Drew my handgun in car...right/wrong response?

I think the OP is lucky he didn't go to jail for "brandishing" a gun. I hear a lot of stories on the new where in a road rage someone flashes a gun and get felonies.
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NO. In Texas this is an almost textbook case of what CHLers are taught to do.

* He did not instigate.
* He actively attempted to avoid.
* He kept a barrier between himself and the BG and attempted to calm the situation.
* He did not show until a further escalation wherein the BG was attempting to enter/open the vehicle.
* He left as quickly as possible and likewise called 911 as quickly as possible.

Pragmatically, absent other information, its hard to see what better method he could have done.
 
Cameras...

I disagree with some of the posted statements.
New compact DV units or "GoPros" are out there. Retailer Brookstone even has a small drone citizens can run with a smartphone/iPhone. I played with it in Stamford CT, ;) .
Cops in 2013 have camera systems in sunglasses, Tasers, tactical vests, weapons, vehicles, etc.

Growing up, I often heard: "if it's not written down then it didn't happen". ;)

Remember too that what the US criminal justice system is based on is not what the truth is but what you can prove.
I'd add that I don't suggest anyone hold a weapon & a camera phone, but be ready & able to protect the crime scene/evidence or gather information.
I'd also keep your legal & civil rights in mind at the scene, ;) .

Not to stray off topic, but in my area a car lot mgr was shot & killed in a "road rage" event. He was test-driving a customer vehicle for a trade-in and a armed citizen shot him with what looked like a Colt 1911a1 Defender .45acp. :(
I'm sure the car dealer CEO/legal affairs will now have employees drive in pairs or have DV cameras/mini cam systems with them.
 
Something I haven't seen mentioned here, but I think worth bringing up is that in many states with Castle laws, your "Castle" extends to your car. I don't know the gun laws, per se, in Texas (I have a cursory knowledge of them as I visit Texas once or twice a year) but in Arizona, the physical act of breaking into a home makes lethal force justifiable, with or without a weapon present. I am not saying you should shoot anyone who forces (meaning you've taken precautions to prevent entry, and they still force their way in) their way into your home (how many drunks, going to the wrong house have been shot?), but it is justifiable, since the person's intent has been shown.

If the OPs scenario happened in Arizona, showing the firearm would have been perfectly legal, as the OP was protecting his "Castle."

To those that say the first time an attacker sees your weapon it should be followed by loud bangs, keep in mind that most of the time, the mere presence of a firearm in the hands of an innocent, law abiding citizen is enough to deescalate most situations. That means everyone gets to leave the situation without any new holes in their bodies, and in good relative health.

Someone mentioned action beats reaction. This is very true when both attacker and victim are on equal footing. But if I have a gun in my hand, or my hand on my holstered gun, or whatever (no matter where it is), and I see an attacker making a furtive movement for his beltline, even though I am the one reacting, I will win this race every time. This is actually a fun drill to do with another person using a blue gun, or airsoft. Have one person with a (blue or airsoft) gun holstered. Have the other person with gun in hand. The only rule is, the person with gun in hand cannot aim and fire until the person with gun in holster makes a movement for his gun. I've done this one, and seen it done hundreds of times, and every time, with only a few exceptions the person with gun in hand wins.
 
IMO Never pull a gun unless you intent to use it. just MO
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I agree.
But if I pull my handgun, with full intent to use it, and the threat turns and runs, I'm not going to shoot him in the back.

And now he can go and call the cops and claim that he was going to ask to borrow my cellphone when I drew my pistol and pointed it at him.

Brandishing?

My word against his.
I would have to take my chances in court if charged.

But suppose I waited to draw...waited till he was slamming the hood...waited till he was elbowing the window trying to break it....waited till he drew a pistol of his own???

No.
That's definitely NOT the answer.

Neither is drawing a pistol with an empty chamber.
 
The part that really shows that this guy was nuts is when the OP showed his gun, this idiot standing there asking him if he had a permit for it. Total lack of any good sense. Should have just shot the SOB (kidding) kind of.
 
But if I pull my handgun, with full intent to use it, and the threat turns and runs, I'm not going to shoot him in the back.
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This must be why people practice with rotating silhouette targets. lol
 
OP did find. When I read that he hit the glass my first thought was "Castle Doctrine". Good job.

A few months ago I had a nut follow me around my Neighborhood. He had been riding my bumper since I had turned off the main road. I have no idea what I had done, if anything to provoke him, but I didn't go home. I drove through my neighborhood with him on my bumper the entire time, till I pulled out back onto the main road. He then broke off and went back the way we had come. I was ready with the phone to call 911. This was before I was carrying. I now keep my firearm next to my phone in the dash console.
 
Sooo, why was he so upset? I never seen a person act that way just cause.
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Crazy people do crazy things. Just a couple months ago, I was leaving a clinic (owned and ran by the University of Arizona Medical Center, and as such an extension of the University, meaning no guns) with my infant son and 3.5 year old daughter. She was having a checkup after a few hours in the hospital a few days before. As I approached my car, I saw a car on the main road rolling up to the stop light (it was red, and he was behind another car). His window was down, and he just started screaming at the top of his lungs.

It took me a couple moments to realize he was screaming at the car in front of him for stopping at the stop light. This dude was banging on the steering wheel, and hitting the horn periodically. He then started screaming at the stop light "Stupid [expletive] stoplight! TURN GREEN, G-D'it," and other things like that. I quickly got the kids strapped in while keeping an eye out on this guy. I jumped in the driver's seat got my phone out, and typed 9-1-1 into it, ready to call if this guy did something. At the same time, I unlocked the safe that had my gun in it...just in case.

The light turned green, he was still screaming, but he went on his way. His screaming went on for a solid 90 seconds, at least. I called the PD non-emergency line and gave them a description and a plate number, just in case. I just told them I was concerned this guy might do something to harm someone. The behavior was very odd, and I wanted them to be aware of what I had seen. They thanked me, and of course, I never heard anything about anything happening.

So yeah, crazy people do crazy things sometimes...
 
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Not sure why you stopped the car the second time.
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If he is cutting you off and slamming his breaks on, he was risking lives....you don't want to have to shoot someone in self defense on what would appear to be a road rage incident while the car is moving if possible.
Running or fleeing options only apply to within reason and you don't risk your life to keep from being in a position to defend it. :D
He did the right thing.
 
You did good.

One cannot predict what a wacko driver will do. Pulled out of our development and made a left turn. Its a 35 mph zone that soon goes to 45 mph. There was no traffic. Went about 1/4 mile when a pickup came up behind me at 80-100 mph. The idiot passed me, cut back in and over-corrected. The truck went off the left side of the road and over a pond dam, then went airborne into the pond. The truck landed upside down and nose down.

Saw the guys eyes as he passed me. Looked like your typical meth addict having a bad trip. i did not stop.

The truck was in the pond for a couple days and then disappeared.
 
There is no such thing as a fair fight. That is why I carry.

I am not a badass. I don't have MMA training. I don't get into fights. I don't know what damage the person will cause to me, or the other people in my care if I get put out.

If you want a 'fair' fight with me, we can arrange it in a ring.
 
I don't know what I can add - I think the OP handled himself perfectly and that drawing his gun in a ready, but not aimed position is very likely what I would have done......actually have done once before when I couldn't just drive away.

As far as "brandishing" goes, I see it more as the OP was simply making sure he had access to his firearm in case he needed it. He was still in his car and did not threaten the idiot. If he had a permit (at least in my state), he could have had that gun just lying on his front seat - no problem there.

If the idiot blocks you in with his car and his body, proceeds to aggressively strike your vehicle, it's not that easy to just drive away. You may have to make the decision to run him over, hit the guy's car, or damage your own car (and possibly get it stuck) trying to get over a curb/grass to get around. At that point you may genuinely feel trapped and need to get the guy to back off before you can drive away.
 
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Has there ever been a situation where the phrase "no blood, no foul" has been more appropriate?
Aggressive, out of control nutjob behind the wheel of a deadly weapon(car) corners man with a gun.
No shots fired.
No face to face confrontation.
911 called, BG properly charged.
Firearm not even pointed in the direction of a human, yet effective nonetheless.
No one dead, heck no injuries of any type.

Explain to me what a better result would have looked like.
 
Inside Edition, road rage: USMC active duty, video...

The national media show: Inside Edition ran a interesting item about a road rage event near or on a USMC base in southern CA(it may be Camp Pendelton but I'm not sure).
The video(shot by a female USMC veteran in the vehicle front passenger seat) showed a extremely irrate young Marine wig out on a male driver.

The vehicle driver showed a remarkable amount of constraint in the event. He doesn't speak or reply to the Marine & he keeps cool.

The video is worth showing students or a panel if you are cadre/instructor level because it demos how aggressive & hyper a road rage incident can get.

The hot tempered Marine was detained by MPs from the nearby USMC base.
More media details may come out later.
CF
 
Has there ever been a situation where the phrase "no blood, no foul" has been more appropriate?
Aggressive, out of control nutjob behind the wheel of a deadly weapon(car) corners man with a gun.
No shots fired.
No face to face confrontation.
911 called, BG properly charged.
Firearm not even pointed in the direction of a human, yet effective nonetheless.
No one dead, heck no injuries of any type.

Explain to me what a better result would have looked like.
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I couldn't agree more! You never want to have to take a life and the outcome is what we should all want.

You can disagree ( and be right or wrong, maybe neither) with when he pulled his gun, why he didn't point it, etc., but it worked and the outcome is the best!:)
 
Good story. I have one too. I lived on a dirt road in Nowheresville just up the lane from an elderly woman. She loved gardening and hated groundhogs eating her veggies. I still love shooting groundhogs, so it was a sweet deal for both of us. One day walking past her house I saw a hog, whacked it, retrieved it from the garden, and tossed it over the bank. Business as usual. I had already walked past the house when I heard screaming coming from the building from two different voices. Suddenly a very big man appears and is walking fast towards me mumbling incoherently and swinging a big hammer. I assumed he was an insane murderer who killed Lily (the elderly woman) and now was planning to kill me too. I was wrong. He was the new owner who just moved in from NYC with his wife. They both loved wildlife, they both hated guns, she was terrified of country living, and she was horrified at witnessing what I had just done. Anyways, when this man got too close to me for comfort, I pointed the rifle at him and told him to stop right there or I would shoot. He immediately paled, beg me not to shoot, dropped the hammer, and backed away to the house telling me he was going to call the police. Now I don't know what to think, but knew I had to hang around until the police came. The State Police were indeed called and I explained myself truthfully and honestly to the Trooper. That Trooper believed me when I said I feared for my life and he understood why I did what I did. He somehow convinced the man not to press charges, so I went home that day instead of to jail. It could have turned out differently had a different Trooper responded to the call. I was lucky that day.
 
I've read a lot but not all of this. Sounds to me like it was well handled but to the OP:
Would it not have made sense to call 911 as soon as the guys erratic behavior became apparent?
I have done that on a couple of occasions in the past - in both of them only to find out that I wasn't the first call about the guy in question. He'd been menacing drivers up the road for a while.
 
Good job to the OP. I have to say I would have done little different if I faced such a situation.

I am even torn about whether or not I agree with the thought of calling 911 during the roadragers antics. While part of me thinks that would be very useful for the 911 operator to be able to hear the roadrager pounding on the window and yelling at the OP, it also would be a distraction. Common sense tells me that in a high stress situation, I should focus on my own self defense first.

But thats just me and my opinion, doubt I'd get 2 cents for it.
 
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