The Crazy

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Casual, everyday news this morning... Stay armed!

https://www.denverpost.com/2017/12/2...word-arrested/

COLORADO SPRINGS — A sword-wielding man suspected of robbing a Colorado Springs bank is in custody after a standoff with police in a nearby apartment building.
Colorado Springs police Lt. Howard Black says 39-year-old Anthony Hammond faces an aggravated robbery charge after the Tuesday robbery.

Black says the suspect entered the bank with a sword and demanded money from a teller, then fled on foot. Witnesses directed responding officers to the apartment building, where the man barricaded himself inside an apartment. He eventually surrendered.

Black says Hammond also faces charges in connection with a Dec. 12 robbery of a nearby grocery store. Cash from Tuesday’s robbery and items from the grocery store robbery were found in the apartment.

If only there were signs...

[Irving]

That sword is a service sword that helps him better interact with the public.

[Skip]

That sword is a service sword that helps him better interact with the public.

It worked!

[CS1983]

Step 1 - establish insane social media presence
Step 2 - rob bank
Step 3 - plead insanity with social media as evidence
Step 4 - free room, board, and meds.

This man is a genius

[BPTactical]

WOW

[WETWRKS]

He was just trying to make a better life for himself. We have to allow it as a society.

[Eric P]

So. If you were in the bank, justified shooting?

Not looking to start a flame war, just curious if using deadly force would be justified by a ccw customer in line to save the held up teller?

[Skip]

So. If you were in the bank, justified shooting?

Not looking to start a flame war, just curious if using deadly force would be justified by a ccw customer in line to save the held up teller?

Way to turn this thread all serious!

IANAL. My personal thoughts...

A sword is a lethal weapon. If the crazy threatened the teller with serious harm (meeting standard in CRS) then I'd say yes. If the crazy is just walking around with a sword and a note demanding money, probably not a good shoot in the eyes of a pedestrian jury. The bar has been raised on what people perceive to be a lethal threat.

Most of these robbers have a note and the use of a weapon is implied (sometimes not even visible) which muddies the waters. The tellers are trained to hand over their drawers without resistance. Bad guy simply walks out and tries to beat LE response time. It's far easier and profitable to knock over a bank with a note than to go in shooting. In these cases actual violence is never used.

I have a family member who was hit by a note robber while a teller at a local bank. Was given a bonus for giving bad guy a dye pack! And praised for following guidelines. Serial robber was using this note method, FBI had the case, whole deal. POS is ~7 into 30 years Federal. Implied use of a handgun in his hoodie but never actually had one.