Sheriff Grady Judd of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office just delivered a message that criminals ought to heed. It’s about people who are prepared to defend themselves in case of attack. You couldn’t be more clear unless you are water. Well, not the water in Flint, Michigan, but you know what I mean. At any rate, the sheriff, speaking to the criminal element:
“Good people carry guns. And they will shoot you. A lot. Graveyard dead.”
“Judges” Smith and Wesson will always find you guilty and inflict a harsh sentence on you. It’s always better to be an intended victim rather than just a victim. More and more you are reading about victims turning the tide on their attackers and how the attackers end up dead.
“Here’s a message for the ‘hot heads’ of the community: Don’t do that stuff,” he said, referring to an assault on a legally-armed Uber driver.
“Good people carry guns. And they will shoot you. A lot,” he warned. “Graveyard dead.”
His next three words were crystal clear. “Leave. People. Alone.”
That’s good advice for anyone, but is especially apt in a country where an increasing number of people hold concealed carry permits. Polk County, Florida, for example, has over 54,000 licensed concealed carry permit holders. That’s about eight percent of its population.
One of those lawfully-armed citizens is 38-year-old Robert Westlake, a security guard and Uber ride-share driver. In the early hours on Tuesday morning, Westlake found himself being followed and threatened by an irate bar patron named Jason Boek.
Boek saw his girlfriend and a bartender help another girl into an Uber. Boek then thought it was his girlfriend in the Uber and he chased him down and threatened the driver. He said he had a gun and said he was going to shoot Westlake. But one shot from Westlake and Boek was dead. Fortunately, there was video of the exchange and it was ruled a justified homicide.