Protests - the next level?

[parabelum]

This is how civil wars (oxymoron) start. Speaking as someone who’s been through one already.

[powerboatr]

Your car packs more impact energy than any handgun. If someone is trying to smash their way into my car, they’re going to get run over....end of story. You might be able to shoot your way out of a deadly confrontation with one or two people, but you can't shoot your way out of a confrontation with more people than you have bullets in your gun. I have no clue if it’s the right answer from a legal perspective, but I’d rather explain to a judge that I ran over an attacker while trying to evade a mob, than explain why I stopped in the middle of that mob and stared shooting....EVEN IF it seemed like the only option I had left at the time. And by the way, this is a powerful argument for having a dash cam running, to bolster your defense in court, in case you do have to use your front bumper to punt someone into the next county.

I am by no means against using a handgun for self defense, but it may not be the best tool for the job when you have a 2-3 ton vehicle at your disposal, and you’re safely inside of it.

To be clear, my situation was one where, by the time I got to the intersection, no one was blocking my way or even attempting to do so. That had not been the case less than a minute before for the drivers 10 cars ahead of me. If the path forward is my only path out of the situation (middle of 3 lanes headed in my direction and cars behind me) I'll try to take that.

But the video I had seen left no drive-way option. The cars were pinned on all sides and with the protesters in front. Now the energy of the car is useless. And had the protestors continued to stop the cars in front of me, that was my exact situation. I wasn't going to run over anyone because there was no room to move the car in any direction. It is under those circumstances that the next level starts.

I've pondered getting a dash cam. But as others have pointed out in links, the facts may not matter in legal cases. The angle on any video can be critiqued as not fully representative of the situation.

Thanks for all of the links to other situations from other posters.

If my life is in danger I don't care what the legal ramifications are of staying alive. Someone smashes my window and starts pulling me out of my car will be shot. Anyone coming to continue the attack on me will also be shot. Rinse and repeat until out of rounds.

Yeah, when they pull you from the car just go John Wick on them. That'll defuse the situation.

My hope would be that I would run out of people wanting to be shot but yeah, it would be a bad situation. It would still be better than being pulled out of the car like a sheep and beaten to death. There are times when death may be inevitable at the hands of others. Taking a few of them with me is much better than going alone with my tail tucked between my legs. We carry a firearm because we are people who are prepared to fight for our lives. Dying without even trying voids the reason to carry.

Running over members of a mob who are trying to drag you out of the car isn’t "not trying". Granted, you may have to fire through your window at the individual grabbing at you, in the process of evading the situation, but getting the heck OUT of there if at all possible is the preferred outcome, and 2-legged speedbumps who are trying to kill you deserve no consideration.

Could Reginald Denny have shot his way out of what happened to him, had he had a gun? I seriously doubt it. Last night, a FedEx driver, caught in a similar situation, stayed in his truck and bugged out. An attacker was dragged and killed. Good riddance. A video of it can be seen here: https://twitter.com/cassandrarules/sta ... 82656?s=21. I didn’t embed the tweet because there’s some forbidden language in the video....but see for yourselves.

I’m seeing other truck drivers on twitter saying that if a mob tries to stop them, they’ll "FedEx 'em".

I have car insurance and a lawyer. But even if my insurance won’t pay for a new bumper, I’d rather try to drive my way out of a mob than have to shoot my way out. Shooting my way out would be the last resort, when I’m surrounded by the steel body of my SUV and still have the option of 4-wheelin' over some attackers.

Now, if I’m trapped on foot and have no other alternative, then I’ll do what I have to do. But I’d hope to be able to react with my vehicle and stay inside of it before being reduced to a last stand at the Alamo.

this conversation sure makes you wonder, I personally would not "want" to drive over a person/s, BUT if these person/s are putting me or my family or occupants in my vehicle in danger and driving over or through the "offenders" is the only option for my survival then it will be so. then maybe after in a safe place i would call 911 and give some details as what happened as not to be considered a hit and run. Same applies to my personal protection device that uses high speed projectiles . glad we live out in sticks, no way would i go to dallas or austin right now. self preservation is high on my list

[cirus]

I live in a rural area and rarely go to the metroplex so the chance of me being caught up in a riot is very slim even in the small town im from. I avoid crowds whenever possible. If i were caught up in a riot and i had to shoot or crash my way out then so be it. At my age prison is a death sentence and I'll do whatever it takes to keep from going. I'll never see the inside of a prison.

[03Lightningrocks]

One issue to consider. If someone smashed your window and started dragging you out of the car, a self defense case would be pretty easy to make against the person doing the dragging. Stomping the gas to the floor and running down people who were not actually threatening you might get a bit tricky.

[RSX11]

One issue to consider. If someone smashed your window and started dragging you out of the car, a self defense case would be pretty easy to make against the person doing the dragging. Stomping the gas to the floor and running down people who were not actually threatening you might get a bit tricky.

Oh I dunno about that. There was the case of the guy who was menaced by some bikers in LA. He felt threatened and drove off, running over a couple three guys who had just been in front of him, not actively beating on the car. He got off no problem and a pretty good slug of the bikers got charged. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood ... ng_assault

[03Lightningrocks]

One issue to consider. If someone smashed your window and started dragging you out of the car, a self defense case would be pretty easy to make against the person doing the dragging. Stomping the gas to the floor and running down people who were not actually threatening you might get a bit tricky.

Oh I dunno about that. There was the case of the guy who was menaced by some bikers in LA. He felt threatened and drove off, running over a couple three guys who had just been in front of him, not actively beating on the car. He got off no problem and a pretty good slug of the bikers got charged. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood ... ng_assault

Good Luck with that.

[03Lightningrocks]

They just said on Fox News that a semi truck has run over some protesters on the freeway.

[C-dub]

They just said on Fox News that a semi truck has run over some protesters on the freeway.

I wonder why he stopped since they had parted for him.

[03Lightningrocks]

They just said on Fox News that a semi truck has run over some protesters on the freeway.

I wonder why he stopped since they had parted for him.

I don't know. Not much information or detail on it yet. On twitter someone said the Police had shut down the freeway for protesters but for some reason let this guy go through. I don't think he was trying to run over anyone. He could have taken out a whole lot of them if that was his goal.

I am hearing he did not hit anyone. Very lucky.

[chasfm11]

this conversation sure makes you wonder, I personally would not "want" to drive over a person/s, BUT if these person/s are putting me or my family or occupants in my vehicle in danger and driving over or through the "offenders" is the only option for my survival then it will be so. then maybe after in a safe place i would call 911 and give some details as what happened as not to be considered a hit and run. Same applies to my personal protection device that uses high speed projectiles . glad we live out in sticks, no way would i go to dallas or austin right now. self preservation is high on my list

As it is on mine. I purposely didn't post the specific locations but I assure you that it is 30 miles from downtown Dallas. I guess that was part of my point. I NEVER would have expected protestors in this residential area. The intersection where this took place is really wide and there is nothing for blocks except 1 story structures. Other that big grocery store, the rest are small store front businesses. The fact that they were bringing the protestors in to this areas says that it can happen anywhere. There is an Interstate about 4 miles away.

[imkopaka]

One thing to consider that I have not seen discussed yet is the limitations of prepaid legal services and forms of self-defense insurance. I'm sure most of us on here pay for such a service, whether it's the NRA, [pre-paid legal], USCCA or similar. As far as I know, all of these services cover firearms exclusively and will flat out refuse to cover/represent you if you use your car in self-defense. If the tactical situation allows, I would prefer to use my firearm.

[BigGuy]

I'd hate to be stuck in any vehicle in the middle of a crowd like that. I still remember the attack on Reginald Denny.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Reginald_Denny.

[TreyHouston]

Not sure what the police were firing at these homeowner on their porch in Democrat controlled Minneapolis.

“Light them up” Rioters hard to shoot, homeowners on their porch easy targets.

Touch the dark part not the cheaters ad sorry both that.

Anyone know where or when this is from?

[ScottDLS]

This is how civil wars (oxymoron) start. Speaking as someone who’s been through one already.

Civil wars are not so named because they are 'civil' in their execution by the respective sides. Rather they are named thus because they are among opposing groups within the same nation state's civilian population, instead of an attack by external forces.

[parabelum]

This is how civil wars (oxymoron) start. Speaking as someone who’s been through one already.

Civil wars are not so named because they are 'civil' in their execution by the respective sides. Rather they are named thus because they are among opposing groups within the same nation state's civilian population, instead of an attack by external forces.

Thank for the explanation
Clearly English isn’t my native language