Is Your Car Worth Your Life?

Or what is in your car? Cleveland homeowner shot trying to scare away armed car thieves

This guy didn't die, but he did get shot, and was (apparently) seriously injured over a Kia.

I get it, you are pissed off because someone is crossing a line, but you should consider the possible cost.

A homeowner was shot Friday morning around 1:12 a.m. after confronting two suspects attempting to steal a car from his driveway in Cleveland’s Old Brooklyn neighborhood.

And before you say, that you would be armed. This guy was armed.

Chris also had a gun, but never fired it. After being shot, he dropped the weapon and retreated into the house, yelling for his sister to call 911, telling her he was shot. He attempted to stop the bleeding using a shirt as a tourniquet.

Maybe you are better than Chris, but maybe the people who are breaking into your car are better than you. Be sure you understand what the downside might be.

Cops Waited Until Someone Had Been Shot Before Responding

A number of 911 calls went without response, then someone died. CPD response times questioned after 1 hour of warnings before fatal shooting. This is a story out of Cleveland.

Do you still think the police will keep you safe? Think again.

Calls to 911 flooded in about a block party on Highview Drive and Lee Road on Cleveland's east side.

On July 19, 15-year-old Darnell Haynes was shot and later died. Three other teens were wounded.

Once someone had been shot, then police could be bothered to respond. Before that, the party, which was apparently spiraling out of control, was not a priority.

The calls began just before 11 p.m. about loud music, teens drinking, and running through yards on an otherwise quiet street.

But police records show not one officer showed up, and things got worse just before midnight when eight calls came in about gunfire.

Body camera video released Monday shows police arriving at midnight, an hour after the initial 911 call about the block party.

Do the police had very good reasons for not showing up for an hour? We won't know for a while.

Police say the response time on the Highview Drive block party and shooting is under review.

They are hoping the whole thing blows over. Or that is my opinion.

The article includes a review of 911 response times, and they are not good in Cleveland. I wonder how much they went in on Defund the Police, blame police for everything, and hang them out to dry at ever opportunity. Police can't respond to 911 calls if you don't have police, or you don't have enough police. That was the situation in some cities, even before the summer of Floyd, Defund the police, and the rest of the insanity.

If someone did something wrong with respect to this 911 call, that should be addressed. If Cleveland has a police staffing problem, then its causes need to be identified and addressed.

But the final analysis is that people need to understand the limits of relying on the cops. They are almost never going to be in a position to stop crimes before they happen. That just isn't how the world works. Cops show up after the fact and try to figure out what happened.

Calling 911 is a fine thing to do. They can send all kinds of help your way, from medical and fire, to police. But they won't arrive in an instant, even if you can call them before bad things happen. You should make plans based on that reality.

What Were You Doing at 15 Years of Age?

Were you shooting people at the library? Shaker Heights Public Library reopens following deadly shooting - NewsBreak

I had to double check that I hadn't posted this story already, but the previous incident involving a 15 year old was in Chicago. Shaker Heights is a suburb of Cleveland. The library serves both the suburb, and a portion of Cleveland.

And I don't know what the rule in in the Cleveland area, but most (all?) libraries in my part of Ohio are posted as Gun Free Zones, or defenseless victim zones.

A 15-year-old boy was arrested and charged with murder, felonious assault, and carrying a concealed weapon in connection to the shooting, according to the City of Shaker Heights. The boy tried to run from the scene but was later found at the intersection of Ashby and Milverton Roads in Shaker Heights.

This incident happened a week ago. The article talks about what happened after. Therapy dogs for library workers, cookies, etc. There is some talk of "what can we do about the kids," but putting nuclear families back together was not one of the items mentioned. Or rather, not subsidizing the demise of the family.

I miss living in a civilized society.

Civilization Was Nice While It Lasted

Kristinn Taylor at The Gateway Pundit has a disturbing story of violence. "Animalistic Behavior": Cleveland Police Chief on Armed Group of Teens Seen on Video Savagely Attacking Man at Gas Station, Engaging in Shootout

What were you doing between the ages of 12 and 16? I'm guessing that you were not stealing cars, engaging in firefights, engaging in what I can only describe as a gang assault, or shooting people. Maybe I'm wrong.

Surveillance video taken at a Cleveland gas station shows an armed group of teens who arrived in three stolen cars attacking and savagely beating a man in the parking lot and then engaging in a shootout with an unseen target. The attack took place after midnight on Tuesday. A dozen juveniles aged 12 to 16, nine boys and three girls, were arrested within two hours of the attack. The victim, a 34-year-old man, was not shot and was eventually able to take refuge inside the gas station. The stolen cars, two Hyundai and one Kia, had been taken Monday night.

The statement by the Chief of Police didn't cause a media outcry for a reason you can probably think of, if you give it a minute. The prosecutor also had some things to say, but I really don't know if the Cleveland DA is a soft-on-crime, or not. I guess we may find out, since these juveniles were arrested.

And while this story is about one group of kids from Cleveland, other cities are seeing similar things. What makes this different is the video.

Stories like this often remind me of the poem "The Second Coming," by William Butler Yeats. The line of the poem I am reminded of is, "The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity." The entire text of the poem, it isn't long, can be found below (after the break).

I could also quote Hobbes from his book Leviathan, about what happens to society as a whole when law and order are not enforced by some governmental power, or Rudyard Kipling's "The Gods of the Copybook Headings." Both are appropriate, because both also discuss the disintegration of society. Hobbes is focused on Law and Order, Kipling has a broader view.

Civilization was nice while it lasted.

School Employees Let Armed Gunmen Enter the Building

This story of incompetence is amazing for 2 reasons. The first is that it happened at all. The second is that the national media is steadfastly ignoring it. The Police Tribune: VIDEO: Administrators Let Masked, Armed Gunmen Into High School To Protect Them From Police

While this is a local story, I couldn't find anything in the national media talking about it.

Administrators at a high school in Cleveland have some serious explaining to do after video and audio recordings showed they let four armed, masked teens into the school building last month while classes were in session because they were trying to protect the suspects from the police outside (video below).

Four masked and armed "teens" were let into the school because two assistant principals. A school security officer saw the teens arrive, and saw that they were armed, and called 911. The administrators worried for the armed, gunmen and that they might be in danger from the police. Forget about the safety of the students in the school.

I doubt that those 2 principals will be let go, or even disciplined in anyway. And you can't charge them with felony stupidity.

This could have escalated in so many ways. The gunmen could have threatened the principals to gain access to the rest of the school. Or do you think that the geniuses would die to protect students if one of the armed miscreants put a gun to their head?

The only reason I know about this incident is because of Ruined Leon.

This is the Ruined Leon video for Principal Lets Gunman Into School To Protect Them From Cops.

What If People Called 911 and No One Came

But then Defund the Police was supposed to make things safer. At least according to the Progressives. How did that not work out? Aren't they always right about everything? Mayor Bibb asks for internal investigation of response times in woman's killing

She was being attacked in her own home and on her own porch. Neighbors called 911 at 12:34. EMS was nearby at 12:45 - just over 10 minutes - and at that time cops didn't even have an ETA as to when an officer would arrive.

Of course this being a Blue City. No individual went to her aid, because that is NOT DONE. You call 911 and wait to be rescued or you risk a world of legal nightmares. So no one did anything. And the cops were nowhere to be found.

Capek’s mother wants to know what time police arrived because EMS got there first and couldn’t render aid until police showed up.

She died of "sharp and blunt force injuries."

Since this has gotten some press, at least locally, the politicians are calling for an investigation. I can already tell you what they will find, though it is only my guess, but it is a guess based on what other police departments are saying.

There are not enough police on patrol to answer all the calls coming to 911. The Police Department is understaffed. People are retiring, and quitting, and recruiting is becoming impossible. (So things will get worse.)

The guy who has been arrested for the crime, who was described as a friend of the deceased was high on PCP.

He took bites out of her face.

Calling 911 is a fine thing to do. They can send you all kinds of help. That is the marketting pitch. In reality that help will not arrive in an instant. In some parts of the world, you may have to wait a long time for help to get to you. You might have to wait the rest of your life. Alternatives to "call 911 and wait" should be considered ahead of time.

Welcome to the world built by Progressives.