PLATFORM : In Defense of Self-Defense

My store doubles as a free referral and counseling center for homeless and chemically dependent persons, so I have opted for an “open-door” policy. There’s a certain level of worry about robbery in any jewelry business, and some of us keep guns handy. But I was hit with a new kind of fear this week.

“Police Say Watch Shop Owner Kills 4th, 5th Suspects,” said the headline in The Times on Feb. 21. It was talking about Lance Thomas, a West L.A. jeweler, who I know to be a private and peaceful man interested only in running his business. The article that followed was fair and balanced, noting that Thomas fired his weapon only after being fired on.

Even so, the reaction of a professor at Loyola Law School, Laura Levenson, was this: “When you have somebody who repeatedly acts in self-defense, you’ve got to ask yourself: Are they really reasonably in fear? (The question is) whether they’re actually in fear or are just saying, ‘Make my day.’ ” It’s difficult to see how this question could even be asked about Thomas, and a look at the previous incidents, from news accounts and Thomas’ own recollection, shows why.

In the first one, in August, 1989, Thomas didn’t shoot until one of two armed robbers stuck a pistol in his face. He wounded one of them and allowed the other to pull his wounded accomplice (who recovered and is still in prison) out of the shop. A few months later, in November, five would-be robbers armed with automatic weapons shot Thomas in the shoulder and the neck. He returned fire, killing two of the men. The others escaped. Last December, Thomas shot and killed another robber after being shot in the neck. A female accomplice escaped unharmed. And in the latest incident, one thing that went unreported was that Thomas heard one robber yell, “You’re dead!” as he fired at Thomas’ co-worker.

Lance Thomas takes no pride in what he has done to these men. His only accomplishment is survival. Only a month ago I sat with him for a few hours in his home, shortly after the last incident. There was no rancor in his voice as he spoke about those who tried to harm him. I got the distinct impression that he mostly felt saddened by a society violently out of control.

After The Times story appeared, I called Thomas, incensed that anyone could doubt him. He took the time to calm me down, quietly reminding me that this was not a personal attack, but rather a possible harbinger of a more ominous consequence for all of us.

This is an issue of proprietors versus gangsters and hoodlums who would take our livelihoods and our lives. I ask myself as a merchant if I still have the right to defend myself.

I dread the day when I may be faced with a similar situation, and can only pray that if that day comes, I will use the same good judgment that Lance Thomas has managed to exercise thus far. The only thing I fear more than that moment is those who would deny my right to appropriately defend myself.