A gun-grabber who might have thought he was being a hero at a Tampa Bay-area Walmart ended up as the one wearing handcuffs — and he’s lucky he didn’t get shot.
Michael Foster, 43, was alarmed when he noticed Clarence Daniels enter the store with a concealed handgun. Foster tackled the 62-year-old gun-toter, held him in a choke-hold and shouted, “He’s got a gun!” according to the Tampa Bay Times.
It turned out that Daniels was a law-abiding citizen licensed to carry a concealed weapon. Oops.
Watch store surveillance footage of the incident. Story continues after clip.
“I have a permit!” Daniels repeatedly argued, but Foster wasn’t having any of it.
When sheriff’s deputies arrived on the scene, they separated the good guys from the bad and placed Foster under arrest for battery.
“Unfortunately he tackled a guy that was a law-abiding citizen,” sheriff’s spokesman Larry McKinnon told the Times. “We understand it’s alarming for people to see other people with guns, but Florida has a large population of concealed weapons permit holders.”
The Times reported that there are better ways of handling situations like this:
The Sheriff’s Office recommends that vigilante-inclined citizens refrain from taking matters into their own hands, especially when an incident is gun-related. Call 911 or alert security, McKinnon said, before taking any drastic measure.
“You better make sure there’s a good reason,” McKinnon added. “Otherwise you might be confronting a guy that is legally permitted to carry a gun.”
Watch news coverage of the story via Tampa Bay ABC affiliate WFTS. Story continues after clip.
When the incident came to the attention of gun-grabber Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, she thought the deputies had arrested the wrong hombre. She chalked it up to, “Because America.”
Those sitting on the other side of the aisle on this issue took exception. Here are a few examples:
.@TwitchyTeam It seems that @shannonrwatts is upset that people are not allowed to tackle those carrying concealed just because…
— AMC (@Soldier1eaODGrn) January 21, 2015
@shealydan @Soldier1eaODGrn @jdhlsc169 @shannonrwatts @CSGV wow I see oh shannon warts is condoning assault and battery
— Justin Jones (@Justin91Jones) January 21, 2015
@Soldier1eaODGrn @twitchy He could have been a plain clothes LEO for all that man knew. Bet that wouldn’t matter to @shannonrwatts
— Jessa Grace (@SweetGaelicGirl) January 21, 2015
The lesson Foster should have taken away from his experience is to avoid jumping to conclusions for the sake of being a hero — you may end up being a zero instead.
Watts, on the other hand, is beyond help. She’d much rather see people in their 60s get tackled and choked for possessing a gun — legally or illegally.
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