Situation that almost made me think of pulling weapon...

[VMI77]

First, let me start off by saying I haven't had my CHL long (almost 1 month) but the things I learned in my classes, research and topics on this site really made me think about the following situation differently than I would have perhaps 5 years ago.

Last night I was driving home from the airport having dropped off family that was in town visiting. It was about 8pm so not too late. I was driving into my suburb community and in a rush I followed a truck a little too close to make a turn before a string of cars would have required me to stop for a while. Stupid I know but I think we can honestly say that we've all been there when we want to just get home.

At any rate, the truck in front of me abruptly stops and pulls over. At first I thought it was someone not familiar with the area and just pulled over to let traffic go by. He was going about 10 mph under the speed limit so I honestly thought this was the case. I went by and he immediately peeled out and got right on my bumper. Had I applied the brakes, he would have been inside my car as I have a sports car and the truck he had was a F250 with a 6 inch lift and huge tires. He followed me turn for turn as I didn't want to go home and risk showing this lunatic where me and my family lives. He must had followed me all over the community for almost 10 minutes and it was clear that he wanted a confrontation. Now in my youth I probably would have stopped the car, and gotten into something but I'm almost 40 and I had no idea who was in the truck, how many people there might have been, were they armed themselves? Who knew, and I wasn't going to put myself in that situation.

After driving around for almost 10 minutes and not seeing any of the Constables that patrol my neighborhood (never around when you need them) I pulled over and hoped they would just drive by and scream obscenities and give me a few hand gestures. Unfortunately, they stopped as well, got out of their car and came screaming up at my window. It was clear he had been drinking so now I knew the kind of mentality I was dealing with. Without getting out of the car or opening the window I apologized for upsetting him and just allowed him to scream at me and call me every nasty insult in the book. When he was far enough back that I wouldn't run over anything I took off quickly, made a few evasive turns and went home.

I did get his license number and gave it to the Constables as a FYI for them in case anything else happened that evening. They asked if I wanted to press charges for the threats and I indicated I didn't because I just didn't want to escalate and make a big deal of the incident. The Constable asked me if I feared for my life (as part of the report I did indicate I had a CHL) and I told him I wasn't going to let the situation get to the point that I felt I needed to pull my weapon. We got into a brief discussion that he appreciated the approach I took and said that if there is a next time I should call 911. I thought about it but I just didn't think to grab my phone while I was driving around trying to get this guy to stop following me.

I wanted to share this story as a way to illustrate to the new CHL's out there (myself included) that it's better to let the other person feel like they won the battle and are the bigger person then escalate things to the point that I make a life altering decision. To be honest, for a brief moment when I saw the guy get out of his truck, I had my hand on my gun. I did fear for my safety. I probably shouldn't have stopped but I didn't get the sense that he was ever going to stop chasing me around. He needed to puff out his chest and feel like a tough guy and I let him. I have played this whole situation over and over again in my head and thought of all the things I should have and should not have done. You never know what you're going to do once you get into a situation but one thing was clear during this entire event, I wanted to make sure I got out of it safely and not having to unholster my gun. I was successful on both counts so I would say the training, classes and self education worked. We have a greater responsibility to try and defuse hostile situations. Like I stated before, 5 years ago I probably would have escalated this because I would want to save face. I didn't like being called some of the things he said to me but again I had the greater responsibility to make sure this situation didn't get out of hand.

The stressful time of year is upon us and tempers will run short. Remind yourselves of the greater responsibility we have as CHL holders and stay safe.

God Bless my friends and get out and vote!

Had a similar incident in my neighborhood. On my way home from work a car in front of me was driving 10 mph in a 30 mph zone, and was well over towards the curb, so I drove around him. He was apparently trolling for trouble because he immediately sped up, pulled around me, put oh his brakes, and car blocking me, got out of his car and came back to my car. I rolled down my window to see what the problem was as he didn't inspire any fear, just consternation. He berated me for the way I was driving in "his" neighborhood. Fortunately, this didn't happen in my youth because I was a bit of a hothead back then, and either he would have backed off or there would have been a fight. As it was we exchanged words and moved on. I'd like to think that as he walked off he realized how dangerous confronting a stranger like that could be, and how badly it could have gone if he'd confronted the wrong person.

[TexasCajun]

[quote="VMI77] I'd like to think that as he walked off he realized how dangerous confronting a stranger like that could be, and how badly it could have gone if he'd confronted the wrong person.[/quote]

I seriously doubt it. Just as the non-carrying public is largely unaware that people are legally concealing & carrying around them on a daily basis, the thought about whether or not the person that they're about to confront is armed does not generally occur. That's why the responsibitly falls on our shoulders & probably why non-violent resolution is required training for Texas chl.

[OrangeAnimal]

I read this and thought about one thing that was mentioned. While I see the reason for driving to a stop and go or someplace similar I don't know if that would have been a good idea. Say the situation did escalate and there was no way you were going to get this guy to stop. He comes at you you pull your gun but what about the people around you? Innocent bystanders are now involved as well.

Call 911 and while your on with them ask them for the nearest officer on patrol. Have the officer just stop the guy and allow you to move on to your house and sometime when it's all over the officer can call you and speak with you about what happened if need be. I have been thru this exact scenario. I was much younger though and it was a group of punks that I went to school with that would not leave me alone.

[barstoolguru]

in the old days my uncle would have got out smacked him with the gun and put two in the grill and two in in the front tires. tell him how lucky he was and to start walking fast and then went and had a drink with the boys

[TexasCajun]

And here we are worrying about all this non-violent resolution stuff when the good ol days solution is so simple!!

[ajwakeboarder]

OP you handled the situation pretty well. Probably better than I would have. The only thing i might have done differently is instead of stopping where you were, drive to the nearest police station and stop there. I realize this isn't always possible, but if you can, the guy probably wouldn't follow you.

[blackdog8200]

Most of your actions I give a big thumbs up.

Everyone else has played the "Dial 911" card, so I'll shift gears.

In my opinion, it is not a wise choice to stop the car, period.

There is too much risk that someone can pile out of the vehicle, approach the car, and then break the window before you can even react. First chance you have to react might be a club or knife in your face. Looking at risk:reward, there is too much downside for negligible upside when stopping the car.

This is a situtation where you have a very aggressive person / persons. Maybe even a carjacking? In this case I WOULD NOT allow them to get close to me. If you have been "cut off" by another vehicle, and someone begins to exit their vehicle, I would ASSUME only that nothing good is going to come from this. A road rage fist fight is just not a option.....you are armed and that makes it a GUN FIGHT even if you don't draw your weapon. 10. Someday someone may kill you with your own gun, but they should have to beat you to death with it because it is empty.

Calling 911 (if time and situation permits is a start and establishes you as the victim)

If he stops his car and starts to get out, that is TIME for you to (See rules for a gunfight)

http://www.sightm1911.com/lib/ccw/gunfight_rules.htm

5. Move away from your attacker. Distance is your friend. (Lateral and diagonal movement are preferred.)

18. Watch their hands. Hands kill. (In God we trust. Everyone else, keep your hands where I can see them.)


If you get pinned where you have no where to go, don't forget your vehicle is a weapon. When it is all over and you have avoided a confrontation, you can tell yourself that you saved a drunk idiot's life


23. Your number one option for personal security is a lifelong commitment to avoidance, deterrence, and de-escalation.

[Kythas]

I have to say, having been in a situation where I almost drew my gun, too, I was focused more on the threat in front of me than calling 911. In fact, the thought of calling 911 didn't even occur to me until I was halfway home.

If you haven't been in that type of situation, it's very stressful. As I've said before, our brains are wired for "fight or flight", not "fight, flight, or 911".

You did a great job in defusing the situation and everyone went home without extra ventilation holes. That's called a win.

[froughty]

Good on you for keeping your cool.

I would not have stopped the car though

[tornado]

There's a fire station a lot closer to my neighborhood than the police station. I've always heard that's also a good place to go. Any actual experience with that, or any firefighters here?

[Birdie]

Check in advance to make sure it is always manned.

[tornado]

Good point. This one is, and there's usually an overhead door open.

I'll try to make time to stop by and ask their opinion sometime. I should have thought to do that back when I use to sub for the school crossing guard in front of the station.

[MikeStone]

in the old days my uncle would have got out smacked him with the gun and put two in the grill and two in in the front tires. tell him how lucky he was and to start walking fast and then went and had a drink with the boys

Hilarious!

[koconcept]

Thanks for posting this story. I took from it this. Better to go home letting them "win' than to wind up dead or in jail over a argument.

[Redneck_Buddha]

Way to keep your cool, OP. I've headed off one bad situation by calling 911 and the pursuer must've noticed I was on my phone because he cut out in short order. Told dispatch that he had broken off pursuit and driven away but they still wanted to come after him so I gave the vehicle description and plate number.

However, what if the "gentleman" in your situation had tried to break your window and assault you or even worse, had pulled a firearm?