Off-duty police officer protects his "castle" from broad-daylight home invader

An off-duty Columbus police sergeant awoke to the sound of breaking glass and shot a would-be burglar breaking into his home in Pleasant Township, according to recent media reports.

From the Columbus Dispatch:

County dispatchers were alerted by a private security company of a report of an attempted burglary on Gay Road at 11:47 a.m. The sergeant, whom authorities would not identify Tuesday, shot the burglar an unknown number of times before the suspect escaped out a window and fled in a vehicle.

According to the article, the suspect was found at his mother's home in Columbus's Hilltop neighborhood. Authorities had received reports of a man suffering from a gunshot wound which matched what the off-duty sergeant described.

According to additional coverage from the Dispatch, the police sergeant reportedly told investigators that he reached for his gun and fired two shot after the suspect, 36 year-old Jason Boswell, pushed him backward. At least one round struck Boswell in the torso.

The police sergeant was not injured.

Under Ohio's Castle Doctrine law, if someone unlawfully enters or attempts to enter an occupied home or temporary habitation, or occupied car, citizens have an initial presumption that they may act in self defense, and will not be second-guessed by the State.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary, BFA PAC Vice Chairman, and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. He is the editor of BuckeyeFirearms.org, which received the Outdoor Writers of Ohio 2013 Supporting Member Award for Best Website.