Pointed my pistol at another human today.

[bubba84]

Dropped the wife off at the front of JCPenneys as the kids and I were gonna wait in the car. I moved about a 1/3 of the way through the parking lot away from the store and parked under a light pole. There was a couple standing at their vehicle at the very back of the parking lot. I could hear their argument with my windows rolled up. The female was standing at the rear of their SUV with the liftgate up, changing a babies diaper while the male was pacing back and forth around the car. She finished changing the diaper and placed the child in the rear seat on the drivers side. She got in the drivers seat. He got in the passenger side and slammed the door so hard I saw the glass ripple. She got out, grabbed the baby, and started walking back to the store. I told my kids that if I got out of the vehicle they were to stay put, be still, and be quiet. She pulled her phone out and was dialing while walking away. When she started dialing, he jumped out of their vehicle and ran up behind her and kicked her right leg out from under her. She stumbled, dropped the phone and almost dropped the baby. I got out of my vehicle and as I was approaching, he kicked her again. I yelled for him to get away from her and to stop kicking her. He turned his attention toward me and yelled an explative followed by "you, nerd." (Didnt know I looked nerdy). As he started toward me, he shoved his hand in his pocket. I drew and pointed my pistol at him and told him to remove his hand from his pocket and get on the ground. Spent 8.5 years in LE and the muscle memory and commands were instictual. I started reaching for a radio mic that wasnt where I wore it when I was in uniform. He showed his hands and kept approaching. I reholstered to keep the pistol secure because I knew it was about to go fisticuffs. A lady in another vehicle also saw the entire incident and went to flag down a trooper that had passed by a few seconds prior to this. As he got within arms reach, I spun him away from me and arm barred him to the ground. I was on top of him when the trooper pulled up and yelled for me to get off of him. I told the trooper I was not getting off of him until he was in handcuffs as he had assaulted his gf, was combative and resisting. The trooper pulled his taser and cuffs. Trooper told the bf that if he continued to fight before he was cuffed that he would be tased, I helped the trooper cuff him.

The local pd showed up and started their investigation. The gf and other female witness corroborated what had happened. They took pictures of her injuries, recorded her and my statement on a video camera and BF was hauled off to jail.

I definitely would not have reholstered to go hand to hand. At that point, there is already a firearm involved (yours). If he were to get a lucky punch in, there is a very real possibility of having your firearm taken and you being shot to death by your own firearm.
If someone is advancing towards me while I have drawn, if they keep coming, they will get shot. There will be a verbal warning, but there is not going to be a fistfight.

And always be careful when coming to the aid of unknown parties - there have been instances of the person who was assaulted lying to cover the abuser. I.e. abused wife/gf lies to cover abusive husband/bf, and the good Samaritan getting the shaft.

You make valid points, and I understand completely the risks involved, with my prior employment I have a little more training and exposure to these types of situations and have been involved in dozens "use of force" incidents. I also realize that there is always somebody bigger and badder and everyone has a time to go. I dont let either of those possibilities determine my standards. I couldnt look myself in the mirror if i looked the other way when somebody needed help.

[Medley86]

In a situation like that I would feel obligated to do something, however I don't know if I would have been willing to go hand to hand. I'm 30 5' 10" 185lbs. still don't know if I would want to fight someone roughly the same size as me and obviously enraged. Glad it all worked out for the best.