Get Real Self Defense Podcast
A dose of personal protection discussion to help you become more confident and prepared to protect yourself and your loved ones. Train Today. Protect Tomorrow.
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Get Real Self Defense Podcast
Ep #28: Acts of Bravery: How Everyday Heroes Influence Community Safety
Imagine driving past a shootout between deputies and an armed suspect, would you have the courage to intervene? We'll recount the story of a man who did just that, rushing to help an injured officer. Back in my hometown, a similar situation unfolded where another brave civilian stepped in to assist two shot officers. These stories stir a conversation about the importance of being ready to aid in emergencies without crossing the line into vigilantism, prioritizing the protection of innocent lives, and understanding the role of civilians as intrinsic contributors to community safety. Tune in and be inspired by these extraordinary tales of ordinary heroes.
Check out the Articles and Videos Here:
- Houston Shootout
- Maple Falls Shootout
- Maple Falls Award
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Hi guys, welcome back to the Get Real Self-Defense podcast. I am Adam, and today we are going to be covering something a little bit different, something I've been wanting to do for a while, and that is some different stories, true stories that can help you and I learn a little bit more about ourselves and what we are capable of, as well as recognize the heroism of others. So, without further ado, let's get started.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Get Real Self-Defense podcast. Here you get your daily dose of personal protection discussion to help you be more confident and prepared to protect yourself and your loved ones. And now let's get real with Self-Defense.
Speaker 1:So the one that inspired me to do this episode for you guys and with you guys is a news article that happened not too long ago. This was published November 14th 2023. All the articles and videos will be linked in the description of this episode. However, what this one is about and I thought was super cool as far as what was done in response to this terrible situation was about a man who actually was normally at odds with the law, had some poor run-ins, didn't like the cops too much as far as street contacts were concerned, and yet still did something truly heroic. And the video title and the article title is titled Video Shows Moment Texas man Drags Injured Police Officer to Safety After Highway Shootout. And I'm not really sure how the video got into this man's hand. His name is John Lolley. He's the one that is the hero in question. I don't know why it was recording. I don't really care, because I think that, in the end, the actions taken were the right actions. It is my goal to actually have this man on the podcast eventually. I think that that would be super cool and actually be able to pick his brain and figure out what he was thinking at the time. But bottom line. I'm just going to be reading bits and pieces from the article. If you want to read the article in full again, this will all be linked in the description, but without further ado.
Speaker 1:This was an interview done by NBC affiliate KPRC, and the good Samaritan in question, john Lolley, said he was driving on US 59 when he got caught in the middle of a police chase and shooting in Houston on Saturday. I saw he got shot. Lolley told KPRC and I knew he got shot because he buckled to the ground. My mission at that point was just to get to him. So I want to pause for a second. I want you to think is that what you would think immediately? And what I mean is you see a guy get shot, whether it be a cop or not, and would your first thought be I need to get to him. Now I know for a fact if I was with my family, my first priority would be my family. I mean, sorry, I love everybody. You know like I love humanity. Quote unquote. You know enough to try to train to be able to be protected, a protector, but in the end, my family is my priority, and so I would want to make sure that my family gets to safety first or is in a safe place before I focus on anybody else. Because of my role in law enforcement, most likely what would happen is I'd have to get my family to safety and then go right back to where the action quote unquote is taking place.
Speaker 1:However, if I was by myself, you know you have to ask yourself, like if you were in John's shoes, using that mental rehearsal we're talking about, would you immediately think I need to just get to this guy as quickly as possible? If you do fantastic and sometimes our bodies move and do the right thing, even when our minds are racing and hesitating and think, gosh, you know, is this the right idea? I'm putting myself in danger, that's also possible. But this gives you an opportunity to think about that and you know, frankly, it is a fair question. But it's cool that this guy said my mission at that point was just to get to him. And it further says the video showed, shared by Lollie, shows him running towards officer John Gibson, 29 and Dragon of the Safety.
Speaker 1:He tells them further I said I wanted to let you know you're going to be okay. The officer already put a tourniquet on your leg. Lollie told Gibson I know when you're going through that type of pain, just somebody talking to you and being there with you and just holding your hand is probably going to take your mind off a lot of stuff. So I think that's kind of cool. He didn't focus and I mean, in Texas, everybody can be armed if they want to be. It's kind of a beautiful thing, truly. So the fact that he didn't focus on like shooting or doing anything like gung ho, like you know, heroic, quote unquote. He's not trying to be a hero. He was focusing on what was actually matter. You know that mattered and that was this guy who got shot and just making sure that he could do the little bit he could, which was take his mind off. And in the video, from what I could see, you know, there's people working on the guy. John didn't try to go right into like combat medic mode or anything like that. He just focused on talking to the guy and you know, I think that's super cool that he focused on specific tasks and what he was, he could do in the confines of his position and role in that situation where he was thrown in the middle of a shootout and so further on. Houston police said the shooting started after officers unsuccessfully tried to pull over a man who was driving a stolen car. The man led police on a high-speed chase until he crashed into several vehicles and began shooting at officers.
Speaker 1:So while reading this article and watching this new story and whatnot, I was reminded of a thing that had happened back in my hometown where I grew up, you know, years ago, and that is a place called Wackham County and the city of Bellingham. This was on city of Bellinghamorg news. Again, this article will also be featured in the description if you want to read it in full. But Wackham County Sheriff's Office I actually know one of the officers one of the deputies, I should say, in question that was involved in this. But there was two sheriff's deputies and they actually ended up going to a place called Maple Falls in Wackham County and they ended up getting shot at range by a shotgun. I could be wrong, but I think it was birdshot, but I'm not quite positive. But either way, they both got shot in the head and we're just going to continue on and see the parallel, slightly different reaction, but also the involvement of a civilian in a heroic way.
Speaker 1:So it starts off Wackham County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a shots fired call in Green Valley Drive. The man in question, joe B Young, 60, I'm paraphrasing here in Maple Falls, was shooting a shotgun in the air at neighbors and then opened, fired on the two responding deputies, injuring both with shots to the head. Young surrendered within two hours and was arrested for two counts of attempted murder in the first degree. Specifically talking about the cops, members of the police department Bellingham were involved in the incident response. Blah, blah, blah, blah blah. I'm going to skip this part because it's basically talking about the 911 call and the specific address, information of the two people and whatnot. And then basically at this point this is where I want to get to deputies arrived on scene at approximately 4.40 pm and the suspect later identified as Young, was yelling at them and waving a shotgun around. Shortly after, wcso deputies on scene had developed probable cause for felony harassment and they also noted Young appeared to be intoxicated by his speech and actions.
Speaker 1:The subsequent investigation revealed the following events and basically it goes into he was enraged. He went out to yell at the neighbor and put out the fire. Was told to f off, which further enraged him. Went back into his house, retrieved a shotgun, loaded it with bird shot and there we go and fired around into the air toward the neighbor. Young went back into his house and had a beer and that's where the cops got called. Shortly after he heard someone yelling sheriff, he looked out and saw someone crouching by the neighbor's garage and went outside. The two deputies were by the garage and yelling at young sheriff's office and dropped the gun.
Speaker 1:Young yells at the deputies and then fires directly at the deputies. The first deputy is immediately hit in the head and dropped to the ground. The second deputy steps forward and returns fire to protect the deputy who had already been shot. So this is where it kind of gets, I'd say awesome. Young returns fire, uh, returns fire and strikes the second deputy, who immediately retreats to cover An unknown civilian steps forward and fires multiple handgun rounds at young to protect the deputies. Both WCSO deputies were pulled to safety in a garage and were first. Aid was rendered and they waited for additional deputies to arrive.
Speaker 1:So in the article I'll try to link in the individual who did the handgun fire to protect the deputies and give them cover, as it is not featured in this particular article. Basically the man was given an award later on down the line by Sheriff Bill Elfo of Wacken County Sheriff's, and it goes on to basically wish the officers first speedy recovery, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And so the point is, I'm contrasting the two situations, and the two situations are, you know, you have one where a guy was just driving mining his own business and according to the video I believe it was actually a company car, so he was probably in the middle of working and the next thing, you know, you have a shootout, a crash and a shootout, and one of the cops gets shot in the leg and all he thought was I need to go help this guy and he drags the guy behind the truck, uh, and is holding his hand while the guy is getting worked on and is later recognized for his efforts. But then he turned around and you know about, almost two years prior, back in my hometown, a similar situation. You have cops who are out doing their job where they get told yeah, there's a guy with a gun who just shot at his neighbor and he's probably drunk and he's very angry. And they show up and the guy shoots at him with birdshot and shoots them both in the head. And you know the video itself quote unquote is pretty graphic Graphic, as in you know the guy's got shot and you're going to see blood, but, um, bottom line, and you can find that video pretty easily. But the point is that these guys were both shot, both possibly incapacitated, birdshot, you know, peppering your face and might even hit their eye, who knows. And the next thing, you know, this one civilian sees what's going on and pulls out his firearm and shoots at the guy. And Maple Falls is a pretty uh, I don't want to say small, but I mean it's pretty secluded. And so there's a good chance the guy might have known the guy and yet he chose to try to save the officer's lives. And so my point is this one end, the guy wasn't shooting a gun. On the other end, this other guy was shooting a gun and then aid was rendered afterward. Both are honorable and heroic things that happened.
Speaker 1:So, again, what's really cool about these uh, as much as they suck that it happens what's really cool about articles like these and news stories like these is that we can put ourselves in the shoes of those individuals and put ourselves in the shoes of the bad guys and try to imagine what's going on, why something is being thought out, a decision that was made. Would we make that decision differently? How do we feel about the situation? Do you think your heart rate is going to be elevated? Do you think your mind is going to be racing? Do you hesitate all those questions we get to ask by imagining ourselves in the shoes of those individuals?
Speaker 1:You had the individual who saw the guy get shot in the leg and he buckles to the ground, you know. And John Lolley, that individual says I got to go help that guy and just goes to help that guy and does exactly what needs to be done within the confines of his capabilities and his role as a civilian out in the street in that shootout. And at the same time, you also have this other individual who had a firearm on him and saw that the two officers were injured or incapacitated or both, and was able to open fire on this guy to help the officers get to safety so that aid was rendered and a resolution that was peaceful could happen, where the guy was later on arrested. And so the point is that on one end, you could also argue that civilians in a law enforcement specific situation need to try to clear out, because that means there's less risk, less danger for you, but also less things that the cop has to worry about as far as making sure that you stay safe, because, in the end, innocent life, victims, civilians those are the top priority of law enforcement, and then it goes to I mean, it goes down the line from there, but the cop's life is not even a priority. It's making sure that the victims and other people, other civilians, are safe, and so, by not being there, it gives the opportunity for a cop to focus on the job.
Speaker 1:But the other cool thing, though, is by having the capability, like these men who have assisted these cops are doing and have done, it doesn't have to be a cop, remove the uniform, and let's just imagine that, going down the street, an 80 year old lady gets shot in the arm or the leg and drops you. If you have the training, the know-how, the experience and the mental resiliency and preparation to physically be able to carry out a task, you are then someone who can help that 80 year old lady who just got shot to get to safety and then render some aid, and that makes you an asset to your community and an asset to your family. And so that is the point that I'm trying to make here is that, even though the cops were the victims in both of these articles, it doesn't have to be cops. It is you on the street are capable of being an asset to your community where, if something bad happens, you can help them. That doesn't mean vigilanteism.
Speaker 1:That's not what I'm saying. I'm not saying that you need to be involved in the shoot out and shoot back all the time, like in that second article. That was a very specific time where it wasn't like the cops were all capable and shooting at the guy and he just decided to start shooting. Both those cops were injured and incapacitated and there's a chance that they could have been further shot or killed and the man stepped in and was later given an award for his efforts. So I'm not saying vigilanteism. If cops are capable of doing their job, let them do their job.
Speaker 1:But at the same time, if you have a civilian that you can assist as an example, las Vegas, when there was that big mass shooting that happened, where people were getting shot at at the concert and the aftermath, you can assist in helping those people get to safety, helping stop, you know, bleeds, so on and so forth, if you have some training in background and know how. So that is the point I'm trying to make, guys is that if we continue, as we are now, to strive towards being more physically capable, mentally capable and having a skill set and the tools like firearms or pepper spray, what have you a tourniquet to be able to carry out those missions that may pop up and land on our lap, like it did for those two individuals, then all the better. That's what we should do, that's what we're going for and that's what we're trying to become, or at least I hope that that's what you're trying to do is help protect yourself, but also be an asset to your community. That is my goal with this episode. I hope that you enjoyed this episode and that you got something out of it. Again, if you want to read the articles in full, I will have them linked down in the description below, where you'll be able to expand on your research if you so choose.
Speaker 1:And the last thing I'll say is Thanksgiving is coming up for the, for those of us in the United States, and, as such, to keep the traditions, I'm going to share something that I'm grateful with with you guys today, and that is this I am very grateful for the freedom of information that we have, as far as it is capable of being constructive and good.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of access to things on the internet and communications that is bad or destructive in nature or misleading in nature. However, I am super grateful for the access to information that we have where we can look at articles like this, watch videos like this so that we can learn and train and improve ourselves in all facets of life, but specifically to keep the theme of this podcast, that where we can become protectors and assets to our community and to our families, and I'm super grateful that I am able to also do what I can and do my part to impart some information on you guys and with you guys so that we can grow together as a community and with that guys. Thank you so much for being a part of this journey with me. I hope you guys have a good rest of your week. Train today, protect tomorrow. For those of you in the United States, have a happy Thanksgiving and for the rest of you out there, I hope you have a good rest of your month. Stay safe out there. I will catch you guys next time.
