Would I have been within my rights if...

[Skiprr]

The law aside, which others have addressed, you say you had your wife and mother-in-law in the car with you. Don't you think your highest priority should be to protect them? Sounds like the best solution would have been to call 911, simply stay in that business parking lot a while...which would mean there should be no need to produce your firearm. If all remains quiet for four or five minutes, the possibility of conflict should be minuscule.

Speaking of the law, it seems to be a popular misconception that fearing for one's life is the standard for defense against prosecution in the use of deadly force. In fact, the word "fear" appears in only three sections of the Texas Penal Code, and none of those deal with justification for use of force or deadly force. The word "fear" doesn't appear anywhere TPC §9. IMHO, a frequent re-reading of that section of the code, in particular, is never a bad idea.

[SewTexas]

Since I'm the woman, I'm going to be brutally honest with you...

think about why you got your CHL in the first place.....
you got it to protect yourself and your family --- your wife, your mother-in-law. By chasing those cars you put them in danger. If I were your wife I would have been terrified and angry at you
and....
I would have lost a little be of trust in you, that you were my protector.

[Txtension]

Would you have been within your rights...if?

Is it proper to speculate upon your meaning of if? Are you requesting your peers in the community sign off on your behavior, and by extension, some future "thug's" death warrant?

[fast86gn]

Thanks to everyone I appreciate the responses.

[fast86gn]

I appreciate that... I wasn't chasing but I felt stopping was not a good option either. And yes I would rather avoid it then to escalate it Thanks again everyone.

[Abraham]

fast86gn,

Given your recent experience in a 'very bad part of town' will you be going back or avoid it in the future?

[fast86gn]

fast86gn,

Given your recent experience in a 'very bad part of town' will you be going back or avoid it in the future?

It's not a part of town I go to for any other reason... I'll probably go back to the restaurant again but just be more careful.

I have been going to this place for 30 years and never had a problem until now. It was also the area I grew up in but it wasn't that bad then so I am very familiar with the area, roads etc.

I live and work in a better neighborhood but no place is without problems and crime. I will just try to be more careful in the future.

[suthdj]

I had to go back and reread the OP statement to see where he said he chased anyone and still dont see it but yet here he is being chastised for something he didnt do, really folks read the OP statement before posting comments chastising him. This is a great forum but far to many hyper critical ppl.

[fast86gn]

I had to go back and reread the OP statement to see where he said he chased anyone and still dont see it but yet here he is being chastised for something he didnt do, really folks read the OP statement before posting comments chastising him. This is a great forum but far to many hyper critical ppl.

Thank you

[joelamosobadiah]

I had to go back and reread the OP statement to see where he said he chased anyone and still dont see it but yet here he is being chastised for something he didnt do, really folks read the OP statement before posting comments chastising him. This is a great forum but far to many hyper critical ppl.

My interpretation was that he was on the road, went off the road into a parking lot, then pulled back on the road and proceeded to drive in the same direction as the original aggressors. It seems as though this was effectively "chasing" them even if the intent was not to ultimately catch up to them. I do agree that many jumped on the train of thought that he actively pursued them and I didn't see that from what was posted.

[casp625]

I had to go back and reread the OP statement to see where he said he chased anyone and still dont see it but yet here he is being chastised for something he didnt do, really folks read the OP statement before posting comments chastising him. This is a great forum but far to many hyper critical ppl.

You're right, OP said the 911 operator stated not to chase the car and stop to pull over. Instead OP had his firearm drawn and proceeded down the road while keeping pace with the cars. As the other cars slowed down, OP stated he did not pass or stop, which means he slowed to an equal pace. Which begs the question:

I wonder if the [wife and mother-in-law were] impressed with his bravado?

[RPBrown]

I'm going to look at another possible issue here.

The OP said all cars were identical. This doesn't sound like "thugs" or gangs to me. They try to be as individualistic as possible in most cases. It sounds more like a professional protection detail of some sort. He didn't say where he was from but perhaps there was a national, state, or local official and it was their entourage.

I can just see you unloading on the governors body guards.

[fast86gn]

I'm going to look at another possible issue here.

The OP said all cars were identical. This doesn't sound like "thugs" or gangs to me. They try to be as individualistic as possible in most cases. It sounds more like a professional protection detail of some sort. He didn't say where he was from but perhaps there was a national, state, or local official and it was their entourage.

I can just see you unloading on the governors body guards.

Lmao. All were early to mid 2000 Impala's with big "22 rims or bigger. The one that came at me was a red SS.

[cb1000rider]

The OP said all cars were identical. This doesn't sound like "thugs" or gangs to me. They try to be as individualistic as possible in most cases. It sounds more like a professional protection detail of some sort. He didn't say where he was from but perhaps there was a national, state, or local official and it was their entourage..

I'm guessing:

Consider that the OP, fast86gn, or Fast 1986 Grand National, was probably at a "car" event where people of like-minded vehicles tend to travel in packs. These packs tend to misbehave, at least in my experience.

One of those packs had someone blocking travel for the rest of the herd, and fas86gn went around that jam-car.. Someone let him know that he was unwelcome, which was probably dangerous and illegal.

My personal advice to the OP: Someone else escalated and caused confrontation. You first thought should be to do the un-manly thing, avoid it, look for an escape route, or dont add fuel to the fire by going around the jam-car. Doesn't matter if they were not being very road courteous. It's a situation that you can and should avoid.. You REALLY shouldn't follow - although not illegal, that's probably a big no-no and could really work out not-so-well in your favor if it came to violence.

After many years of riding a motorcycle, if I see people acting like smucks in a motor vehicle, I figure a few minutes of my time to let them clear out is warranted versus the other possible outcomes. If I had an '86 Grand National in the garage, I'd probably let the less-responsible crews clear out in whatever manner that they see if rather than try and get out of the parking lot like a normal person... Even if it's my God-given right to exit in an orderly fashion.

Not saying you did a thing wrong, just saying that part of getting older is learning to spot and avoid the potential of trouble.

Want to deal with this sort of thing? Install a camera in that car - if they're really doing something dangerous/illegal, the camera has actionable evidence.

[fast86gn]

The OP said all cars were identical. This doesn't sound like "thugs" or gangs to me. They try to be as individualistic as possible in most cases. It sounds more like a professional protection detail of some sort. He didn't say where he was from but perhaps there was a national, state, or local official and it was their entourage..

I'm guessing:

Consider that the OP, fast86gn, or Fast 1986 Grand National, was probably at a "car" event where people of like-minded vehicles tend to travel in packs. These packs tend to misbehave, at least in my experience.

One of those packs had someone blocking travel for the rest of the herd, and fas86gn went around that jam-car.. Someone let him know that he was unwelcome, which was probably dangerous and illegal.

My personal advice to the OP: Someone else escalated and caused confrontation. You first thought should be to do the un-manly thing, avoid it, look for an escape route, or dont add fuel to the fire by going around the jam-car. Doesn't matter if they were not being very road courteous. It's a situation that you can and should avoid.. You REALLY shouldn't follow - although not illegal, that's probably a big no-no and could really work out not-so-well in your favor if it came to violence.

After many years of riding a motorcycle, if I see people acting like smucks in a motor vehicle, I figure a few minutes of my time to let them clear out is warranted versus the other possible outcomes. If I had an '86 Grand National in the garage, I'd probably let the less-responsible crews clear out in whatever manner that they see if rather than try and get out of the parking lot like a normal person... Even if it's my God-given right to exit in an orderly fashion.

Not saying you did a thing wrong, just saying that part of getting older is learning to spot and avoid the potential of trouble.

Want to deal with this sort of thing? Install a camera in that car - if they're really doing something dangerous/illegal, the camera has actionable evidence.

They may have been some type of car club and i use that term loosely they were still thugs or even gang members.

And yeah I have a 1986 GN but i would never take it to this part of town I was driving a Buick LaCrosse. And i would never pull the stunt they did blocking traffic that is just stupid.

The guy that blocked the road could have been t-boned and killed.