An interesting and informative article on using a firearm for self-defense. Still, I can’t help but feel the best approach is to avoid being in such a situation whenever possible. For example, after an initial encounter with someone who appears intoxicated, calling 911 and letting law enforcement handle it is often the safer choice. The key decision is knowing when to use your gun to protect yourself or others and when to safely walk away. Either way, this article offers valuable lessons.
“In 2014, Barry’s life was turned upside down when he found himself facing charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and aggravated assault with intent to cause serious injury and bodily harm,” the synopsis for Stand Your Ground: One Man’s Self-Defense Nightmare explains. “It began when he was assaulted by a man outside a restaurant in Arizona, and he acted in self-defense by displaying his firearm. However, during the struggle, the weapon discharged when the attacker jumped on top of him, leading to a series of devastating accusations.”
The man is Barry D. Todd, of Yuma, AZ, a family man who has not just been a good, law-abiding citizen all his life, but an exemplary one. He’s a retired Army Captain with over two decades served “in B Company (Rangers), the 3rd Ranger Company, multiple Ranger Airborne assignments in the 82nd Airborne Division, the 101st Airborne Division, the 10th Mountain Division, the 2nd Infantry Division (Korea), the 24th Mechanized Division, and V Corps (Europe).” Following the military, Todd became a financial advisor, ultimately founding his own firm that became Invicta Financial Group, “serv[ing] a select group of clients (families/businesses) who desire to achieve a higher quality of life by making smart choices about their money.”
That background information is necessary to understand what kind of man Todd is, and to emphasize that if being prosecuted for self-defense can happen to an upstanding citizen like him, it can happen to any of us. Stand Your Ground leads the reader through the series of events and seemingly overwhelming and disheartening obstacles Todd had to overcome. Todd’s ordeal shows us what can happen when the state, with unlimited resources, decides to put you in its sights, and demonstrates how when that happens, one needs not only the wherewithal to fight for his rights, but also an indomitable will not give up in despair.
By David Codrea
