BY: SHAWN VINCENT

An angry patron at a Holly Springs, Mississippi, laundromat attacked attendant Sheri McLatchy after McLatchy warned some customers against overloading the machines. Security video captured a dramatic melee, which involved hair pulling and fingernail scratching, and led to both parties tussling on the floor. McLatchy escaped the clutches of the angry patron, retreated to the parking lot, called 9-1-1, and retrieved her pistol from her vehicle.

Security camera footage from outside the laundromat shows McLatchy with a cellphone at her ear and her firearm in her hand. When the angry patron approaches McLatchy again, McLatchy appears to issue a verbal warning, and she holds her firearm confidently in a low-ready position, with her index clearly extended and NOT on the trigger. The defensive display causes the attacker to flee, and the confrontation ended without further violence—and without McLatchy having to discharge her firearm.

A news report from WREG in Memphis shows key moments of the security footage of the confrontation.

 

Lessons for Armed Defenders

Defensive Display Is A Viable Alternative (Lesson 22)

McLatchy seemed to understand that the nature of the threat posed by the angry patron had not reached the imminence or severity to justify the use of deadly force, but by assuming a low-ready-style position, she demonstrated that she had a firearm and that she was confident in using it if she must. In this case, the defensive display ended the confrontation without further violence—what firearms instructor Claude Werner would call a “positive outcome.”   

 

Understand Less-Lethal Options (Lesson 19)

Even though McLatchy’s defensive display effectively broke contact with the aggressor, if the angry patron had pressed the attack, McLatchy may have been put in a position where she felt it necessary to shoot an unarmed attacker, which carries substantial legal risk. If McLatchy had an intermediary, less-lethal option—such as pepper spray—she may have been able to end the attack without assuming the legal jeopardy of displaying her firearm. 

 

The Goal of Self-Defense Is To Break Contact (Lesson 1)

McLatchy clearly wasn’t interested in “winning” the fight against the angry patron; she just wanted the attack to stop. When it became clear that her defensive display worked, McLatchy lowered her weapon and waited for police to arrive.

 

Get Firearms and Self-Defense Training (Lesson 2)

We don’t know how much training McLatchy had with her firearm, but the way she holds the pistol, with her index finger extended and not on the trigger, shows that she has at least a basic understanding of basic gun handling and gun safety. When she acquires a confident, low-ready-style position, it becomes clear she has received professional instruction.

 

Don’t Get Emotionally Hijacked (Lesson 8)

After having just escaped from a violent attack, it would be understandable for McLatchy to be angry and aggravated. If her temper was up, McLatchy didn’t let it show. The security video shows her responding to the attacker with cool confidence, and she didn’t let her emotions override her decision-making process.

 

Call 9-1-1 (Lesson 30)

If you’re ever in a use-of-force situation involving your firearm, there is often a benefit to being the first to report the incident to authorities. In McLatchy’s case, she was on the phone with 9-1-1 as the defensive display occurred, and when police arrived, they began their investigation of the incident, having heard McLatchy’s side of the story first.