded robbers are believed to be responsible for, at least, eighteen other robberies in the area in recent months.

 

[CowTowner]

Chalk up one for the good guys.
Now, where did they get the shotgun and will the legal owner get it returned once the trial is over? Providing one of them didn't legally purchase it, of course.

 

[dogtown tom]

Rifleman,

Do you remember Tommy Robinson?

Back in the late '70's and early '80's he was sheriff of Pulaski County.

There was a large number of "stop & robs" at convenience stores. Robinson (later nicknamed Captain Hotdog by one of the newspapers) started a program to put an end to the robberies.

Any convenience store participating in his program got a large poster on the front door or window:
"WARNING: Armed deputy may be on site. If you attempt to rob this store you will be shot without further warning." (or language to that effect)

While every store in the program had the poster, not every store actually had a deputy with shotgun sitting in the back room. The posters, the media exposure and a couple of arrests quickly caused those type of robberies to stop. Of course, once his successor ended the program the robberies resumed.

Robinson made headlines for a lot of good and some bad things:
-when he ran out of room at the Pulaski County Jail (holding state prisoners that the state would not accept because of their overcrowding) he loaded up a bus and took several prisoners to Cummins and handcuffed them to the outer fence at the Cummins Unit. He did leave a guard and some water. (The state took them in later)
- He also bounced several hundred checks in the House banking scandal backin the late '80's (was elected to Congress.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

The store owner will not be charged with any violation. The ranking police officer on the case said he discourages use of firearms by store owners but they do have a right to use firearms to protect themselves in their place of business. Good for him. He placed rights above his own personal opinion.

Not exactly. He explained that the store owner had the legal right to do what was done, but still got in his dig against guns for self defense. He was simply following the law and didn't violate any rights by making a pointless arrest of the store owner.

 

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Not really a significant L and CR issue. It's an attaboy. So with no prejudice, closed.