by Joseph P. Tartaro | Executive Editor
Executive Editor Joseph Tartaro
More guns, fewer problems. That, at least, is Detroit Police Chief’s James Craig’s view of Detroit and fears about a possible terrorist attack.
While cities around the world were on heightened alert following a devastating ISIS attack in Paris but before the terrorist attack in San Bernardino, CA, WWJ-CBS Detroit reported that the Motor City’s police chief said he believes the fear that armed citizens would return fire serves as a deterrent for a potential terrorist attack in the Motor City.
Of course, telling licensed citizens to carry may seem to run counter to common law enforcement policy statements, but the increasing frequency of terrorist attacks, as well as mass murder attacks by homegrown lunatics, appears to have changed some public police command thinking.
If a starting point is sought, one might safety choose the attacks on military personnel in Chattanooga, TN, as one of the early signs of shift. That’s when governors of several states were moved to assure that military personnel, and especially National Guard members on recruiting duty, should be armed.
But that might only be the most visible expression of public response to mass murder situations. To be accurate, many surveys of law enforcement officers in the past 20 years or so have found rank-and-file officers as well as top commanders quite realistic about legally armed citizens as a deterrent to crime.
Perhaps sheriffs more so than police chiefs—at least in public statements. There’s a logical reason for that difference. Sheriffs are elected by the people, which makes them politicians who reflect the attitudes of voters in their counties. Sheriffs are not beholding to mayors, like police chiefs who are appointed by and answer to the politicians who control them.
That doesn’t mean that all sheriffs are in favor of an armed citizenry. Pinellas County, FL, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri seems to be a prime exception.
But think about it. The majority of sheriffs in New York State were against Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s 2013 controversial SAFE Act. And it was the sheriffs in Colorado who brought suit to overturn Gov. John Hickenlooper’s ban on so-called assault weapons and full capacity magazines. Some sheriffs, including in both New York and Oregon, have said they will not enforce certain gun control laws that can disarm their citizens.
Now, Chief Craig’s comments in Detroit are not as newsworthy as some might think. Craig called more officers to duty and moved some to locations deemed higher priorities following the attacks in Paris.
But he also noted “a lot of Detroiters” have concealed pistol licenses and “the same rules apply to terrorists as they do to some gun-toting thug.”
Note that there had been a rash of incidents in the Detroit area recently where an armed citizen took down thieves—or attempted to. A woman shot at the tires of an attempted Home Depot shoplifter, and was later charged with reckless use of a firearm. A man opened fire on an attempted bank robber in Warren, striking him three times.
Beyond that, there have been numerous incidents of homeowners shooting at would-be robbers,” WWJ reported.
“If you’re a terrorist, or a carjacker, you want unarmed citizens,” Craig said.
More than 30,000 of Detroit’s 688,000 residents are legally armed, according to Michigan State Police. There were 6,974 concealed-pistol licenses issued to residents in 2013, more than double those in 2009, and 7,584 issued in 2012, the state police said, per a report in the Detroit News.
Chief Craig is not alone among top cops who see a legally armed and trained citizen response to terrorist, criminal or lunatic attacks. Yes, many of them, like New York Police Chief William Bratton, remind their citizens that their chances of anyone finding themselves involved in such an attack is rare. The media focus on such bloody incidents has tended to make the public more jittery than they should be. And police all over the country have stepped up and revised many of their training regimens for patrol officers.
Still, sheriffs and police are speaking out more positively about the value of armed citizens if and when such events occur.
For example, not only all sworn officers off duty but all licensed handgun owners in Ulster County, NY, have been told that they should carry their handguns.
That’s the message from the Ulster County, NY, Sheriff Paul J. Van Blarcum.
Ulster County is located along the Hudson River about two hours north of New York City.
“In light of recent events that have occurred in the United States and around the world I want to encourage citizens of Ulster County who are licensed to carry a firearm to please do so,” Blarcum wrote in a Facebook post.
“I urge you to responsibly take advantage of your legal right to carry a firearm. To ensure the safety of yourself and others, make sure you are comfortable and proficient with your weapon, and knowledgeable of the laws in New York State with regards to carrying a weapon and when it is legal to use it.”
Blarcum had also previously urged all off-duty deputies to be armed 24/7.
Even Washington, DC, Police Chief Cathy Lanier has expressed similar views on CBS’ “60 Minutes.”
When Anderson Cooper stated, “So now law enforcement agencies throughout the country are trying to educate the public on how to survive on their own,” Lanier said, “Your options are run, hide, or fight.”
Lanier continued, “I always say if you can get out, getting out’s your first option, your best option. If you’re in a position to try and take the gunman down, to take the gunman out, it’s the best option for saving lives before police can get there. And that’s—you know, that’s kind of counterintuitive to what cops always tell people, right? We always tell people, ‘Don’t—you know, don’t take action. Call 911. Don’t intervene in the robbery’—you know—you know—we’ve never told people, ‘Take action.’ It’s a different—this is a different scenario.”
So even Lanier, who administers the supremely strict “may issue” gun licensing policy in the nation’s capital, has expressed the need for citizens who are armed to be ready to respond if confronted by a flight or fight situation.
