Oak Creek Police Lieutenant Brian Murphy was the first officer to arrive at the scene of the Sikh temple shooting in August. The former Marine was hit multiple times by a gunman armed with an semi-automatic handgun but survived the attack and is recovering at his home in Wisconsin.
His story of that day as related in Esquire is gripping and nothing short of amazing.
He shot, and hit my left thumb. Here's the crazy part: I'm thinking, Man, that's gonna leave a mark. He shot some more. I went down. I couldn't tell you if that shot knocked the gun out of my hand or didn't. Probably did. He came around. At that point I'm faceup. He shoots, starts hitting me. Once in my thigh, in my upper arm. And I'm thinking, Better get small.I'm real sensitive to one-sided criticism of police officers and this kind of story is one of the reasons why. Sure, they take the job knowing full well what they may face and some of them make some pretty stupid and egregious mistakes along the way. But stories like Lt. Murphy's are overlooked and passed over by far, far too many people who are only there to criticize and mock.
If you look back at my grade-school pictures, I was always a front-of-the-line kid. I was always small. So I learned that you have to be able to take a beating and still come back, because if you give up, you're just gonna get picked on. That was part of surviving in Brooklyn. When the big guys gave you charley horses, if you started crying, they'd just give you more.
So I flipped over, started low-crawling. I had my vest on. If I tucked my head, stayed small, maybe he just hits the vest. He does, hits me right in the back. At that point, I'm probably hit half a dozen times. It got very quiet. It got nice and warm. Cozy. I started closing my eyes for a second. I thought, This is going out....
And then I thought, Fuck you.I'm not going out in a parking lot. I'm not going out like this. I'm not gonna let my wife down. I'm not gonna let my daughter down, and I'm not letting my stepkids down.
I think they're worth mentioning.
.
28 comments:
"But stories like Lt. Murphy's are overlooked and passed over by far, far too many people who are only there to criticize and mock. I think they're worth mentioning."
Could you be more specific about who are the people who "criticize and mock?"
Certainly not me and my "ilk":
http://nralifeofduty.tv/
http://le.nra.org/
The NRA, which you hold so wickedly evil, is at the forefront of promoting consciousness of respect and honor for those who place themselves in harm's way for us.
So please Rick, tell us exactly who are the people who "mock and criticize" people like Lt. Murphy? Do they have a particular political persuasion? Do they typically belong to one political party or the other?
"tell us exactly who are the people who "mock and criticize" people like Lt. Murphy?"
Probably the same people who referred to law enforcement officers as "jack-booted thugs" in a fund-raising letter for the NRA.
Read the South Florida blogosphere, JM, and a couple of the alternative newspapers and you'll find them everywhere. It's not hard.
Mustang Bobby nails it.
.
You mean the almost 20-year-old letter for which the NRA apologized for at the time?
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19950518&slug=2121718
You mean the letter issued in an era when just two years before Janet Reno and her law enforcement advisers poor strategy resulted in the deaths of seventy-six men, women and children at Waco? And then just a few years later thought it was perfectly acceptable government behavior to seize Elian Gonzales at the business end of a fully automatic MP5 machine gun?
So that was then, it was apologized for, and since then the NRA has been portraying LEO and military personnel in nothing but a positive light.
But rather than speculate, let's let Rick answer?
"South Florida blogosphere, JM, and a couple of the alternative newspapers and you'll find them everywhere. It's not hard."
So is it fair to say that most of those sources are "progressive?" I don't recall Babalu, for example, ever ripping on any cops or military other than Castro's.
I just think you have touched on a fascinating issue here.
Umm, I did.
Look, JM, I did not point fingers at the NRA in this post. You did. You asked. We answered.
You may not like the answer and, as usual, you're always armed with an excuse, but the NRA said it (and, yes, apologized for it).
If you don't like the answers, don't ask the questions.
.
You don't want to go down that path, JM. Not with a whole pot of gold sitting over at Gun Free Zone.
It's quite fair to say that the criticism comes from both sides and that no one group owns it.
.
2011/
NUGENT: You know who I blame, Cam?
CAM EDWARDS (HOST): Who's that?
NUGENT: The American people. We talk about this every year before we do the NRA annuals, and I've always condemned the curse of apathy. And of course, the curse of apathy has a name, and it's we the people. We have bent over so far as a citizenry in this country that we've allowed a communist-raised, communist-educated, communist-trained, a church-goer to the hate-America church, we've allowed him to become the president of the United States of America, because we bent over that far. We've allowed our federal agents to get away with this kind of jack-booted thuggery.
Has Nugent apologized, Jewish Marksman? And please confirm that you follow Nugent on your Twitter feed.
Roger-
Holding all gun owners responsible for what Ted Nugent (a draft-avoiding, multiple baby-momma having, but...damn good rocker) says is like holding all liberals responsible for the things Rosie O'Donnel or Al Sharpton say.
Rick-
Although granted off-topic, I think your post does open the door to address your recent portrayals of the NRA as some kind of subversive organization, when in fact both the organization and its members are very much pro-law enforcement and pro-military. In fact, many police and military are members.
Your obsession with Miguel is curious, as is your refusal to accept, acknowledge or even explore the possibility that he and his blog are not the entire sum and substance of gun owners in America.
The post opens the door to nothing except a discussion of how under appreciated law enforcement officers are at times.
But feel free to create other discussions in your head, JM.
You follow Nugent, JM? Now THAT'S fascinating. Only Ann Coulter or Allen West could top that POS.
.
JM, as I noted the other day, you really do have trouble processing information, and the more you are provided, the more confused you become. Clearly, to all but yourself, the original post had nothing to do with the NRA. Nothing. It was gob-smacking to read your off-the-wall reaction.
The most virulent anti-police banter I hear arises from left-leaning folks, especially those who observe how law enforcement is often perverted in favor of the highest bidder and greater authority, and historically contemptuous of minorities. Is that what you're driving at? If so, you may muddle over the fact that this makes the left more anti-government than the right, something you certainly disbelieve heartily.
I find the right generally applauds the police -- they buy PBA stickers for their cars hoping that keeps traffic tickets at bay (but DAMN those red-light cameras!)and at Chamber of Commerce breakfasts and Rotary Club mtgs lavish praise on their community service. Then they go back to the office and curse the police union.
Personally I dislike the police, who seem to reciprocate, but I accept them as a necessary evil to combat even worse evil, including well-armed maniacs protected by numbnutted NRA fanatics in the service of arms manufacturers. Know any?
"You mean the almost 20-year-old letter for which the NRA apologized for at the time?"
So the next time someone on the right reminds everyone that Democrats are the real racists because the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) once belonged to the KKK and then profusely apologized, JM will stand up for him and the Democrats and remind his friends that forgiveness is divine.
I can't wait.
"You follow Nugent, JM?"
Sure, he's amusing like Howard Stern (once was).
Gents I really don't think modern psychology has adopted twitter followings as a reliable method of profiling a person or their beliefs.
But I think it's fascinating how Rick is all "I appreciate men in uniform" and can't restrain himself for an entire day from calling a noble veteran like Allen West a "POS."
Jewish Marksman/ you know that Nugent is on the NRA Board of Directors and writes a column in the Washington Times, right? He is a prominent gun advocate.
Yeah, I'm seconding Squathole. Rick has pretty consistently taken what may be described as a conservative position on LEO issues throughout the years (holy crap, I think its going to be 7 years since I've been reading him? Damn.).
Having said that, was the context of this article (the Sihk shooting) why you thought that this was anti-NRA instead of being pro-LEO?
i luv how this Jewish guy loves to bounce around from point to point, leaving one and transitioning to the other after being proved wrong.
Anon-
"Having said that, was the context of this article (the Sihk shooting) why you thought that this was anti-NRA instead of being pro-LEO?"
Yes, the context was awfully convenient given Rick's rabid anti-gun-owner posts of late. He could have chosen any of the THOUSANDS of first responders on 9/11 to discuss... Well I'll leave it up to him to explain why he chose this particular context.
"i luv how this Jewish guy loves to bounce around from point to point, leaving one and transitioning to the other after being proved wrong."
Bobby's response re: jack-booted thugs is the only good argument I can ever recall anybody on this blog confronting me with. I move on to other points only when a) Rick or another points have been destroyed by logic and reason, or b) it is clear that the argument is going nowhere or is devolving into personal attacks against me.
It does seem a little strange how I seem to be the only conservative voice here. How many of me have you guys run off in the past? Well don't worry, as soon as gun control isn't the latest shiny object catching Rick's attention, I'll let you have your toys back.
roger l.-
No I was not aware Nugent sat on the board of the NRA, I am aware he sometimes speaks at their conventions though. I do not know that his position is anything but honorary. I did not know he wrote a column. I do know he is a strong advocate of both gun rights, and an ardent conservationist because of his passion for hunting.
Your premise is that I and others should reject the NRA just because Nugent is involved with it? I don't really see your point.
"Bobby's response re: jack-booted thugs is the only good argument I can ever recall anybody on this blog confronting me with."
And yet you crawfished out of it by claiming it was twenty years old and they apologized for instead of doing what a mature person would do and say something along the lines of, "Yeah, you're right, and I stand corrected." So you have another "look at the kitty!" moment.
You approach every comment as a challenge instead of a learning opportunity. You don't want to have a discussion; you just want to win. You always get in the last word. So there. People away out of boredom, not because you won them over.
The reason you think you're the only conservative voice on this blog is because anyone who agrees with you on anything probably doesn't want to be associated with your bilious pronouncements. Dale Carnegie you ain't.
"And yet you crawfished out of it by claiming it was twenty years old and they apologized for instead of doing what a mature person would do and say something along the lines of, 'Yeah, you're right, and I stand corrected.'"
How can you make such statements with any intellectual honesty, when you yourself preemptively dismissed any argument that the Democratic party is racist if the racism charge is based solely on the past association of Robert Byrd?
Fact: The letter is almost 20 years old.
Fact: The letter was promptly followed by an apology.
Fact: The NRA devotes considerable resources to supporting and promoting LEO and military personnel.
Bobby you just can't seem to grasp that a rational person can weigh the facts above vs. the old letter and come to the conclusion that the letter does not ipso facto relegate the NRA today to the status of some sort of anti-government, subversive organization. You may disagree, and I believe that is (remotely) reasonable, but wrong. I compete in competitions where most of the competitors are local law enforcement or military, and all 100% NRA members, many of them lifers. So you made a good point, but your one fact does not outweigh the mountain of other evidence to the contrary.
But the bottom line is, I said you made a good argument, and you want it with a cherry and whip cream on top?
"You approach every comment as a challenge instead of a learning opportunity."
You have got to be kidding me. You have squathole yesterday flat out admit he does not understand the nuances of different firearms, but just KNOWS my arguments are somehow wrong and evil. I asked Rick 3 times why some on left are convinced that "military-style" rifles are the problem but not 9mm semi-automatic pistols, and each time he insists I am asking him to compare "military-style" rifles to .22LR rifles or maybe bb guns. I directed Rick to an article by a Harvard professor with examples of rampage shooters being stopped by armed guards or civilians, but he insists that because there was a guard at Columbine, guards always fail. Every single attempt I have made to have a rational conversation with you folks about the practical problems of proposed gun bans has been met with virulent spite, resistance, name calling, etc. Every attempt I have made to argue against the notion that every member of the NRA is a mini-Ted Nugent has been met with the same.
Bobby, go take a look at one of the cartoons Rick posted today, you know, the one with the pot and the kettle.
Great post, Rick.
Fuck the NRA.
JM: Thank you for proving my point. With cheese.
Res ipsa loquitur.
"You always get in the last word."
And thank you for proving mine.
Potes meos suaviari clunes.
Cer ar gerdded a gwna mo d bacia.
I did not say your argument were evil, JM, just wrong. And I conjectured that you lack the reasoning capacity to understand why the details of the weapons you fondle are irrelevant to the argument's principle, which I see today was spot on. L'Shanah Tova.
"the details of the weapons you fondle are irrelevant to the argument's principle"
Well there's a winning argument. Boy did he nail me on that one, right Bobby? Squat, you are absolutely right, what was I thinking? Details, schmetails.
Sorry, JM, I wasn't paying attention. Rooms To Go just delivered my new dining room table and I'm arguing with it.
Bobby: JM is hopeless. This is why I determined years ago, as a pimpled, pipe sucking grad student struggling with Kant, Quine, and Wittgenstein, not to pursue a teaching career. Logic is as alien to an ideologue as a conscience to the Borg, for much the same reason. I admire your grit.
Post a Comment
Spam, vulgar language, trolling and off-topic comments are not tolerated at SFDB and your comment will be removed if it meets this criteria.