Only few know the split-second decision scenario better then Army First Lieutenant Clint Lorance.
In 2014, Clint was deployed to Afghanistan as a Platoon Leader of an Army infantry combat unit. During a routine patrol in an area of Kandahar province known for IED’s (improvised explosive devices) and random attacks on U.S. forces, Clint ran into a situation.
Several Afghan motorcyclists approached his platoon and they ignored orders to stop. He was faced with a split-second decision.
Clint tells LET:
“During those few seconds I had to decide, I was thinking about the intelligence reports that I was very familiar with and how the Taliban would place C-4 explosives under the seat of the motorcycle in such a way you couldn’t even see it.”
Clint gave the order to fire, and two of the motorcyclists were killed. The military disagreed with the decision and subsequently charged and convicted him with ‘unpremeditated murder’ and sentenced to twenty years in Leavenworth.
The case was later picked up by United American Patriots, UAP.org, who advocates on behalf of servicemen and women who are wrongfully imprisoned by providing free legal services. And after mounting evidence supporting Clint’s case was exposed by UAP (such as bomb-making residue found on the motorcyclists hands), Clint was pardoned by President Trump late 2019.
Article written by Eddie Molina and published by Law Enforcement Today on February 22, 2021.
