This is No Defense for Self-Defense

Soon to be terminated CTA employee Sylvester Adams shot a man during a confrontation at the 95th Red Line station and has been charged with attempted murder and a host of other charges. Photo courtesy of Chicago Police

When Sylvester Adams, a CTA employee of less than five years, shot a person last week who had pushed him down, I immediately knew the calls for curtailing gun owners’ rights was coming on social media. Just like George Zimmerman and former Officers Jeronimo Yanez and Jason Van Dyke, Adams is not the poster child for self-defense gun advocates. These men are all criminals in my opinion and truth be told all should have received lengthy prison sentences.

The video of Adams encounter is shocking. Eyewitness accounts tell the story of a man, who turns out to be the victim, harassing customers at the CTA’s 95th Red Line station. Nothing out of the ordinary there if you frequent the place. Adams and another employee initially confronted the man the right way, by calling the police. Another man who was with the victim in this case, left the scene when cops arrived and threatened him with arrest. The victim, who was shot by Adams told cops he was going to wait for a ride. Cops took him at his word and left after briefly chatting with him about his behavior. But apparently once the cops left, the man was back at it again.

This time Adams, who as in a secure location, a locked, bullet-proof kiosk, decided to come out from safety and confront the man with a hammer. The two exchange insults. The victim then pushes Adams to the platform. At this time Adams begins wielding the hammer and the man scampers off down the stairs to the outbound train platform. Adams then picks himself off the ground and slowly walks over to the top of the stairs while reaching into his pocket and muttering insults. With another customer at the top of the steps, Adams says some words to them as a person videoing the incident tries to get Adams to stop.

He doesn’t. Instead, he sends a volley of shots from a handgun down the stairs towards the victim, striking him several times. Other shots miss their mark and their results are unknown, except to say thank goodness nobody else was hit. Adams then walks back to his kiosk and according to Cook County prosecutors, tells a co-worker he knows his life is over.

You got that right Sylvester. Why didn’t you just stay inside and call the police again? I get it, people, especially when dealing with the public, can be a pain. Public transportation in Chicago is one of the most dangerous environments in the city and the law banning legal gun owners the right to carry on public transportation in Illinois is one of the dumbest on the books. I’m firmly against the CTA policy, which is run funded by the federal government, owned by the Regional Transportation Authority and run by the City of Chicago (yeah, I know), that doesn’t allow their employees to carry weapons while working, but if you’re going to break the policy and use a weapon, use it in a morally and justified manner and then take the termination with pride.

Adams put a lot of people in danger with his poor decision and bad marksmanship. Any one of those bullets he fired could have hit an innocent bystander below who was waiting on a train. Equally tragic, Adams has been a good citizen in his life. He passed the necessary background checks to get hired and has no violent history in his criminal records. Now he sits in Cook County Jail with no bond as he prays the man he shot doesn’t die or his charges will be upgraded to murder. A seemingly decent man lost his temper and will now pay.

I hope the prosecutors and judge take his past into consideration when issuing a sentence. But for all of my fellow legal concealed carry permit holders, please, for the love of God, DON’T DO THIS!