Pulled my weapon for the first time.Opinions?

[Fallguy]

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

Totally agree

[E4 No More]

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

Exactly!

[Guest db99wj]

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

Exactly.

Sometimes when explaining things, simplicity is way better!

[Guest marionandjohn]

I disagree with drawing your weapon to be ready if you havent decided to shoot. Military and LE's go INTO the situations where as Situations come to us. You can not draw your weapon unless lethal force is authorized Simply showing your weapon or drawing it is considered deadly force in itself. When situations are deescalted with out a shot fired it is good but if you werent justified in shooting you werent justified in drawing (even to low and ready)

Even with my statements above I feel drawing is justified in the above however I dont believe shooting would be justified UNLESS the situation escalated. I know some where in this thread someone posted an article from FL where a guy shot through a windshield to stop a vehicle trying to run him down BUT he was also stoping grand theft auto (a felony) and in TN you are not authorized deadly force to protect property.

[Guest jackdm3]

This thread is too long to go back, but did he say he showed his weapon? We're getting into the murky territory of showing a weapon vs. it being seen.

[E4 No More]

I disagree with drawing your weapon to be ready if you havent decided to shoot. Military and LE's go INTO the situations where as Situations come to us. You can not draw your weapon unless lethal force is authorized Simply showing your weapon or drawing it is considered deadly force in itself. When situations are deescalted with out a shot fired it is good but if you werent justified in shooting you werent justified in drawing (even to low and ready)

Even with my statements above I feel drawing is justified in the above however I dont believe shooting would be justified UNLESS the situation escalated. I know some where in this thread someone posted an article from FL where a guy shot through a windshield to stop a vehicle trying to run him down BUT he was also stoping grand theft auto (a felony) and in TN you are not authorized deadly force to protect property.

Cite the law, please. If it's assault or threatening to have a weapon in your hand and not pointing it at someone then there are thousands of hunters and shooters violating the law all across the land every day.

[Fallguy]

I know some where in this thread someone posted an article from FL where a guy shot through a windshield to stop a vehicle trying to run him down BUT he was also stoping grand theft auto (a felony) and in TN you are not authorized deadly force to protect property.

The law changed in TN last year to clear up a problem just like this.

It now says you can not use deadly force to protect property unless you would be justified under self-defense. So in other words if you are justified by self-defense it doesn't matter if you also happen to be protecting property.

See Public Act 194 of the Tennessee 106th General Assembly.

[Fallguy]

Cite the law, please. If it's assault or threatening to have a weapon in your hand and not pointing it at someone then there are thousands of hunters and shooters violating the law all across the land every day.

Well it could depend on the LEO/DA/Judge

39-13-102 Aggravated assault.

(a) A person commits aggravated assault who:

(1)

Intentionally or knowingly commits an assault as defined in §

39-13-101

and:

(

Uses or

displays

a deadly weapon;

39-13-301 Assault.

(a) A person commits assault who:

(2)

Intentionally or knowingly causes another to reasonably fear imminent bodily injury

However acting in self-defense is a defense to above. To be acting in self-defense one has to have a reasonable fear of immenent death or serious bodily harm. Which in the OPs situation I think applies. In others it may not.

So a hunter or shooter could break the law if they did something to cause you to reasonably fear for your life.

[E4 No More]

Well it could depend on the LEO/DA/Judge

However acting in self-defense is a defense to above. To be acting in self-defense one has to have a reasonable fear of immenent death or serious bodily harm. Which in the OPs situation I think applies. In others it may not.

So a hunter or shooter could break the law if they did something to cause you to reasonably fear for your life.

Agreed, and as long as the person is in fear they are covered. Kind of goes to the statement they make, huh? "Crazy F'r drove up in my yard almost hitting my girlfriend and stopped, so I thought the F'rs were gonna jump out and hurt us!" kind of covers it all.

[JayC]

I'm sorry but this does not jive with training I've seen, nor TN state law.

Police Officers pull their weapons all the time when they are not justified in shooting a suspect. How many "felony stops" have you seen where the officers un-holstered their weapons but would not have been justified in shooting? A ton of them, I'll be happy to show you a tape of Nashville Metro from the tv show COPS where this happens.

It might be a department policy not to draw your weapon unless it's a justified shooting incident (I seriously doubt it but it's possible), but state law doesn't cover drawing your weapon for either the police or citizens. It only covers when you may threaten and/or use deadly force or serious bodily injury. A weapon at a low ready in and of itself is not a threat of death or serious bodily injury.

Keep in mind that under TN state law police officers have largely the same restrictions placed on them as regular citizens (There are a few extra cases where a police officer may use deadly force or the threat of it but most of the justified uses are the same for both citizens and police officers).. It's just that police officers are in those situations a lot more than regular citizens (hopefully).

I disagree with drawing your weapon to be ready if you havent decided to shoot. Military and LE's go INTO the situations where as Situations come to us. You can not draw your weapon unless lethal force is authorized Simply showing your weapon or drawing it is considered deadly force in itself. When situations are deescalted with out a shot fired it is good but if you werent justified in shooting you werent justified in drawing (even to low and ready)

Even with my statements above I feel drawing is justified in the above however I dont believe shooting would be justified UNLESS the situation escalated. I know some where in this thread someone posted an article from FL where a guy shot through a windshield to stop a vehicle trying to run him down BUT he was also stoping grand theft auto (a felony) and in TN you are not authorized deadly force to protect property.

[Guest c.mcbee]

Sounds like you did good to me Jack. I would do the same thing.

[Guest Eagle One]

I think I will print this entire thread and refer to it if I ever have to pull my gun. Some really good advice. I also think I will show it to the responding officer so he can figure out if I am within the law......Some good comments and some really scary comments.....

I think you did well. I hope I can do as well if I am ever in the same situation. I have always been taught that the first one to call the authorities is considered to be the vicitim. I have also been taught that if you ever pull your weapon in a critical incident that you should call the police. Like someone said earlier, what if the cops heard of the incident from a third party and they told about your gun, they would be telling of how you were slinging lead and cussing like a drunken sailor....

[Guest marionandjohn]

Well I am a guy that will admit when I have been prooven wrong and so I was wrong on some of my thought processes and I have to say y'all are making great arguments as to the whole situation. I agree the OP did good. I do not agree with using a weapon to keep a vehicle from running me over. Because if you shoot the guy you still have to move so why not move first, once your out of the way then why shoot? This entire thread is a great reason to have forums like this so you can have your thoughts straightend out by those who make better since then yourself.

[Jack]

Why are so many people assuming that I pulled my weapon to shoot at the truck?

I had no time to shoot at the truck as it were comming towards us. Rethinking most of the 15 seconds come from them slowing in my yard before they proceded to the lot.

I pulled my gun on reaction to them entering at high speed If they wanted to run me over they would have had me dead to rights we simply didnt have enough time to get out of the way(we were barely out of the car). I wasnt going to shoot the truck to stop it. I was more worried about why they would enter my yard like that and what was their intent.I feel like I made the right choice, my girlfriend said I made the right choice. Thats all that matters to me.

Here is a ms paint picture I sent to a friend when I tried to explain it to him.It might help you guys visualize.

[DaveTN]

.I feel like I made the right choice, my girlfriend said I made the right choice. Thats all that matters to me.

Well there you have it.

Have you thought about a career in computer graphics?

[GLOCKMEISTER]

Jack you know this is blowing my mind that some people think you were wrong for simply pulling your weapon, I mean after reading what you wrote and seeing the grafics... If as a police officer or investigator responding to the scene I'd be wondering why you didnt go ahead and take the shot. If she was in fear of her life and you felt that her life was in danger then it would have been the right call. Find me a member of a jury that wouldnt be in fear of there life with 6000lb truck coming into their yard at high speed and trying to hit them?

Honestly I think you made an amazingly good call considering the situation. Myself, who knows I would have probably resorted back to my LE training and taken the shot out of pure reaction and instinct... so in short right now your probably in a much better place then I'd be in if I had been in your shoes. Again great decision on your part.

[Guest walkingdeadman]

I think that you did just fine. You made the decision that you thought would best suit your situation.

[TGO David]

Why are so many people assuming that I pulled my weapon to shoot at the truck?

I had no time to shoot at the truck as it were comming towards us. Rethinking most of the 15 seconds come from them slowing in my yard before they proceded to the lot.

I pulled my gun on reaction to them entering at high speed If they wanted to run me over they would have had me dead to rights we simply didnt have enough time to get out of the way(we were barely out of the car). I wasnt going to shoot the truck to stop it. I was more worried about why they would enter my yard like that and what was their intent.I feel like I made the right choice, my girlfriend said I made the right choice. Thats all that matters to me.

Here is a ms paint picture I sent to a friend when I tried to explain it to him.It might help you guys visualize.

Your map needs a representation of the assailant...

[Alleycat72]

When confronted with a life and death situation, it's obvious some of the members here would be dead and others would have a fighting chance. I have had to draw my weapon twice where I had to point it at someone. One was a guy that set me up for a robbery in a bad area of west Nashville. It is a sobering experience. I had to use deadly force once(He lived I did not have a gun). You will question whether you did the right thing or not regardless of how right you are. I was handcuffed immediately. After hearing the witness statements the cops uncuffed me and let me go and told me I did the right thing. I was 17 and it is impossible to convey how I felt. He plead guilty and did not pursue litigation against me so he received a lighter sentence. If pulling my gun will deescalate a potentially deadly situation it's getting pulled. If it cost me my gun and my handgun permit that's fine. It's much better than spending the rest of my life wondering if I could have done something to save my wife or my daughter. The only good thing from my experiences was that I know that I won't freeze up at a critical time. You never think you will, but you never know until something like this happens. As far as shooting into a car when someone is trying to run you down. Yes get out of the way, but cars have these things called steering wheels and bad guys will use this devise to alter the course of the car to match you escape route. He can't do this if he is dodging bullets or incapacitated. Again wife and kids first. Me second. The OP was prepared. Good for him. His girlfriend knows he will protect his loved ones. Again, good for him.

[Jack]

As requested, Here is a detailed picture of what they looked like. Be weary if you see THESE guys in THIS truck.

I can joke about it now.David keep an eye out I know your in the Smyrna area also.

[DaveTN]

As requested, Here is a detailed picture of what they looked like. Be weary if you see THESE guys in THIS truck.

I’ve seen those guys around Murfreesboro.

[Guest xd40guy]

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.

For instance, if the sound of breaking glass awakes me in the middle of the night my gun will be in hand because something's about to happen! On the flip side, (not sure how it is where you are) but the last thing you want to do in thugged out Memphis is pull a pistol on someone to defuse a situation. By doing so you put a bulls eye on your back!

After seeing the drawing, I understand why the weapon was drawn!

[Guest Ggun]

Jack you know this is blowing my mind that some people think you were wrong for simply pulling your weapon, I mean after reading what you wrote and seeing the grafics... If as a police officer or investigator responding to the scene I'd be wondering why you didnt go ahead and take the shot. If she was in fear of her life and you felt that her life was in danger then it would have been the right call. Find me a member of a jury that wouldnt be in fear of there life with 6000lb truck coming into their yard at high speed and trying to hit them?

Honestly I think you made an amazingly good call considering the situation. Myself, who knows I would have probably resorted back to my LE training and taken the shot out of pure reaction and instinct... so in short right now your probably in a much better place then I'd be in if I had been in your shoes. Again great decision on your part.

I agree. I'm thinking that I would have taken a shot. The OP stated that the truck came within 3 feet of his girl. At the very least I would have drawn and identified the target and what was beyond. As it turned out, the truck came within three feet of the girl; she was lucky.

[Guest Jamie]

As requested, Here is a detailed picture of what they looked like. Be weary if you see THESE guys in THIS truck.

I can joke about it now.David keep an eye out I know your in the Smyrna area also.

Oh you definitely should'a shot those f***ers....

J.

[strickj]

Their arms and lower bodies have disintegrated and torsos are disappearing