I think this is a pretty common response for many people. It’s another case of normalcy bias. Many people who haven’t had bad things happen to them just can’t imagine that anything bad could ever happen to them.
Hopefully this incident will open their eyes to the fact that bad things can happen. If it does, then maybe you can help nudge them down the proper path. Though you might need to be careful to not push too hard or give them too much info all at once. Too much of an overload of all the things they need to respond to potential threats could push their heads right back into the sand.
Regardless how they respond to this experience they are lucky to have a good friend!
It is most likely that the officer(s) car(s) were parked out of sight.
Officers routinely go to great lengths to stay out of sight when approaching a house “cold”. The next door neighbor could have had an interesting night when he went over to check on things (without himself calling the police).
This is my opinion, but I am not the only retired cop that feels this way; the move to “Class C” outfits, ie. cargo pants, t-shirts, ball caps, should be left to specialized details, and patrol cops should be wearing real police uniforms that are not only sharp with command bearing, but more readily identifiable.
The mercenary look is unwise to me.
Consider Sinbad arriving and no police car is visible but he catches a glimpse of a dark figure at the side of the house wearing baggy pants and a ball cap, (and nowadays a beard).
Tough call to make for both Sinbad and the cop(s).
The car was parked somewhere where my friend’s wife could not see it. However, they do not have full visibility of the entire driveway from the second floor. They also could not see any red/blue lights from the car. I assume they weren’t turned on. I advised my friend that he should consider a camera that would cover his entire driveway so he could view it in this (or other) scenarios.
I had no idea this was a thing. My friends don’t have a home phone. They only have cell phones. My family is set up similarly. Do you know if this feature can be set up for other cell phones? For example, can I get notified if my child’s phone calls 911?
@Steven288 and @Glenn24 Thank you both for your comments and input! I appreciate it.
Always keep your weapons and clothes where you can find them in the dark. My EDC’s are on my night stand.!I could have been out of the house in under 4 minutes. EDC includes a Surefire Stiletto flash light
On the way to the house, I would have called 911, told them who you were, advised them of the situation, told them that you would be there, and that you were armed. You probably would recognize the officer, but would he recognize you?