First Blood: All The Real-Life Crimes Committed By John Rambo

John Rambo was a sympathetic anti-hero in First Blood, particularly due to his plight as a Vietnam veteran suffering from PTSD. All he wanted to do was be left alone, but the arrogant Sheriff Teasle and his small-town police force had other plans. When they pushed him too far, he ended up triggering a small war right in America’s backyard.

Unfortunately, Rambo broke a lot of laws in his attempt to get away from Teasle and his men. This went far beyond him simply resisting arrest, and it even cost a life in the process. While audiences everywhere were on Rambo’s side, the law would still have remained impartial. Yet, this philosophical dilemma is what made First Blood one of the best thrillers of the 1980s.

Assaulting A Police Officer

After being knocked around the police station by Teasle’s men, Rambo was ready to explode. The final straw came when they attempted to clean him up by shaving his face with a straight razor. It was too much for Rambo’s PTSD-rattled mind to handle, and his survival instincts kicked in.

He assaulted several officers before breaking out of the precinct, which would easily have gotten him into some serious legal hot water. The attacks were substantial, with a level of fury that might have killed, or otherwise seriously maimed them.

Grand Theft Auto

After breaking out of the police station, Rambo immediately looks for the closest vehicle he can find, in order to make his way out of the town. He quickly commandeers a motorcycle and proceeds to make a run for it, leaving its owner on the ground in a daze.

Grand theft auto isn’t the worst charge in the world, but it’s a serious one, nonetheless. The theft of another person’s vehicle comes with a list of legal-related headaches for the perpetrator, and it’s made even worse when he flees police pursuit.

Fleeing The Police

Running from the police is always a terrible idea, no matter what the situation, but Rambo’s mind was already in flight mode. He fled into the wilderness on a motorbike in order to change the trajectory of the fight, putting the environment on his side.

Nevertheless, it’s a serious crime that would have netted him a charge. Worse, Rambo put himself, the pursuing officers, and the public at risk with a high-speed pursuit, which wouldn’t have looked very good on a list of charges.

Involuntary Manslaughter

The sadistic Galt took great delight in tormenting Rambo, but it ended up costing him his life in the process. Galt met his end when he attempted to gun down Rambo with a rifle, from the open cabin of a helicopter. With nowhere to go, Rambo used whatever he could to try and fight back.

He ended up throwing a rock at the windshield of the helicopter, which startled the pilot. This, combined with a nasty crosswind caused the pilot to tilt the helicopter a bit too much. Galt plunged to his death on the rocks below, which would have nabbed Rambo an involuntary manslaughter charge, at the very least. One of the main differences between the novel and film versions of First Blood is that Rambo isn’t so forgiving, and ends up slaughtering most of the cops.

Resisting Arrest

After Galt was killed, Teasle and his attempted once more to apprehend Rambo. Unfortunately, they were in no mood to show any leniency, and when it looked like Rambo was going to make a run for it, they shot at him. Had Rambo immediately given up and waited to be cuffed, it would have stopped the conflict right there.

Of course, Rambo would have been on the hook for Galt’s demise, as well as a laundry list of other charges. It was a no-win scenario, but by fleeing, Rambo ended up attracting a ton of attention when Teasle called for reinforcements, triggering a massive manhunt.

Threatening Law Enforcement

Teasle and his men decided to wade into the thick, dense forest in order to flush Rambo out, but little did they know that they were on his turf. He knew it well, having survived in some of the most inhospitable places on the planet. With nature at his side, Rambo could weave in and out of the foliage, set traps, and attack when needed.

He ended up painfully disabling the pursuing officers, before making his move on Teasle. He held a large knife to Teasle’s throat and openly threatened to kill every single one of them unless they backed off. Threatening the murder of police officers comes with some stiff penalties, but in this case, Rambo was justified.

Carjacking A National Guard Vehicle

After being left for dead in an underground mine shaft, Rambo managed to escape, and his mind was set on vengeance. It was no longer a matter of getting out of town. Now, he wanted to get even with Teasle, the man who had tormented him and drove him back into a war that he no longer wanted to fight.

His first order of business was to carjack a National Guard transport truck containing a bunch of weaponry. With this cache at his disposal, Rambo set his sights on going after Teasle in the middle of town, in the dead of night. This kind of tit-for-tat escalation is one of the most enduring parts of First Blood. 

Property Destruction

After returning to town, Rambo viewed it as a combat zone and acted accordingly. His objective was to cause as much mayhem as possible in order to draw the police away from the precinct, which was a clever diversionary tactic.

However, the amount of damage Rambo did to the town with high-powered weaponry would not have gone unnoticed. He’d definitely have been forced to pay the piper, in one form or another. From a battlefield perspective, Rambo was simply relying on the tactics he’d been taught. To everyone else, however, he was a menace.

Acts Of Terrorism

Waging war on an entire town, and destroying its infrastructure is not the way to gain support or public trust. Rambo set about blowing up a gas station, a gun, and an ammo store, and knocking out the power to entire blocks, plunging the area in darkness. The sheer panic and danger from such an attack would have been astronomical.

Rambo would definitely have been slapped with a domestic terrorism charge, and it would be a hard one to shake. Rambo was not defending himself, but rather, knocking out infrastructure in preparation for a preemptive strike. It’s one of the more nonsensical things about the First Blood story, as all he wanted to do was be left alone.

Attacking A Police Station

Attacking an entire police station is considered one of the most despicable acts imaginable, and the penalties should be even more severe. Rambo guns down the entire police precinct with a gigantic machine gun in the hopes of gunning down Teasle, but Teasle lay up in hiding.

The objective was to take him out, but in so doing, Rambo might have murdered a bunch of other cops, as well. Luckily, they were out searching for him, but if that weren’t the case, Rambo might have faced several third-degree murder charges for reckless and premeditated behavior.

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