(MI) Woman’s defense causes police chief to re-think CCW 03-20-04

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http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/03202004/pol_20040320011.shtml
Woman’s gun may have saved her life
Web-posted Mar 20, 2004
By STEPHEN FRYE
Of The Daily Oakland Press
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PICTURE, WITH THIS CAPTION:
Farmington Hills Police Chief William Dwyer stands with the woman who
saved herself from being a victim of an armed robbery by using a gun she
carried legally. The woman, named Angela, asked that her last name and
hometown be withheld to protect her identity. Dwyer is holding the
9-millimeter handgun the suspect carried. -The Daily Oakland Press /
STEPHEN FRYE
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Four years ago, she was helpless as a man robbed her at gunpoint. On
Friday, legally armed with a handgun, she may have saved her life. And
Farmington Hills Police Chief
William Dwyer, who dreaded a change in the law in 2001 to make it easier
to receive a concealed weapons permit, admits that he’s changing his
mind about that law.

Dwyer said the woman could easily have been killed after she was
targeted by a couple looking for an easy score. They were waiting at
6:30 a.m. outside an office building at the southeast corner of 12 Mile
and Drake roads.

Angela, a married mother of two, was arriving at the office where she
has worked for six years. She asked that her last name and hometown not
be made public.

She saw a car in the lot that she did not recognize, with two people
inside, putting her on her guard. When she left her car, a man got out
of that car and walked toward her.

He passed the entrance to the building and continued toward her. The man
came within 10 feet of her, and she knew she had to act.

“I didn’t get a chance to get in the office,” she said. “He had his
hands in his pocket with his hood pulled up. I opened my purse and
pulled my gun out.

“I felt my life was in trouble. The first instinct was to pull out my
gun.”

The man turned tail and walked away, and the car pulled up to him near
the roadway. He jumped in and they drove off.

No shots were fired.

Dwyer said there was “no question” she was in trouble.

“She took the appropriate action,” Dwyer said.
“She probably saved her life. She is a very fortunate young lady. (Also)
she did an excellent job as far as giving a description of the vehicle
and the suspect. She’s a very courageous young lady.”

Her calm demeanor and quick thinking – she called police from her cell
phone immediately after the suspect drove off – led police to the man
and his female accomplice within a minute of the robbery attempt, Dwyer
said.

He said the couple – a 21-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman from
Detroit – would be charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

Police confiscated a loaded 9 mm handgun from the couple’s car. The man
has several outstanding warrants and the woman was convicted for
receiving stolen property.

Later Friday, Dwyer said a 28-year-old Southfield woman who knows Angela
had been arrested for setting up her robbery.
Police are seeking a fourth suspect.

Dwyer, who as head of the state’s police chief’s association opposed the
change in state law that made it easier for residents without criminal
backgrounds to carry guns, acknowledges that the law has saved at least
one person.

“I always said the CCW (Carrying a Concealed Weapon permit) legislation
is somewhat controversial,” he said. “I’m certainly rethinking it.”

He credited her for taking the appropriate training and, equally
important, using common sense.

“I’m just a woman,” Angela said. “You hear about things like this. I
didn’t want to be a victim again.”