Broward County, FL — Bill Norkunas, a 70-year old resident of Broward County, Florida, has a heck of a story. He had just stepped out of the shower on November 7th when he saw a ‘shadowy figure’ outside the bathroom window of his home.
A survivor of childhood polio, Norkunas is medically disabled. He flicked on an outside light, trying to tell the intruder that he’d lost the element of surprise. But instead of scaring the intruder away, the man outside decided that rush in before Norkunas had time to prepare himself.
Meanwhile, Norkunas grabbed his phone — and his gun. He dialed 911 and shouted to the the stranger that he would shoot if necessary.
The police responded, but according to Norkunas and several neighbors, the deputies arrived on Norkunus’s street in the Tamarac neighborhood but stopped their car about 500 yards from the property.
Neighbors would not call the response “the highest level.” Instead of stopping the would-be-intruder at Norkunas’ door, witnesses said, the deputies stayed down the street and around a corner, some 500 yards away while Norkunas and his neighbors flooded the 911 emergency communications system begging for help for almost 15 minutes.
“If he opens the door can I shoot him?” Norkunas asks the 911 dispatcher about two minutes into his phone call for help.
By the third minute, Norkunas is telling the dispatcher that the stranger is trying to kick the door in, according to recording of the call. While still on the phone with the dispatcher, Norkunas can be heard warning the stranger that he better leave or he is going to get shot. Until this point in his life, Norkunas had never pointed a gun at anyone before.
“Get the cops here quick,” he barks into the phone at minute four.
Three minutes later, Norkunas’ voice is weary: “Sheriff, hurry up please.”
Three more minutes pass. “Where the hell are the cruisers? … They are still not here. Jesus Christ. There’s still no cruisers. Come to my house, please please.”
He tells the dispatcher his glass door is smashed in and he doesn’t know what to do. The dispatcher tells him the deputies are canvassing the area to “make sure no one else gets hurt.”
Even after Norkunas’ glass door was shattered, the deputies, parked just a few houses down the street, failed to respond.
Realizing that the man in the house is serious — and armed — the suspect, a 23-year old named Timothy Johnson, simply gave up on Norkunas. He then freely walked away from Norkunas’ home and started to try to break into several other homes on the street. Meanwhile, neighbors who weren’t disabled were following and watching Johnson from a distance — all while on the phone with 911 dispatchers.
“Oh God, oh God, Oh God he’s walking to my f— house. Holy f—. Please help me. … Please hurry the f– up,” cried out another neighbor, who spent several minutes on the phone with a dispatcher initially trying to get help for Norkunas and then for herself as Johnson headed toward her house.
With each minute that passes, the more incensed the woman becomes.
The dispatcher tries to assure her help is on the way.
With Fuentes still following the man, the man then goes to another neighbor’s house. The woman tells this to the dispatcher. “Oh my God this guy is f— terrorizing everybody’s house and you guys are nowhere to be found.”
She lays into the dispatcher: “He could have gotten away and he could have hurt someone. My neighbor is disabled. My neighbor walks with a cane and you guys take your time. You guys take your f— time.
The dispatcher replies: “They were not taking their time.”
Luckily for the Broward County sheriff’s office, alleged intruder Johnson wandered in their direction and the crowd of deputies took him into custody.
Broward County Cowards?
Needless to say, the lack of effective response by the Broward County deputies has shaken the neighborhood. According to Norkunas, nearly every neighbor he’s spoken to says they now want a gun of their own in case something like this happens again.
Gun owners will remember that during the shooting at the Parkland, FL high school in February of 2018, Broward County deputies also waited outside rather than confront the shooter, Nickolas Cruz.
But they don’t have to help, according to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that law enforcement have no obligation to protect you as an individual, so Norkunas and his neighbors have no legal recourse against the sheriff’s department for refusing to respond to the multiple 911 calls. Norkunas says the sheriff’s office offered him $500 from the county’s victim services fund, which he refused.
Every American Needs A Gun
When seconds count, the police are minutes away!’ Or, if you live in Broward County, Florida, the cops will sit on the edge of your street and wait for you to sort the problem out, anyway!
This story perfectly illustrates why every single American should have a gun to defend themselves with. The young man who was trying to break into these homes has already been released on a $14,000 bond and could target a new neighborhood any time.
But we’d guess he’ll pick a different neighborhood next time, since the folks in this neighborhood have already learned their lesson the hard way. He won’t find so many unarmed victims if he tries his stunt again!