Ohio Woman Fends Off Armed Attacker With a Sock and a Can of Peas

Popeye had spinach, Latoyia Taylor had a can of peas. That and a sock were all the Ohio woman needed to fend off an armed attacker and his apparent accomplice.

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Taylor said a loud knocking brought her into the hallway of her Toledo apartment building Tuesday when a masked man started pistol-whipping her, 13abc.com reported.
"He grabbed me by my hair and just started hitting me, hitting me all in the back of the head and on the side," she told the station.
The 26-year-old said she then retaliated with her secret weapon: a can of peas stuffed inside a sock that she used to beat her assailant until the homemade weapon ripped and the culprit fled, 13abc.com reported.
"They attacked her for no apparent reason," witness Sharon Preston told the station.
While the man who beat Taylor got away, her boyfriend caught his apparent accomplice, Gregory Banks, and the two gave Banks a beating of his own, Preston said.
Banks, who faces an aggravated robbery charge, was at the hospital in critical condition, 13abc.com reported. Taylor also needed limited medical attention. Toledo police still were searching for the other suspect in the case.

Awesome. You see, folks, you don't NEED an AR-15, or even a shotgun. Put a can of something in a sock and beat the NWO oppressors over the head. Just kidding, but not really. Way to go, lady!

Anything can be a weapon for self defense.

reply to post by KSPigpen


Haha nice one mate!

That would hurt like hell! But I'm so clumsy I'd crack myself in the face!

But on a serious note, good idea, I cold think of nothing trickier to tackle than a foe with a sock full of cans!

PS just noticed your avatar..OMG... LMAO..seriously!

[edit on 9-8-2009 by kiwifoot]

Awesome find!

I love it when "victims" fight back...the prey becomes the predator.

Bad guys look out. You might not get a bullet, but that doesn't mean we're unarmed. LOL! Pow! Gotcha with my can o'peas.

[edit on 9-8-2009 by hstock28]

Hahah, she must have spent some time in the joint.

Real survivalists make weapons out of anything at hand. May I recommend Black Medicine - Volume 3 as the best resource for at hand weapons. If you cant get away from an attacker, let your imagination run wild. Put anything heavy in a sock and go crazy! Throw petrol on an armed robber and dare him to shoot you! Fend off a knife attack with a cushion. Imagine his surprise when you throw a cat at him.

reply to post by KSPigpen


Hey and afterwards they had a nice can of pea soup. I would imagine it might have squished them around a little bit.

A sock full of anything, even oranges, can be a most effective, and potentially deadly, weapon...let alone a sock with a can of peas!

Kudos to this woman!

If one refuses to be a victim, anything at your disposal can be an effective weapon in warding off an attacker. There are 765 ways to kill a human being while unarmed. The number of ways to simply deter an attacker are even more numerous. Most attackers are cowards that prey upon what they consider to be easy prey. If you refuse to be prey, they are easily deterred. The hardest part is learning to turn your emotions into anger instead of being controlled by your fear.

Originally posted by Majestic23
Hahah, she must have spent some time in the joint.

Real survivalists make weapons out of anything at hand. May I recommend Black Medicine - Volume 3 as the best resource for at hand weapons. ...... Imagine his surprise when you throw a cat at him.

Thanks for tip on the resource.

Be careful with the PETA folks around that last comment. I like my cat, and she's prolly going to know about any intruders before I would and already be in a nice hiding spot where she can watch the drama unfold. She's a little selfish like that.

Originally posted by KSPigpen

Originally posted by Majestic23
Hahah, she must have spent some time in the joint.

Real survivalists make weapons out of anything at hand. May I recommend Black Medicine - Volume 3 as the best resource for at hand weapons. ...... Imagine his surprise when you throw a cat at him.

Thanks for tip on the resource.

Be careful with the PETA folks around that last comment.

I like my cat, and she's prolly going to know about any intruders before I would and already be in a nice hiding spot where she can watch the drama unfold. She's a little selfish like that.

Yes, things get quite awkward at this stage. There is also the argument that sharing of such concepts can be used by the bad people of the world. Well, they will come across it in one way or anyother. Better for us to have a fighting chance. Theres no room for anything in such a situation where this would be reasonable other that a mindset that seeks to eliminate what is a threat.

On the animal welfare tip, of course we should respect animals and especially our pets, in my opinion they are of equal value as humans. I wondered about this before I posted that and the author of the book I mentioned did also in the 1970s. There have been numerous cases of cats attacking intruders of their own will and love for their owner, believe it or not.

Haha, Peas! If we had World Peas things like this wouldn't even happened. Here's an example of effective use of peas-full resistance to aggression. I guess the assailant isn't into getting pea'd on.

But yeah, anything solid with more than a few ounces of weight stuffed in a sock can be a gnarly weapon if wielded correctly. Another useful defense tool along these lines would be about 2' of garden hose filled with beach sand and plugged at the ends. The inertia of the end of the sand hose is great enough to impart significant translation of angular velocity blah blah blah and can basically snap bones with a good strike due to physics.

I saw one of my friends get completely bludgeoned down by some crazy little petite girl wielding a small purse in this manner. My friend had a duck come up to him and try to "bite" and he sorta swatted it away so it wouldn't attack him, this tiny attractive young insane woman sees this and flips out, and bashed the living crap out him with her purse till he was in the fetal position screaming like a little girl. I would have helped him but i was laughing too hard at this tiny woman beating a pretty tough dude into submission with her little purse.

Even holding something with a bit of extra mass in a clenched fist can have a similar effect. A roll of quarters in your fist will increase the force of impact due to the extra inertia and also will help with following through. I knew oldschool thugs (dudes who got paid to break legs and cut off fingers and such) from the hood who'd keep a roll of quarters in their pocket taped up real securely so that they can have something like brass knuckles without being in possession of a "weapon".

Hey babe, go girl go!

See? Vegetables are good for you.

Envision whirled peas.

I recall many a pub fight i have been called to sort out in the past where soldiers have made makeshift weapons from a pool ball in a sock, devestating results every time.

Especially here in the UK, our rules are so messed up as far as defending yourself, if it was seen that you had made a weapon with the intention of hurting someone, you'd be done instead of the criminal.

So the tin of beens in a sock is a great idea.

CX.

Hey I'll take a portable can of liquid oxygen any day. Of course if I hit myself that would be really bad but guaranteed with one squirt of that no one will be pulling any trigger or swinging anything for that matter assuming the arm holding the weapon doesn't fall off and shatter.

In all reality I would encourage people to take self defense courses from martial arts teachers. There is a lot of ways to disarm anyone with just the use of your own body. And ironically it's easier to just break the appendage threatening you than to bother disarming it in the first place. Even if the assailant is trained in martial arts the surprise factor will cause them pause just long enough to do the damage.

Thanks for this

Going to tell my kids asap, for the future, if needs be

Empowering just to read

Off to look up the 700 ways and the Black Medicine


In the past, in potentially dangerous situations, I've smashed windows from the inside. Makes a noise that gets neighbours curious and forces the intruder to quickly assess his situation. I threw a full bowl of fruit through the window. Deafening. Did the trick. Cost minimal, considering the results. I've told my kids since they were small that if they were in potentially life and death situation on the street, say from assault or kidnapping, to pick up anything to hand and start smashing house or shop windows at random. Told them use potted plants, rocks, dustbin lids, whatever. Just start smashing, make a noise .. it will get outraged property-owners rushing outside to see what's going on, and that's what you want in a situation like that. Whatever has potential to draw others to the scene has to work for the victim and against the attacker.

Also told the kids that if someone forces themselves into their vehicle, or frog marches them to the vehicle at knife or gun-point, saying 'Drive where I tell you and you won't be hurt' etc. ... then just drive into someone's front fence or wall, or even into a lamp-pole or a stationary vehicle (into a police station would be ideal) or into the back of a bus. Better to get busted legs and have to pay a repair bill than end up in a shallow grave. Told them to never believe anyone who tells them, ' Do this, obey me etc. and you won't get hurt '. Someone intending to rape or kill a victim will jump from the vehicle and run for their lives if it's involved in an accident, particularly if it attracts witnesses and assistance for the victim. Ideally, you'd smash the attacker's side of the car into something nice and solid .. break his legs not yours.

If you're stuck in a situation and can't escape no matter what, then rip into the villain and get as much of his/her DNA as possible.

And whilst on this edgy topic, I've just remembered an ordinary housewife in Queensland, Australia. It had been in the news that a man had raped and killed several women on a main highway. Then he picked the wrong woman. The rapist drove alongside her, sounding his horn and gesturing to the back of the woman's car. She pulled over, afraid her car was on fire or had a flat tyre. The rapist approached her, then held a weapon at her throat and pushed her into the surrounding bush and down into a large drain beneath the road. She screamed, but no-one could hear her. Cars were flying along over her head.

The rapist forced her to her knees and demanded she perform oral sex. Instead, she bit his penis .. hard. And she got away, flagged down cars on the highway who took her to the police. Her husband and four children were waiting at home for her. They very nearly never saw her again, except for her quick thinking and unwillingness to go down without a fight.

The news reported that all doctors in a wide vicinity were to report the rapist to police if he sought medical assistance, and to hell with doctor-patient confidentiality. Police advised that the man would be experiencing excruciating pain and potential blood poisoning. A human bite is more toxic than a bite from most wild animals and the man's penis would have begun swelling painfully, as well as being badly infected.

The woman also had the presence of mind to note the rapist's appearance and distinguishing marks, which she provided police who were quickly able to create an identikit picture which was on all the front pages.

reply to post by St Vaast

then just drive into someone's front fence or wall, or even into a lamp-pole or a stationary vehicle (into a police station would be ideal) or into the back of a bus. Better to get busted legs and have to pay a repair bill than end up in a shallow grave. Told them to never believe anyone who tells them, ' Do this, obey me etc. and you won't get hurt '. Someone intending to rape or kill a victim will jump from the vehicle and run for their lives if it's involved in an accident, particularly if it attracts witnesses and assistance for the victim.

This was the very same advice that police gave our cashiers at convenience stores, and my wife got as a bank teller!! Better to make them shoot you at the scene where help will eventually come, than to go off and get shot in a secluded area after they are through with you.

The exact instructions from the police where to comply with any demand from an armed robber, give them whatever they want, but never ever leave with them. If they are going to shoot you, make them do it here!