POINT BLANK
By Sam Hanna
IT HAD BEEN A TOUGH DAY, BUT THE CRISIS WAS OVER. OFFICER SAM HANNA ONLY HAD TWO HOURS LEFT ON HIS SHIFT. WHAT COULD GO WRONG?
“48-16”
“I’VE BEEN SHOT”
“CODE FIVE”
THAT NIGHT OFFICER HANNA WAS SHOT SIX TIMES AT POINT BLANK RANGE IN HIS PATROL CAR. BY A SERIES OF MIRACLES HE SURVIVED TO GO ON TO A DISTINGUISHED 38-YEAR CAREER IN LAW ENFORCEMENT.
THIS INCIDENT LED TO A STORY AIRED ON TELEVISION’S TOP COPS PROGRAM, BUT IT BARELY SCRATCHES THE SURFACE OF WHAT MADE SAM HANNA TOP COP. IN THIS ACCOUNT YOU WILL READ ABOUT SAM’S DRIVE FOR JUSTICE AND HIS DEEP BELIEF FOR BOTH THE VISTIMS OF THE CRIME AND THOSE HE ARRESTED. SOME OF THESE STORIES ARE HEARTBREAKING. SOME SPEAK FOR SAM’S HARD FOUGHT EFFORTS FOR CLOSURE. YOU WILL ALSO READ OF LIVES DRAMATICALLY CHANGED FOR THE GOOD BY SAM’S ACTIONS.
IT’S CLEAR THAT OFFICER HANNA DID’T WRITE THIS ACCOUNT TO BRAG – HE ISN’T THAT TYPE. THIS BOOK IS A SOLID GUIDE FOR YOUNG OFFICERS, IN LINE WITH THE MENTORS WHO HAD SHAPED OFFICER HANNA’S LIFE. IT IS ALSO A CHALLENGE TO US, THE PUBLIC AT LARGE, TO FIND BETTER WAYS TO DEAL WITH OUR CONFLICTS.
THIS IS A STORY THAT HAD TO BE WRITTEN.
IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE IT, READ THE BOOK.
Written In The Herald Bulletin – By Rebecca R. Bibbs:
In 2015, as Don McAllister worked on his fifth novel, he found he needed some expert advice on writing crime scenes, so he sought out Sam Hanna.
As it happened, Hanna had a need of his own with formatting, editing and publishing his autobiography about his career as a former Madison County Sheriff’s deputy and Elwood police chief.
“He said, ‘You’re an author, and my family has been after me to write this book for quite some time,’” McAllister recalled. “Sam sat down with me, and I thought, ‘Wow, this book needs to be written.’”
The end product is “Point Blank,” named in remembrance of a Nov. 19, 1978 incident in which Hanna was shot six times at point blank range by Joe Thompson in his patrol car during a traffic stop on the outskirts of Anderson near I-69.
The shooting incident, in which Hanna was shot in the face, chest and arm, was featured in 1991 on CBS television’s “Top Cop” program.
“As he started to send me this stuff to compile, I got tears in my eyes,” McAllister said. “The story comes together as divinely structured. His whole life is just amazing.”
The book covers several incidents in Hanna’s career in law enforcement, including a time when a contract killer hired to murder him with a bomb big enough to take out his entire neighborhood called to warn him.
“Because of the man he was, he was able to get that level of respect as a law enforcement officer from someone who was supposed to kill him,” McAllister said.
A graduate of Anderson High School, Anderson University and the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy, Hanna said many of the stories contained in “Point Blank” are the ones he thought might include one day if he ever were to write a book about his 38-year career with the Madison County Sheriff’s Department.
“I’ve always said my career is not my career. It’s the career God has put me in,” the Madison Park Church of God member said. “You don’t take six bullets and walk or almost walk all the way to an ambulance. It’s a miracle what He has done for me.”
The shooting incident was a defining moment in Hanna’s life. Where other law enforcement officers who survive a shooting may slow down, he said, being shot only inspired him to work harder.
“All it did was to make me go out and want to protect Madison County even more,” he said.
Sharing his story of survival becomes even more important in the face of line-of-duty deaths, such as that last week of Howard County Sheriff’s Deputy Carl A. Koontz, Hanna said.
“It breaks my heart because these people are protecting our public,” he said, “but the public is not always giving them the respect they deserve.
“The night I got shot, I had a lot of support from the community.”
Lisa Harney, owner of My Favorite Things, admitted Hanna’s book is a little different from the crafty items she typically sells in her shop. However, she came across an announcement of Hanna’s book on his Facebook page and contacted one of her jewelry vendors, a former dispatcher who knew him, to offer her shop for the book signing.
“I just like to help people out, which is the whole purpose of us doing this,” she said. “All my vendors are Christians. Sam Hanna is a Christian.”
From Andy Oldham:
Sam Hanna and I met and played football together in high school. We have been spiritual warriors for Christ ever since. I am thankful that the Lord protected Sam that night in 1978 so that today he sends me a daily word of encouragement. I cannot express the Love of Christ my friend shares for others. His love is so genuine that he even befriended his shooters daughter, who now calls him Dad. He has been an amazing friend for life, something I value with my all my heart. If only we granddads could offer this kind of love to others while our grandchildren witness it in action.
You will not be disappointed when you purchase and read,
POINT BLANK
Sam lives in Anderson, IN with his wife and three grown sons. He waits with an expectant heart, for his first grandchild.
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