Shoot First, Police Arrive Later

"Zhuofeng 'Titan' Jiang, a Tokoroa takeaway owner who shot a masked gunman in the leg after wrestling a semi-automatic .22 rifle off him could end up being charged for defending himself.
Aotea Chinese Takeaways owner Zhuofeng "Titan" Jiang, 25, grabbed the rifle as the gunman pointed it at Mr Jiang's 19-year-old cousin and demanded money from the till about 9.45pm on Monday.
The gunman had already fired a warning shot into the floor. Another shot went off as the men wrestled with the rifle.
When Mr Jiang got hold of the rifle he fired two shots, one into the floor, and another into the man's leg, to stop him from being attacked.
The gunman screamed in pain after being shot and fled.
Mr Jiang said yesterday that he was not a hero. "I was not scared. I would do it again. I hate these people. I will never give them any money." - Dom Post 29/4/09

Titan is a sterling example of an independent and free-thinking citizen. A "fat man, 6ft tall, wearing dark-coloured clothing." points a semi-auto Sterling 20 rifle at his kid cousin, and he responds with decisive skill, disarming the low-life and putting him out of action. However this comment from the Detective Senior Sergeant Todd Pearce of the NZ Police is alarming,

"This situation could easily have resulted in a fatality and it could have easily been one of victims that had been shot or killed... Fighting back, when firearms are involved, dramatically increases the dangers to everyone present and should not be considered or attempted." - NZ Herald 28/4/09

To heck with that. If you find yourself in a situation like Titan, it is up to you to weigh up the situation and determine whether or not you have a decent chance of overpowering the attacker. As a citizen, you have the freedom to defend yourself and the other innocent people caught up in an assault. It is an incredibly dangerous mindset to fall into, that we put our trust in the police (the state) to save us whenever we are under threat of physical harm.
Anyway, the police apparently took 18 minutes to turn up on the scene - by which time the incident was over and the attacker had run away. In most assault cases, all the police can really do is to turn up with the body-bags. I am in no way dissing the Police-force; they do a great job, but they are not omnipresent.