Interesting Scenario, Almost a self defense situation.

[robinsre]

I had a strange, and enlightening scenario the other night, and after contemplating it on my own for a few days I decided I'd see what you folks thought about it.

I was coming out of my local super-market at about 9:30 with my wife and a friend who had come along to get some snacks. On my way out I was stopped by a panhandler who stood in front of me with a backpack in his hand and gave the usual

"Hey man, you got any change?"

I said no, moved to the right and walked around him, trying to keep myself in between him and my wife. He kept walking up to toward my car following me and talking "Come on man I just need a few dollars...here let me show you something"

When I got to my car he reached into his backpack and grabbed something. By this time I was on the border between Orange and Red. I unlocked the door electronically, dropped the grocery bag and brought my right hand to the strong side on my hip and yelled at him to stop.

He pulled out...of all things a bottle of windex...at 9:30 at night...in a dark parking lot "Just let me clean your windows"

I told him he was nuts and going to get himself in trouble, and we drove off quickly.

My thoughts afterward:

If he had drawn a gun, I may not have been quick enough...I'd like to think I would have been...but I can't say for sure.

If I had drawn on him...I probably would have been in a world of trouble.

What do you folks think? What would you have done here?

[ArmyGuy45]

i would of never let him get that close

[robinsre]

Originally Posted by ArmyGuy45

i would of never let him get that close

He wasn't that close.

I'd say maybe 7-10 meters when he reached in his backpack. Not knifing distance, but definitely shooting distance.

[flashdragoon]

My own .02

You did the right thing, in this day an age people are to hesitant to go for their defensive weapons, a backpack would have put me on high alert as well, and I may have even gone as far as to tell mr panhandler that I was armed and I would appreciate it if he kept his hands away visible for me (or something along those lines, it's 5;24 in the morning here, I'm not thinking at 100%) Anyways situations like these are tense and fast and you have to make split second decisions, if your worried you may not have been fast enough, start practicing drawing from concealment and getting on target. (When I hit the range I do the "Suprise" drill, turn away from your target, draw from conceal, sights on target, fire one shot until you can do this at a speed your comfortable with)

[philman]

I think you did fine.

Question, why do you think you would have been in trouble for drawing on him? Of course I would not think actually pointing the weapon at him might be a little risky, but showing the weapon, and even brandishing it, I would think would have been justified. At that point you feared for your safety, avoiding shooting someone is why we CCW.

[Bree]

Originally Posted by robinsre

I had a strange, and enlightening scenario the other night, and after contemplating it on my own for a few days I decided I'd see what you folks thought about it.

I was coming out of my local super-market at about 9:30 with my wife and a friend who had come along to get some snacks. On my way out I was stopped by a panhandler who stood in front of me with a backpack in his hand and gave the usual

"Hey man, you got any change?"

I said no, moved to the right and walked around him, trying to keep myself in between him and my wife. He kept walking up to toward my car following me and talking "Come on man I just need a few dollars...here let me show you something"

When I got to my car he reached into his backpack and grabbed something. By this time I was on the border between Orange and Red. I unlocked the door electronically, dropped the grocery bag and brought my right hand to the strong side on my hip and yelled at him to stop.

He pulled out...of all things a bottle of windex...at 9:30 at night...in a dark parking lot "Just let me clean your windows"

I told him he was nuts and going to get himself in trouble, and we drove off quickly.

My thoughts afterward:

If he had drawn a gun, I may not have been quick enough...I'd like to think I would have been...but I can't say for sure.

If I had drawn on him...I probably would have been in a world of trouble.

What do you folks think? What would you have done here?

You wonder if your draw would have been quick enough? I wonder...

What was the action that he took that formed the imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury in your mind?

What caused you to think that this threat was imminent?

What was the motivation for the threat such that you believed that he would actually execute the threat against you, your wife, or your friend?

Was deadly force the only level of force that could have stopped this threat?

I don't think you are asking the right questions and I think you sense that.