Read the excerpt below and answer the question. …coming right out flat-footed and saying he would steal his children – children that belonged to a man I didn’t even know; a man that hadn’t ever done me no harm.

I was sorry to hear Jim say that, it was such a lowering of him.

Which of the following is the best meaning of the phrase “flat-footed” as it is used in this excerpt?

clumsily or awkwardly
exactly 12-inches long
a police officer with a regular patrol path
having feet that are flat on one side