Pulled my weapon for the first time.Opinions?

[Fallguy]

Yes... RIF

Yep..."his actions"

Not what might have been done if things happened differently.

I think basically he got a "scolding" from the LEO and wanted to see if those on here agree with him or the LEO.

[Guest tnrider]

Hard to say how I would react too. I have been in situation that I was fearful and wished I was carrying. One of the reasons I got my permit. I do agree with lowbud. I also would not draw unless I was ready to fire. As to threat of a gun, I wonder if the some situation did arise, if letting the bg know there was a weapon? Again, each situation would be different and there really is no way to know until such occurs. Truthfully, I hope I never have to find out.

[Guest Ggun]

I pulled my weapon for the first time tonight. Now, after everything has calmed down, I'm reflecting upon my actions, and would like outside opinions.

I took my girlfriend to the movies and we got home at 9:30pm. We had just pulled into the driveway and stepped out of the car.Suddenly a primer grey truck pulled into our driveway at a high speed. He then veered left about 3 feet from my girlfriend and preceeded to drive through my front yard,up a small embankment,and into an adjacent parking lot.He then got back on the road and drove off.

I had drawn my weapon the minute it became clear to me that he was not slowing down and was headed directly towards my girlfriend. My weapon was never pointed at the vehichle; it was in a ready position at my side.

I called the local PD,they sent a car out,and I explained what had happened to the officer. This is where I was caught off guard. He told me that I should not have pulled my weapon unless they stepped out of the truck.He said it wasn't the right thing to do because they could have been drunk and I wasn't sure of what they were doing.

Id like to hear some opinions on my actions.

Dude! You let two strangers in a primer grey truck scream their truck down your drive at a high rate of speed right at your girl, then drew your gun and let them brush by within 36 inches of her and stood there with your piece in your hand at your side?

Wow! You have the patience of Job!

[Guest trigem]

Jack, going by what you first posted-

After 9:30 p.m.- it is dark and hard to see.

Pulled into your driveway quickly and real close to your girlfriend.

Me, I would have pulled my firearm AND pointed at the driver with my finger off the trigger. Coming directly at us would probably get them a bullet.

Coming at an angle,probably not. I wasn't there.

My reasoning-

1st,this is my home. Friends of mine don't drive that way as they know what to expect of my possible reply and butt chewing they will recieve.

2nd,a 3,000 lb vehicle is a deadly weapon.

3rd, there have been drive-by shootings and the guys in the truck could easily have a shotgun laying just on top of the door sill and shoot with out you seeing it because of the darkness.

4th,playing catch up after their initial shot(if there was to be one)puts you right behind the 8 ball and reaction time will more than likely keep you from ever beating them in the timing.

I would definitely be in a reasonable fear of my life and my girlfriends' if a truck got that close. Being tagged by a vehicle hurts,even if just winged.

There are too many stories in the news EVERY DAY about people getting shot and there is no rhyme or reason as to why they were picked.

Can we say gang initiations?

That would be my first thought.

Second thought would be some guys knew her from work or just saw her in town and wanted to get "real friendly".

Any reasonable person would see their actions as you being in fear of your life.

I think this would meet the criteria. I think the officer was wrong on this one.

Everyone got safe and no one got any new orifices so I think a job well done.

This would be a great time for the two of you to start planning some "what ifs?"

+1

[Guest db99wj]

We also need to remember that each situation is different, how I react, how you react, in the same set of circumstances will be different. Also, this forum gives us an avenue to discuss the "what if's" and hopefully, increase our level of competency and awareness to situations that do happen...in real life. I have never really thought of some drunk coming flying into my drive way, into my yard and on into the wild blue yonder, but I am now. It is good to see different opinions, it is even better to see the "why" behind those opinions.

[OngoingFreedom]

Anyone remember this story? IIRC the homeowner was ultimately not charged. Jack's story reminded me of this incident.

:koolaid:Jack, IMHO you were justified in not only clearing leather but also in pointing had you chosen to do so. Maybe even firing if you felt that was appropriate. You WERE in fear of a third person's serious injury and possibly death. Putting myself in your shoes I think I would have pointed, maybe even with finger on trigger. But I wasn't there so I don't really know how I would have reacted.

The police officer was wrong (see the link), you WERE threatened with deadly force, but ultimately it may have taken a jury of your peers to exonerate you. What would the average person have done in your shoes? Pretty much the same I would imagine.

[Guest thorn]

Wouldn't a cop be trained to shoot in this same situation?

[DaveTN]

Wouldn't a cop be trained to shoot in this same situation?

All cops don’t get the same training, and cops aren’t trained to shoot in any given situation; they are taught the law and what will justify the use of deadly force.

Most of the situations you see with cops doing it are when the car is intentionally trying to run over the cop on a traffic stop or in trying to get away. If you are not in a direct path of the vehicle it is simply fleeing and you can’t shoot (based on that alone).

A Nashville cop did it a couple of years ago and was cleared because he was in front of the vehicle and had nowhere to go. If I remember right he went up on the hood and shot the guy through the windshield.

[Guest thorn]

"pulled into our driveway at a high speed. He then veered left about 3 feet from my girlfriend" Sounds direct path to me.

[Packin]

I think I would have drawn as well.

[Guest Catdaddy]

In my opinion yours, mine,or whoevers weapon should never be pulled unless proceeded by death.This is just my opinion. Luckily I have never been put into a situation that there had to be a weapon drawn.

In EVERY situation requiring use of deadly force, there HAS been a death preceeding. That of an uarmed someone, or someone not quite ready to use his weapon.

Or do you mean you would wait for yourself or another person to be killed THERE before reacting?

In my opinion, the OP did exactly what he should have done. be as prepared for the next step/assessment as possible. Even raising the gun and aimimg would NOT have been out of line, in my opinion- and though shooting through the windshield might have been futile, as far as stopping the vehicle- it might have prevented a shot or other threat from inside the vehicle.

He assessed the situation correctly before actually using deadly force, although he was ready to do so if necessary. Bravo, I say.

Damn sure better than freezing up until actual harm was done to someone.

IMHO, he demonstrated- to himself, at least- his ability to react to a threat.

[Oh Shoot]

...

Or do you mean you would wait for yourself or another person to be killed THERE before reacting?...

Adam said:

"..should never be pulled unless proceeded by death."

Though I don't agree, I take that to mean he feels you should never pull a piece unless you use it to kill someone.

- OS

[GLOCKMEISTER]

good call imho... a truck is a weapon, and clearly you were in fear of your girlfriends life... you never pointed it at them nor fired a shot... at the end of the day all is good, so was your call.

Run a vehicle at a police officer and see if he pulls his weapon or not.

[Guest Catdaddy]

Adam said:

"..should never be pulled unless proceeded by death."

Though I don't agree, I take that to mean he feels you should never pull a piece unless you use it to kill someone.

- OS

Hmmm. You can see that I thought it a misspelling. It's actually just poor grammar.

But my grammar isn't always kosher either.

Hard to reason that EVERY time you can use threat of force to stop a criminal act, you gotta go ahead and shoot them- and to kill...

[TGO David]

Run a vehicle at a police officer and see if he pulls his weapon or not.

I'm glad I read the entire thread before responding. This was my thought as well.

[daddyo]

Would love to hear a self-defense attorney's take on all this.

[JPS]

I think you did the right thing - IF the jerks would have started shooting or jumped out of the vehicle you would have been able to respond that much faster.

I also agree with calling PD and letting the officer know you drew your weapon (legally, and on your own property). If the bg's hit someone as they raced away they would say it wasn't their fault because they were running from a guy with a gun. You reporting the incident immediately removes that argument.

You should feel good about taking appropriate measures, without losing your cool.

[Guest xd40guy]

I agree with the cop. Don't draw your weapon until you've decided to shoot!

[Guest db99wj]

I think you did the right thing - IF the jerks would have started shooting or jumped out of the vehicle you would have been able to respond that much faster.

I also agree with calling PD and letting the officer know you drew your weapon (legally, and on your own property). If the bg's hit someone as they raced away they would say it wasn't their fault because they were running from a guy with a gun. You reporting the incident immediately removes that argument.

You should feel good about taking appropriate measures, without losing your cool.

Interesting scenario. Something to think about.

I agree with the cop. Don't draw your weapon until you've decided to shoot!

Why, what is your reasoning? I hear this often and I just don't get it.

I agree with the statement, if you pull it, be damned sure you are ready to pull the trigger, but saying you have to, I don't agree with.

If the situation deescalates after you have drawn your weapon, then don't shoot. I'm not saying use your weapon as a tool to stop a problem, but I don't believe you should be trigger happy either. Do the police or military keep their weapons holstered until they find a bad guy or do they stay in a ready mode with their guns drawn and ready to go? When police have their weapons drawn do they shoot no matter what? If you clear your house due to a noise in the middle of the night, do you walk around with your gun in your pocket or do you have it ready? When you see it is the dog that knocked over something do you shoot him? There are different conditions that you can go to, for example, me, I am sitting here, holstered, concealed, and shirt tucked in. If I were going to a questionable area, I might untuck my shirt for faster access if things hit the fan, If I get home and I walk in, my back door is open and glass on the floor, none of my family are right there, I'm pulling my gun, If come to find out, one of the kids threw a ball through it and they were down the street, I put the gun up, I see bad guy and he has a gun, or knife or truck and comes after me, I pull the bang switch, If I see BG with no weapon and I draw on him and he takes off running, I'm not shooting.

You can't make a blanket statement like, If I pull it, I'm shooting. That argument won't work, and I believe if you do, you could find yourself in a bad situation if ever the unfortunate time comes you fire your weapon.

[Guest clsutton21]

Interesting scenario. Something to think about.

Why, what is your reasoning? I hear this often and I just don't get it.

I agree with the statement, if you pull it, be damned sure you are ready to pull the trigger, but saying you have to, I don't agree with.

If the situation deescalates after you have drawn your weapon, then don't shoot. I'm not saying use your weapon as a tool to stop a problem, but I don't believe you should be trigger happy either. Do the police or military keep their weapons holstered until they find a bad guy or do they stay in a ready mode with their guns drawn and ready to go? When police have their weapons drawn do they shoot no matter what? If you clear your house due to a noise in the middle of the night, do you walk around with your gun in your pocket or do you have it ready? When you see it is the dog that knocked over something do you shoot him? There are different conditions that you can go to, for example, me, I am sitting here, holstered, concealed, and shirt tucked in. If I were going to a questionable area, I might untuck my shirt for faster access if things hit the fan, If I get home and I walk in, my back door is open and glass on the floor, none of my family are right there, I'm pulling my gun, If come to find out, one of the kids threw a ball through it and they were down the street, I put the gun up, I see bad guy and he has a gun, or knife or truck and comes after me, I pull the bang switch, If I see BG with no weapon and I draw on him and he takes off running, I'm not shooting.

You can't make a blanket statement like, If I pull it, I'm shooting. That argument won't work, and I believe if you do, you could find yourself in a bad situation if ever the unfortunate time comes you fire your weapon.

I miss your old avatar.

[Guest db99wj]

I miss your old avatar.

What, Bush eating the kittay?

[Guest clsutton21]

What, Bush eating the kittay?

Yep! Haha

[Oh Shoot]

I agree with the cop. Don't draw your weapon until you've decided to shoot!

Horse pucky.

There are potentially deadly confrontations neutralized regularly by folks drawing weapons but not firing them.

I dare say that if you did a poll of LEOs, the incidence of their having drawn a weapon and NOT fired it is much higher than the incidences of actually firing it. Almost certainly the same among civilian carry permit holders, too.

- OS

[Fallguy]

I agree with the cop. Don't draw your weapon until you've decided to shoot!

How do you know he hadn't decided to shoot...if/when it became necessary?

If you are saying not to draw your weapon until it is necessary to fire, then I have seen many LEOs and Military that need additional weapons training.

[GLOCKMEISTER]

Drawing as simply preparing... Theres nothing wrong with it as long as your not doing it in a threatening manner.