So, i was leaving wal greens(ji) today and a big truck was turning in and i had to pull up into the shopping complex entrance so he could get in to wal greens there was cars all behind me so i had to pull forward. there was alot of traffic and i blocked a guy from going strait to the shops behind pappa murphys and wal greens for about a min. until the car two cars in front of me pulled out on folly road. When the car pulled out i pulled up and waited for the next car to pull onto folly rd. this guy drvoe 30 feet past meand stops and yells,“Ill slap you in the face.”" I said dont do it" and told him why i was blocking his lane. i am still sitting in traffic and cant move and he gets out of the car with a board or club or splint or something that was wooden and thick and started walking toward me making threats. my mind raced for a second i decide to grab my pistol and tell him loudly and clearly to get back in his car or things would end very badly and started to roll my windows up. He had kind of stopped when he saw me reach to the glove box and then he got right back in and drove off. i thought in a split sec about all of my options and they came down to this:
Get out and he would probably hit me w what ever he had.
Get out with the gun and make a scene
roll up window and sit there but this fool could bust out my window with that object and hit me.
or notify him that if he continued i was prepared to stop him with lethal force.
I NEVER WANT TO PULL A GUN LET ALONE SHOOT A PERSON.
I always want to avoid confrontation but since i could not flee i figured the choice i made did that and no one was injured because of road rage. I have recently learned how fragile life is with all thats been going on for the past few months and was no doubt for a second scared for my life. I never pointed it at him just had it in my hand. Hopefully, i handled the situation properly.
You did the right thing, Jimmy. Know what force you have at hand and when to use. Keep yourself safe but legal and go home to your family at the end of the day.
I definitely think that you got the best possible outcome. Nobody got hurt and the other guy probably learned a good lesson as well. You did the right thing.
Yep! That guy will think twice about doing that again! Did he do a stutter step and get a duh look on his face before he turned around. What ever happened, you saved yourself a lot of heartburn. You know someone was going to yell for you to be arrested even though you probably had lots of witnesses. Glad it turned out they way it did and you didn’t have to shoot the dumb azz! Imagine his rage, having to wait for 1 minute[:0]That brings up a question? This guy was coming at you with a weapon! If you just showed him your gun in hand, could you then get arrested for brandishing?
You did right. Lots of folks use the gun and a show-off tactic, which puts the criminal in charge of what happens next (he could pull his gun and shoot, he can run, or he can cower.) It doesn’t sound to me like you did anything wrong at all.
My father (expert rifleman, US Army) taught me that if I pull a gun, I should only do it when I’m ready to shoot and kill. So, pull the gun, shoot, and kill. Until then, leave it in the holster and pursue other methods of maintaining the peace.
I’m not sure about warning people about the possibility of lethal force. Y’all inform me on this, because I do not have any formal training on this. But based on what my dad taught me, warning someone that you are prepared to use lethal force may make the situation far more dangerous, because the criminal is now much more likely to resort to lethal force. It just depends on which of the two of you are quicker on the trigger. It’s safer for you and those around you (it seems to me) if you keep the existence of your gun a secret until the bullet finds it’s mark. Until then, you try other methods of keeping peace that don’t involve fighting.
… The Cross of Christ is the anvil upon which the hammer of evil wore itself out.
You did right. Just remember in S.C. you can use deadly force if some one puts a finger inside your car and you fear for your life. Outside the car is a different matter, so much more burden of proof. More so if the perpetrator lives.
You did good. Had you exited your vehicle with your weapon drawn 20 people would call 911 and you would be arrested on the spot for road rage taken to jail and booked awaiting your bond hearing. At your hearing you could tell the judge your story. The guy who threatened you with the board would also be at your hearing telling a different story and requesting that bond be denied because he felt his life would be in danger if you were released.
People will forget what you said…
People will forget what you did…
But people will never forget how you made them feel.
Some people get so mad about the smallest thing. I wonder if they just sit around pissed off all day.
I always hear you shouldn’t pull until you’re ready to shoot. If someone’s walking towards you with a baseball bat, why would it be bad to just hold your weapon up to let him know what he’s about to get into? This is an honest question for discussion.
Better to be judged by 12 then carried by 6. You did the right thing. Sometimes we don’t g et second chances …and trying to explain or reason with a idiot doesn’t work. His actions in itself proved he was crazy/ irrational. Glad you are ok.
One of the reasons I’m considering installing a front and rear dash cam. Technology is getting affordable enough that it could bail you out of a lot of hassle.
… The Cross of Christ is the anvil upon which the hammer of evil wore itself out.
quote:I always hear you shouldn't pull until you're ready to shoot.
Ready to shoot and intending to or actually shooting are different things. Do not pull a weapon if you are merely bluffing, have no justifiable reason to shoot or aren’t capable of actually shooting someone. Showing someone that you are armed during a potentially life-threatening experience is not in and of itself wrong. In this case, it sounds like it dissolved a bad situation with no harm coming to either party. I have drawn my weapon many times on the job and have been fully prepared to use it if the situation dictated doing so. The old saying, “don’t draw it unless you plan to use it” is stupid and dangerous.
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”.
I had a similar situation years ago in Kansas City right after I got out of the Army. The guy behind me was freaking out and screaming at me to pull over. I didn’t pull over, but when I came to a stop at a light he jumped out screaming at me and telling me he was going kick my teeth in. I grabbed my pistol as he was charging towards my truck. I had just came back from back to back Afghanistan and Iraq tours and had no issues killing him if he attacked me in my truck. My wife begged me to give her the gun and I did. He came up and started slamming his hand on my truck screaming for me to get out. I got out and ended up beating the hell out of him while his wife and kids were watching from his car. The cops showed up and after I told the cop what happened he told me “You should of just shot him from inside your truck it would of made things a lot easier.” He then apologized and arrested me for assault. It took $5000 in lawyers fees and a year to get the charges dropped. He then took me to civil court for his hospital bill(broken orbital bone, broken nose, concussion and 37 stitches) and pain and suffering. It took another $2500 in lawyer fees to beat that. Every lawyer, cop and judge told me I could of shot him once he started banging on my truck and Missouri’s Castle law would of covered me.
quote:I always hear you shouldn't pull until you're ready to shoot.
The old saying, "don't draw it unless you plan to use it" is stupid and dangerous.
I’m ready to change my opinion to agree with you, but I would like to know why it’s dangerous and stupid. I was always taught this by my father (post, above) since he felt that a criminal that sees a gun in your hand is vastly, vastly more likely to resort to lethal force when he sees it. Thus he always taught that you don’t draw the gun unless you immediately aim and fire, and not put it back until the situation is secure. You say that this is dangerous and stupid, and I’m definitely not here to debate it, but I’d like to know why it’s dangerous and stupid. I ask as a learner, not a loudmouth.
… The Cross of Christ is the anvil upon which the hammer of evil wore itself out.
I say that as a LEO but the same principal applies in many civilian situations as well. If I waited to draw my weapon to see what a person had behind his back or in his pocket I could be dead. If I waited until a person stepped out of the shadows to see what he had in his hand I could be dead. Reaction will almost always lose out to action. Having your weapon out at the ready may mean the difference between winning and losing. I have attended many schools over the years, read and been involved in studies regarding use of force. The average person (not trained) takes anywhere from 3/4 - 1.5 seconds to simply recognize a threat. They must then analyze that threat, formulate a strategy and initiate some kind of physical response. That is mere seconds, seconds you may not have to spare.
The old adage of drawing unless you intend to shoot inhibits some people because it may not be a “shoot situation” at that precise moment. It may quickly (a second or less) become a shoot situation and by then it may be too late.
I read your posts, I know you weren’t being argumentative. I hope this answers your question. No offense to your Dad.
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”.
I say that as a LEO but the same principal applies in many civilian situations as well. If I waited to draw my weapon to see what a person had behind his back or in his pocket I could be dead. If I waited until a person stepped out of the shadows to see what he had in his hand I could be dead. Reaction will almost always lose out to action. Having your weapon out at the ready may mean the difference between winning and losing. I have attended many schools over the years, read and been involved in studies regarding use of force. The average person (not trained) takes anywhere from 3/4 - 1.5 seconds to simply recognize a threat. They must then analyze that threat, formulate a strategy and initiate some kind of physical response. That is mere seconds, seconds you may not have to spare.
The old adage of drawing unless you intend to shoot inhibits some people because it may not be a “shoot situation” at that precise moment. It may quickly (a second or less) become a shoot situation and by then it may be too late.
I read your posts, I know you weren’t being argumentative. I hope this answers your question. No offense to your Dad.
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”.
Ok, makes complete sense (no offense whatsoever for my dad ). I think the main thing is that you don’t pull it unless you are prepared to use it. Thanks for your time, it’s well taken.
… The Cross of Christ is the anvil upon which the hammer of evil wore itself out.
I imagined myself in your situation and here’s what I hope I would do (I realize that in reality, one doesn’t always do what one hopes):
As soon as I saw the guy was out of his vehicle and armed with some sort of club, then pistol in hand and ready. Windows up, doors locked, don’t get out of the vehicle, seat belt off and clear in case I needed to move or exit quickly. If the opportunity to drive off presents itself, do so. Phone ready to dial 911.
Make sure he knows I’m armed if he comes to the window. If he actually hits the window, dial 911 and make sure to shout and tell him to stop. If the glass breaks, fire. At that point, your life is on the line.
Like I said, that’s with the clarity of sitting here thinking about it calmly. In reality when **** is going down, things don’t seem so clear.
“You have the right to the pursuit of happiness. You do not have a guarantee that you shall have it.”
I imagined myself in your situation and here’s what I hope I would do (I realize that in reality, one doesn’t always do what one hopes):
As soon as I saw the guy was out of his vehicle and armed with some sort of club, then pistol in hand and ready. Windows up, doors locked, don’t get out of the vehicle, seat belt off and clear in case I needed to move or exit quickly. If the opportunity to drive off presents itself, do so. Phone ready to dial 911.
Make sure he knows I’m armed if he comes to the window. If he actually hits the window, dial 911 and make sure to shout and tell him to stop. If the glass breaks, fire. At that point, your life is on the line.
Like I said, that’s with the clarity of sitting here thinking about it calmly. In reality when **** is going down, things don’t seem so clear.
“You have the right to the pursuit of happiness. You do not have a guarantee that you shall have it.”
that is almost how it happened but in the few seconds i had i forgot all about the phone and i cant remember in if i locked the door. It all happened so fast.
I’d rather be a free man in my grave than living as a puppet or a slave.
). I think the main thing is that you don’t pull it unless you are prepared to use it. Thanks for your time, it’s well taken.