There are those out there, I've heard them, that tell young cops, "Its better to be a good witness, than to get involved," when discussing actions while off duty.  Hell, they teach it at the academy.  I even saw a video of personal testimony of a cop who, while off duty, tried to shoot an "active shooter," and hit a kid behind the target.  It was intended to teach to "wait, and be a good witness."  I took it as, "practice marksmanship." 

Of course the situation dictates the type of response and level of action...but in discussing "carrying" off duty, one counter-terrorist operator put it to me so eloquently, "I don't want to be the d-bag who raises his hand when the police come and says, 'I train for this every day, but I'm not on the clock, so here's what happened..."  I could never be that person.

Slain ATF Agent Honored at Childhood Schools

"Slain ATF agent John Capano is being honored by the school district he attended as a youngster this week not far from where he was tragically gunned down responding to the armed robbery of a local pharmacy.

All American flags in the Seaford School District were placed at half-mast this week after Capano, an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), was shot and killed responding to an armed robbery of Charlie's Family Pharmacy in Seaford. A moment of silence is also planned in honor of Capano at the start of Thursday night’s Seaford Board of Education meeting taking place at Seaford Manor School starting at 7:30 p.m.

Capano of Massapequa was picking up cancer medication at Charlie’s for his elderly father shortly before 2 p.m. Saturday when James McGoey of Hampton Bays entered the store demanding cash and drugs, prompting the ATF agent and two other men to confront the suspect as he fled out the front door. A shootout ensued and both Capano and McGoey were killed. Law-enforcement sourcestold the New York Post and ABC News they believe the bullet that struck Capano came from the gun of retired Nassau County police Lt. Christopher Geraghty, 54, who responded to the scene along with off-duty New York City Police Officer Joseph Arbia, 29, of Seaford..."