Cops Leave Mother Hanging While She Holds Gun on Intruder
Russ Chastain 06.12.19
The Pasco County, Florida Sheriff’s Office reportedly took their time arriving at a home containing a mother and her four children, even after she and a neighbor had called 911 a total of three times. While she waited for them to arrive, she — and eventually a neighbor — confronted an intruder in her home and held him at gunpoint.
Her first 911 call was made by Lauren Richards at 12:41 AM on May 25 after an unfamiliar and suspicious young man had knocked at her door and then wandered off. As she waited nervously for deputies to arrive, she noticed her pet pig sniffing at the walk-through door leading into her garage as if smelling something unusual, so she armed herself and took the initiative by opening the door and confronting the intruder, a 25-year-old male who was then about 8 feet from her. He had apparently entered the garage by crawling under the slightly-open garage door, which he had closed behind him.
Lauren then made a second call to 911, at 12:54.
‘I have a gun pointed and I need the police to show up immediately,’ said Richards on the 911 call. ‘I called 10 minutes ago and nobody has shown up.’
The terrifying scene would continue for 13 more minutes before the first PCSO deputy arrived at the scene at 1:07 in the morning.
As she faced the man, she informed him that police had been called, her neighbor was on the way, and “I will shoot you, I will shoot you.”
Lauren’s neighbor Melodie Nieves also called 911 to report the incident, and her husband Hector joined Lauren with his own firearm as soon as he heard what was happening. Melodie was clearly worried for his safety as she informed the 911 operator that her husband was an armed good guy who was also on the scene. She was obviously worried that police would shoot her husband.
The poorly-written news report says the response time for this call was more than double the average, which is pretty shoddy. On top of that, they also say the Sheriff’s office didn’t even obtain “official witness statements and pictures of the scene” until 4 days later.
The intruder, who has been in legal trouble before, lives nearby and it’s reported that Richards has obtained a temporary order of protection against him. He was taken to a “medical facility” for a “mental health evaluation;” upon release he will reportedly be charged with burglary.
What can we learn from this? The same thing many folks have already realized: You cannot count on police to protect you, or even to show up promptly. You must take responsibility for your own safety and be willing to protect yourself.
I’m thankful Lauren Richards had a firearm and that she didn’t have to use it.
