Concealed handgun permit holder in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania saves police officer from mob attack

Feb 11, 2016 | Featured

Screen Shot 2016-02-10 at Wednesday, February 10, 8.45 PM

Upper Darby, Pennsylvania police are grateful to a concealed handgun permit holder who stepped in and kept an officer from harm by a mob of 40 to 50 high school students.  The first officer suffered “significant hand injuries” and a second officer who came to rescue the first officer suffered “a major injury to a leg.”  The first officer was in real danger significantly greater harm before the permit holder intervened with his permitted concealed handgun.  A newspaper ran the following headline: “Police Officer’s Life Saved By Concealed Carry Permit Holder.”

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

. . . “There were 40 kids. If it wasn’t for the good Samaritan stepping forward, he’d have been dead meat,” Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said. “There’s no doubt they would have attacked him.” . . .

[This past Friday afternoon], police responded to three fights in three locations near the school. When the dust settled, eight teens, ages 13 to 17, were charged with crimes, and two officers were injured so severely that it’s unclear when they’ll be able to return to work, Chitwood said. . . .

[One officer] broke up a fight between two teen boys that had attracted a large crowd at that location was holding one of the combatants at bay when the teen’s opponent attacked the officer, Chitwood said.

“As he breaks up the fight, he takes one kid and then the other jumps [on] him. Now he’s fighting two of them and he’s calling for an assist officer at the same time,” Chitwood said. “There’s a crowd of 40 or 50 kids watching the fight, and they all move in towards the officer.”

That’s when the good Samaritan, who lives on the block, came out of his house with a gun in his hand and told the teens to get away from the cop, Chitwood said.

“He had the gun in his hand, but he didn’t point it at the kids, he just told them to back off,” Chitwood said. “If this guy didn’t come out and come to the aid of the officer, this officer would have had significant problems.”

The 35-year-old gun owner, who has a concealed-carry permit, kept the group of teens at bay until responding officers arrived, Chitwood said.

Not only did the officer who tried to break up the fight suffer significant hand injuries, Chitwood said, but an officer who responded to the request for backup also suffered a major injury to a leg when he was kicked by one of the teens in the fight. . . .

Another story notes that two teens who initially attacked the officer “with aggravated assault on a police officer.”

Other cases of civilians using guns to save the lives of police officers are available here.

Note: Not only can civilians directly save the lives of police officers, but the fact that there are civilians carrying concealed handguns who are unknown to the criminals makes it riskier for those criminals to attack police.

johnrlott

19 Comments

  1. Fred Miller

    This reminds me of the swimming-pool incident some time back. I wonder if there will be any repercussions for this good Samaritan.

    • Cathy Nelson

      The fact that the good Samaritan responsibly handled his weapon by keeping it down & not pointing at the kids was the appropriate response to the mob mentality. The kids caught up in that mentality, some of whom may have normally been good kids, were probably relieved when someone showed up with a gun to bring them back to the reality of the situation. Often in mob situations, it is just a small few that stir everybody up when probably they were just looking for a fight regardless of what the issues are or consequence to others. They might not have even known what started the fight, they just wanted a reason to attack police. Unfortunately, the current environment where police sometimes have been so disrespected & crucified in the media for pulling their weapon to protect themselves or the public, it’s nice to see that a private citizen responded the same. I’m sure he will also be crucified in the media but he is not guilty of any crime & any D.A. will proceed accordingly unless they want to make a show for the squeaky wheels in our country. I pray for the officers that were injured & hope they have a speedy recovery & be able to return to their jobs.

      • STEFAN FUCHS

        What Cathy??!! You call them otherwise good kids??!! They are just caught up in a “mentality” of attacking police?! Are you for real, or have lost last sense of reality? These ‘good’ kinds have seriously injured police officers for God sake! They have to take time off, have trauma, somebody need to pay for their time off. Is it you? Since you condoning this individuals like nothing much happened. This should be prosecuted as a serious crime. Not assuming they are otherwise good kinds.

  2. Charles Weinacker

    What reprocussions???…attach a police officer??…id take your ass down so fast ….brothers protect brothers…nam thought…shoot, first ask later!!!

    • DRE

      In a sane world yes. In the world we live in this guy could face a civil lawsuit. On the other hand I bet he doesn’t get a minor traffic ticket for the rest of his life.

  3. Waldo

    I guess I’ll never understand today’s world. We used to scatter and submit whenever the police showed up. Now they attack police? This is chaos and anarchy. Thanks to the armed citizen who helped the officer.

    • joepro

      You’re white.

  4. Mark

    Kudos to the Good Samaritan for stepping in and protecting the police officer. It sad to think that the teens are emboldened by the mob mentality and the likes of Beyoncé promoting the Black Panthers during the Super Bowl.

    • Phil

      I seriously doubt the teens in Upper Darby were influenced by Beyonce. Probably more influenced by their parents instilling in them that the confederate flag is a symbol of pride and of a great period in U.S. history.

      • Joe

        Your comment displays your ignorance about the demographics of Upper Darby. Or were you referring to the 40% of the population that is non-white when you mentioned the confederate flag?

    • William

      Your remarks about the Black Panther Party displays your ignorance of the Black Panther Party.

  5. Ryan

    Upper Darby High School used to be a distinguished learning center. Now it’s distinguished by things like this. My Uncle worked there years ago, and my son went there. He couldn’t wait to get out of that zoo.

    • Dominique

      This comment is ridiculous. The 1% of the FOUR THOUSAND students that go to my school, UDHS, do not represent what UD is actually all about. It’s not a zoo at all, unless you’re speaking off how crowded the halls are everyday. Your comment was very unintelligent & ignorant for the simple fact that you know nothing about Upper Darby High.

  6. Budreaux

    I’m actually quite happy that licensed, concealed weapons carriers are making a difference these days.

    Kids, and it’s not just kids, feel they can attack an officer with impunity. You can be sure that, had the Good Guy not intervened, both officers would have been severely injured, if not killed, and no one would know anything about who did it.

  7. Laura Lipton

    Typical Ghetto Behavior.

  8. Jakester

    I guess black lives matter will soon have an opinion,
    “Racist whites threaten our poor defenseless teens with guns?
    BLM reflects their average IQ. They have the trademarked ability not to relate high criminal activity with encounters with the police

  9. OHUQTU

    4,000 students in ONE high school is far, far too many! … 2,000 is far too many! Big schools breed big trouble – especially with a ghetto or gang environment (and even with only a small minority involved) – I saw it happen in my 800 student 4 year high school in the late 1960’s.

  10. richard norton

    This good Samaritan took just the right actions at just the right time. It’s hard for even highly trained officers to get it perfect and sometimes they may not. Years ago I was at a football game with the chief of police in a small city when a mob attacked the visitors section. He called for a large backup before placing ourselves in the middle. The sound of their cars coming from every direction and two crossing the field kept us from being hurt.

  11. K Stone

    The Good Samaritan did everything right to save the officers life, with the exception of taking a couple shots at those ghetto ass hood rat savages. Those delco dirtbags have 0 respect authority, rules or life. I’m sure there will barely be any repercussions for these scumbags because “mamma’s baby ain’t do no wrong da police should be mind day own bidness”

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