A tragic lesson in the reality of self-defense

A fatal crime underlines once again the reality that you can't always rely on the police to defend you, even when they're already on the scene.  Some threats are so sudden, so violent, that unless you're in a position to do something about them yourself, right there and then, you're going to die.

A 27-year-old teacher at a New Jersey charter school was shot dead in front of her home late Friday in front of a police officer she had flagged over as she argued with the father of her child, authorities said.

There's more at the link.  Bold, underlined print is my emphasis.

This is a ghastly situation overall.  A young mother is dead and her child is orphaned, and a cop who couldn't act fast enough to stop a killer will likely live with post-traumatic guilt for a long time, perhaps for the rest of his life.  The fact remains, that policeman was not able to act fast enough to stop the killer.  At point-blank range, action beats reaction most of the time in almost every scenario.

I don't know whether the young woman could have moved fast enough to save her own life, if she'd been armed.  Perhaps she couldn't.  Nevertheless, her tragic example proves that even when the police are on the scene, they can't always prevent violence and murder.  She chose to enter a relationship with a man who ultimately killed her, and didn't withdraw from it at what must have been earlier signs that he wasn't a good choice.  Judgments like that are as much a part of your defensive reality as weapons and tactics . . . and sometimes more important.

Your security and safety are ultimately in your own hands.  You can't delegate that responsibility.

May Ms. Latrena May rest in peace.

Peter