Sunday, April 19, 2015

Winchester SXP Malfunction Video & Recall

Note: I wrote this post and found more info after writing it. That new info appears below in red.

I cannot attest to the veracity of what is seen in this video but I see no sane reason for anyone to fake it. If you own a Winchester SXP Shotgun, you should definitely contact Winchester to find out if there is a problem with them and if there is a recall and or a fix for the apparent problem shown in the video. Since the video was just published two days ago (of me posting this), you may want to check with Winchester now and then again in a month or two.

In the meantime, I would recommend not handling a Winchester SXP until you find out if this is an isolated incident or a problem affecting many guns. If you decide to handle your SXP, be extremely careful when and if you decide to do so.



This just goes to show the importance of practicing firearms safety when handling a firearm.

IMPORTANT NOTE: THERE IS INDEED A CURRENT RECALL IN EFFECT FOR A LIMITED NUMBER OF WINCHSTER SXP SHOTGUNS WITH 3 1/2" CHAMBERS. THESE SHOTGUNS ARE ALSO CALLED THE SUPER X PUMP. 

I do not know if the recall is for the same problem as seen in the video, it could possibly be for some other problem and the malfunction shown in the video could be something new. Anyway as far as the recall goes, Winchester offers more info here:
http://www.winchesterguns.com/support/files/images/wfa/2015-All/2015-Recall-Info/SXP_Recall-Notice_2.pdf 

and here: 
http://www.winchesterguns.com/library/articles/detail.asp?id=205 

If you own an SXP, I strongly urge you to call them to determine if yours is part of the recall and to determine if the malfunction shown in the video is the same or different than the reason for the recall.

All the best,
Glenn B

Racial Profiling In Car Stops

It's amazing that the police make stops like this one, obviously only due to racial profiling:



All the best,
GB  

The Dog Owner Should Have Been Beaten...

...to a bloody mess for leaving is dog behind resulting in the pooch's death. I am by no means a petaphile, but sometimes what people do to animals deserves a damned good beating. The only out I see for the car/dog owner in this decades old case would have been had the owner been disabled but I tend to doubt there were many disabled driver's in the 40s.



By the way, this The Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse has always been my favorite film of a bridge being destroyed. Too bad for the dog though.

All the best,
GB

Boat Carrying Reported 700 Potential Illegal Aliens Capsizes...

...in the Mediterranean apparently on its way to Italy or another European nation (source).

Sometimes other people's misfortunes are a blessing to others and I am pretty sure that Italy did not need another 700 leeches sucking their already pathetic economy dry. Too bad those folks did not stay in their own country and truly work hard at bettering it and life there instead of fleeing adversity to try to live off of the hard work of others who are already suffering from financial and other hardships.

Is it wrong to say that Italy just got very lucky? Perhaps it might be looked at as crudely insensitive and ethically wrong to say it but the truth is the truth. I am not a bible thumper but I believe that there is merit to the saying: 'The Lord helps they who help themselves.' And brother believe me, that does not mean they who help themselves to what others have worked for and earned.

All the best,
Glenn B

New Style of Push-Up

The new method of doing push-ups does little to work out the arms or shoulders but apparently does wonders for the chest.



All the best,
GB

Things I Trust More Than Hillary Clinton

Mexican tap water 
 
A rattlesnake with a "pet me" sign 
 
OJ Simpson showing me his knife collection 
 
An elevator ride with Ray Rice 
 
Taking pills offered by Bill Cosby 
 
Michael Jackson's Doctor 
 
An Obama Nuclear deal with Iran
 
A Palestinian on a motorcycle 
 
A Jimmy Carter economic plan 
 
Brian Williams news reports 
 
Loch Ness monster sightings 
 
Prayers for peace from Al Sharpton

Gas station Sushi 
 
A fart when I have diarrhea 
 
A Nigerian money scam
 
A hat tip to Dennis McC for all that (except for that last one added by me).
 
All the best,
Glenn B

This Can Only Happen So Many Times...

...before the suspect who is confronting a law enforcement officer (LEO) seriously wounds or kills the officer or an innocent bystander. Restraint may be seen as the politically correct thing, the religious or moral high ground, the compassionate thing to do. However, when it comes to someone unlawfully threatening a person with imminent serious bodily harm or death, and if that person believed there was virtually no chance for escape from the threat, that person (in my opinion) should not hesitate to shoot or otherwise incapacitate the attacker by use of another form of deadly physical force.

I can understand that law enforcement officers are second guessing themselves and second guessing the intentions of the bad guys. If it is true though that the officer in this particular case would have been fully justified to shoot the suspect, then he probably should have done so in my estimation. As per Police Chief Randy Harvey that was the case:

"This video footage, it eliminated all doubt that this officer would have been justified if in fact it came to a shooting." 

But the officer said:

"I wanted to be absolutely sure before I used deadly force."

Sadly, the only way to be absolutely sure that someone is going to use deadly force against you is to allow them to actually do so. So what the officer said, in my judgment, is that he possibly would wait until he is actually harmed, or at least shot at or attacked in some manner, before he fired back. The law (here in NY and in most states of which I am aware of self defense laws) does not require anyone to be absolutely sure before defending themselves with deadly force. You usually need to have a
reasonable belief or probable cause (or something similar depending on how the law is written) to believe that you are being threatened with imminent serious bodily harm or deadly force - no law I have ever seen relative to use of deadly force in self-defense or defense of a third party states that you must be absolutely sure of anything.

It's nice that the officer did not get hurt, it's nice he did not have to shoot anyone; its nice he has a clear conscience and does not have to live with weighing his decision whether he was right or wrong, to maybe have killed a man, for the rest of his life; it's nice the suspect was not injured or killed. It's all wonderful this time because this time the officer's guess, that flew in the face or reason, was right. God bless him for making the right call and let's hope it was because something indicated the suspect was not really about to attack and not because of being hesitant to use deadly force for no good reason. 

Perhaps all that gives some people that warm fuzzy feeling all over and that is all well and good. Bear in mind though, it is all well and good until the same officer, or another, is faced with the same decision, in a very similar set of circumstances when the suspect attacks and maims or kills the officer or an innocent third party because the officer hesitated or outright decided not use deadly force when it was justified. Using deadly force is a tough decision to be able to make but you must be able to make it when it is justified and called for and you must be able to arrive at that decision based upon probable cause or reasonable belief (whatever is required by law) if you want to survive. If you cannot base your decision upon probable cause, you should find another career. I am not saying this officer needs to seek new employment - please read what I wrote and not what you want to think I wrote. I am saying if you cannot do such - then you are not fit for LE work. This officer has to think about what happened and decide that for himself.

I am dead set against the excessive use of force by police or civilians. Yet, I also think it less than responsible not to use deadly force when it is justified. Why? Because, sooner or later, some other officer will probably do likewise and wind up regretting he did so, that is if he lives long enough. Not every suspect who charges you yelling "kill me" is trying to commit suicide by cop, some are taunting, some are daring, some are psychos, some are going to be trying to get you to second guess yourself to give themselves that split second advantage, due to your hesitation to defend yourself, that is all they need to kill you. I do not look forward to reading the story where that happens. So, if deadly force would have been absolutely justified in this case, as the police chief indicates, then I think it should have been used. The officer's decision though was his own, he is lucky he guessed right. Had I been in that situation as a LEO, I in all likelihood would have acted in another manner had I believed my life or the life of another innocent was in imminent danger. Remember, you do not need to wait until knowing for sure that deadly force is about to be used against you in order for you to use deadly force to defend yourself. You usually need reasonable belief or probable cause that such is imminent (and in some instances for civilians you also need to reasonably believe you cannot escape -  check the laws of your state or locality on what is required). Of course, if you do know for sure, you had best act quickly to defend yourself and any others so threatened. As it turned out the officer in question is being patted on the back and has been given high praise; sadly though, had he guessed wrong, he would have been carried on his back and given high praise too - at his funeral. It is a tough call to make but it has to be made if you want to live to see another day with any amount of certainty.

I foresee more stories like this one coming out since as of late LEOs have been under fire for excessive use of force. I think more of them are going to become trigger shy, at least the good ones who truly live up to their oaths of office and who do their jobs ethically and with respect for the law and the public at large. Note, I am not saying they should be trigger happy but an LE needs to be able to make the decision to use deadly force and needs to know that such a decision should almost always be based upon reasonable belief or probable cause as required by the law and not upon absolute certainty. The courts need to realize that too. Every time LEOs shoot someone they need to be held accountable under the law and rightly so but lately they are held accountable to a much higher degree than even the law provides for because they are being held accountable to the whims and second guessing of the political correctness of: politicians seeking to use anything they can to their own advantage,  race baiters, malcontents, police-haters, anarchists, ambulance and hearse chasing lawyers, and other opportunists of the moment who are more than ready and willing to take advantage of an LEO shooting a suspect even if it was undeniably justified. You only have to look the recent events of Fergusson, MO to see that. 

Of course, there are also way too many cases of police involved shootings wherein the officers use excessive force and were not justified in using doing so. Prudent and just application of the law though is what is required to address those situations after the fact; there is no call for the lynch mob mentality that we have witnessed all too often. BUT - there must be prudent and just application of the law in each and every case and it must be transparent and completely open to public review. If we hung the bastards who resort to deadly force when not called for under the law, whether a LEO or not, and praised and rewarded those who use it, LEO or not, to justifiably stop a deadly threat, we would be much better off as a society.

All the best,
Glenn B