I have a basic rule I tell folks…don’t get involved in fights that aren’t yours. But certain things seem to get past my logical/legal ramifications filter and I tend to act on instinct instead of thought.
While watching the video, I was getting madder by the second, and it was clear that if I was in the bar, I would have reacted. It may not have been legally prudent for me to get involved, but I can’t change my nature…
Based on the video, I saw nothing the girl did that justified him responding the way he did. No I didn’t hear the audio, but no mater how bad the insult or put-down was, it didn’t justify him coming behind the bar…and her trying to push him back to where he belonged didn’t justify his response either. To sit and watch her get beat like that would be against every standard I have.
If I move this incident to Texas, then I would not be armed with a pistol since it’s a bar, so my options would be limited to non-firearm (verbal, knees, elbows, hands, bottles, folder, etc). Note to self, I really need to get some pepper spray and start carrying it! I’m too old and worn down for fisty-cuffs.
Now I haven’t been in a bar in over 20 years, so let’s move this to a location I’m more likely to visit like a restaurant and make the girl a waitress behind the counter. In this case, I would be armed with my pistol. I would have someone call 911 and then I would order the guy to get off the girl. If verbal commands were ignored, or he advanced on me, I may pull the pistol. Being an off duty cop, he would probably be carrying, and may try to draw against the drop (after all, he is drunk…) and the situation would go downhill fast from there…for both of us.
But there’s another possibility to the scenario…when I give the command to stop, he actually stops beating the girl and shifts his attention to me. If he advances on me, I retreat and continue to try and de-escalate the situation, and ultimately am successful. The waitress’s injuries are limited, the cop doesn’t get shot, I don’t display my pistol, he probably storms out of the restaurant, I let him go, and we all get to live to see another day. I personally believe this outcome is at least as likely as the first one (even more likely). By the way, it appears to me that’s what happened in the video…
MTICop: Those shoot/no-shoot training exercises are a real eye opener aren’t they. During the 70’s I was working counter-intel and they were big on training exercises. In one exercise we were told there were very bad guys on the other side of the door and we were to take them down (capture was not the intent). The door was breached and I was the first one through. What I saw as a guy sitting in a chair with a pistol in his hand pointing in my direction. I fired while moving to make room for the others to enter and we cleared the room. I was very surprised to find there was only one terrorist in the place.
Then we had the after action review and I found out how wrong I was. It seems we breached the “wrong address� due to a typo at HQ, the guy I shot was in fact just cleaning his 45, and the instructor said “Son, go directly to jail�. After doing my 20 push-ups I asked what I should have done. His answer was “don’t shoot innocent people� and I did another 20 for asking stupid questions.
The next day it was a similar exercise, again I was first through the door, the guy was again sitting with a weapon and I hesitated…the guy shot me before the second guy through the door got him. I did another 20 for letting government property (me) get destroyed.
I asked the instructor just exactly what was he trying to teach me? One day it’s wrong to shoot, and the next it’s not…his answer was “I’m trying to teach you that you can be dead right, and dead wrong. This is a dangerous business, learn to live with it�. Then of course I did the obligatory 20 push-ups for “being stupid�.
The training lasted for several weeks with multiple exercises per week, and I made other mistakes, but after all these years, those two have stuck in my mind.
But it’s a lesson I think applies to us as CHL holders. When you strap on that weapon, you accept a heavy responsibility that could have serious consequences for you and others. And here’s a key point, no action can be just as bad as action when the final results comes in.
What if in this particular case, the drunk eventually landed a blow that caused the death of the girl, and you know that had you acted you could have stopped it, but didn’t. That would be a heavy responsibility to live with for most of us. Trust your instincts and make a decision, but realize you could be right, or wrong.
