stephen426
New member
I know that this is a highly debatable topic and that it may actually come down to a jury's decision as to whether a crime was committed or if any action taken was done in self defense.
I was at the beach with a female co-worker the other evening. She had recently come to Miami and I decided to show her around. South Beach is pretty quiet during the weekdays and the other night was no exception. I was snapping some photos for her so she could send them to family and friends back home. I was not carrying my gun since that part of Miami Beach is generally pretty safe and I did not want to startle my co-worker. I was carrying my folding knife (4" blade Benchmade 710S), my Surefire LumaMax L2, and I grabbed my Mace triple action spray.
Two older guys, about mid 50's to early 60's (no offense to anyone in this age bracket), were walking in our general direction. They appeared to be homeless based on the amount of baggage they were carrying. I just kept an eye on them as I was doing for anyone that was in our vecinity. As they got closer one of them started yelling at me and asked why I was taking his picture. I just responded that I wasn't. He then asked me if I wanted him to "kick my a**"? Meanwhile, the other guy he was with was trying to calm him down. I just ignored him and started walking away with my friend. I kept looking over my shoulder to see if he was approaching.
The new law in Florida states that I do not need to retreat if I am threatened before using deadly force. I did not like having my back turned to him but I did not want to stand my gound and provoke him into action. The guy was of average build but he looked like he could have been a veteran. He did not appear to reach for a weapon and it unknown whether or not he was armed. I "was" a black belt in Tae Kwon Do but I haven't practiced in over 12 years.
If he was to come closer to me and continued making threats, would I be justified in macing him? Should I have used the Surefire to blind him momentarily and try to run away? Should I have held my gound instead of turning my back on him? Should I let him make the first move before deciding whether or not I would be justified to escalate unarmed combat into armed combat (with my knife or even my flashlight). Basically, at what point can I escalate to "defensively" where it could not be considered assault? Lets say I have my gun instead of my knife. At what point can I pull it where it will be construed as self defense versus brandishing? How close are you willing to let them get before pulling a weapon or would you risk going hand to hand with an unknown person?
I was at the beach with a female co-worker the other evening. She had recently come to Miami and I decided to show her around. South Beach is pretty quiet during the weekdays and the other night was no exception. I was snapping some photos for her so she could send them to family and friends back home. I was not carrying my gun since that part of Miami Beach is generally pretty safe and I did not want to startle my co-worker. I was carrying my folding knife (4" blade Benchmade 710S), my Surefire LumaMax L2, and I grabbed my Mace triple action spray.
Two older guys, about mid 50's to early 60's (no offense to anyone in this age bracket), were walking in our general direction. They appeared to be homeless based on the amount of baggage they were carrying. I just kept an eye on them as I was doing for anyone that was in our vecinity. As they got closer one of them started yelling at me and asked why I was taking his picture. I just responded that I wasn't. He then asked me if I wanted him to "kick my a**"? Meanwhile, the other guy he was with was trying to calm him down. I just ignored him and started walking away with my friend. I kept looking over my shoulder to see if he was approaching.
The new law in Florida states that I do not need to retreat if I am threatened before using deadly force. I did not like having my back turned to him but I did not want to stand my gound and provoke him into action. The guy was of average build but he looked like he could have been a veteran. He did not appear to reach for a weapon and it unknown whether or not he was armed. I "was" a black belt in Tae Kwon Do but I haven't practiced in over 12 years.
If he was to come closer to me and continued making threats, would I be justified in macing him? Should I have used the Surefire to blind him momentarily and try to run away? Should I have held my gound instead of turning my back on him? Should I let him make the first move before deciding whether or not I would be justified to escalate unarmed combat into armed combat (with my knife or even my flashlight). Basically, at what point can I escalate to "defensively" where it could not be considered assault? Lets say I have my gun instead of my knife. At what point can I pull it where it will be construed as self defense versus brandishing? How close are you willing to let them get before pulling a weapon or would you risk going hand to hand with an unknown person?
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