When Derek Meyer obtained his concealed carry permit, the thought that he would one day be in a position to save a police officer’s life rather than the other way around likely never crossed his mind. Like many people, Meyer chose to carry a handgun to protect himself and his family. Yet one day while Meyer was driving down Main Street in Springville, Utah, Meyer noticed an officer in serious trouble and answered the call.
Meyer drove by a local food pantry just in time to witness a suspect brutally assaulting a police officer who was trying to wrestle the suspect out of a trash bin he had been hiding in. The suspect had already struck the officer repeatedly, fracturing his eye socket and leaving him with a cut above his eye. Caught by surprise, the officer was having trouble defending himself from the vicious assault. Thankfully, help was on the way.
Quickly making a U-turn, Meyer exited his vehicle, drew his weapon, and ordered the suspect to stop. Faced with an armed civilian, the suspect ceased his assault and fled the scene. About half an hour later, the suspect was apprehended by police and taken to jail on charges of assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, theft, burglary, and failure to stop at the command of a police officer.
“I carry a gun to protect me and those around me, but primarily I carry a gun to protect my family first and foremost,” Meyer said in a later interview. “Outside of that, if I were to use my gun to protect anyone, it would be law enforcement or military personnel.”
“Had he not been in the right place at the right time, who knows what would have happened? He definitely stopped the attack from continuing and becoming much worse,” Springville Police Cpl. Cory Waters said of Meyer’s actions. “He might have even saved either one of their lives.”
With incidents such as this taking place, it should come as little surprise that 91% of people in law enforcement are in favor of civilians having the right to carry a concealed weapon. While our men and women in law enforcement are extremely capable of handling whatever situation may arise, the simple reality is that they are far too often outnumbered, overwhelmed, or in the wrong place to be of help. With this being the case, having armed civilians such as Meyer in their corner is more often than not a welcome aid.
While the chance to save a police officer from an attacker may not be commonplace for many concealed carry holders, the chance to save themselves or their loved ones when the police are not in the vicinity is far more common. Every year, there are countless stories of people who were able to avoid potentially deadly circumstances because they were armed. In most of these cases, like Meyer, the mere presence of their firearm was able to de-escalate the situation without them ever having to fire a shot.
While the story of Derek Meyer and his actions will no doubt be swept under the rug by a media that prefers not to highlight the many benefits of an armed populace, let there be no mistake that Derek Meyer is a hero. While he could have easily kept on driving instead of putting his own life at risk, Meyer stepped up when he was called on and took action that quite possibly saved lives.
At the same time, the action that Derek Meyer was able to take was only made possible by the rights he had been allowed, rights that he took advantage of by obtaining his concealed carry permit. Had Meyer shown up on the scene unarmed, the situation could have gone very differently.
Stories such as these cement the idea that the best way to preserve safety and prevent tragic outcomes is a good guy with a gun. The truth is that you never know when you yourself may be thrown into a dangerous situation such as the one that Derek Meyer found himself in. If you want to be prepared should such a situation arise, ensuring that you are armed and trained with your firearm is likely one of the best decisions that you could make.
~ American Gun News
Good citizen, and I understand…but he should have put a couple in the perp’s hat. The scum is probably back on the streets thanks to our treasonous liberal judges….
I would think about weapons control if the people of the left would think about drunk drivers and and getting them off the street. Drunk or impaired drivers kill huge amounts more people, and children than anyone with a firearm. One time convicted of impaired driving, the perpetrator should loose their license forever. They should only be able to drive back and forth to work, They should loose their driving privilege forever. Twice, Jail time for minimum 1 year, three times, 5 years. If something like that happened. I might consider weapons control. However right now, I am a true constitutionalist. The right to bear arms, shall not be infringed upon.
Just remember had the guy not run and you use your gun be prepared for what will come after and hope you have some good insurance. The first thing I did was to get some just in case. You never know when its going to be a cracked out drug user who is not afraid because he is not in his right mind.
One stupidity that I’m tired of hearing is the left’s comment that we are the only country in the industrialized world that permits its citizens to be armed with guns. My answer is that makes us the most civilized country in the industrialized world, because our citizens are free to meet deadly threats with deadly force. We are not a nation of victims.
I agree with Brian Heinz, I also have a concealed carry permit and I also have a million dollar legal defence policy that covers all of my legal fees including my bail money, it cost me over $400 a year, and I hope I never have to use it, but if I do the most time I will ever have to spend in jail will probably only be one night (and that’s because the judge will probably not set my bail until in the morning), I know that $400+ is alot of money, but my piece of mind is worth every penny of it, and if I do have use my insurance, I will also never have to pay it back, and it is full coverage with no deductible.
rights are never allowed, only so called ”privileges’. Good work in helping.
I love it !!!!!!! We have so many good people in this country and why a few politicians want to disarm it’s citizens scares me. This is a perfect example of a good person doing a great thing. Who knows what may have happened to that officer. The civilian didn’t have to shoot anyone and didn’t get hurt himself. It just goes to show that just by having his firearm with him he may have saved the officers life but at the minimum he made the assault of the
officer stop. God bless Derek Myer and all the other great people of this country that are constantly being
harassed just for utilizing their constitutional rights. I hope the officer is doing well and I hope that criminal rots in prison. God Bless us all.