Parking lot incident

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Alright Wild, I will humor you. How many times does a guy have to pound on your window with a fist, before you decide to point a gun at him? Im asking seriously here.
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Well the last time it happened to me I let the jerkoff pound away while my HP sat under my thigh and the cell phone with 911 in the other hand. He got the hint when I yelled to him the cops were on the way.

The window breaks and you are trapped? Deadly force is authorized IMHO and I doubt any jury will disagree. And you wont hear me questioning.

WildihavbenothingtoprovepouindawayAlaska ™
 
However, this was basically over a parking space: before the person whose car was in the space pulled out, the OP could have chosen to move on when he saw an irate driver in the car behind him. Waiting for the space to be free was more important to him than avoiding a potential confrontation by moving his car. Was he obliged to move his car? Of course not. Would it have been smart? I'd say yes
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Maybe I misunderstood, but I was under the impression that by the time the angry guy approached the OP's car, he was blocked from the front by the lady slowly pulling out and blocked from behind by the angry dude's car. If so, I could see how that might be a pretty threatening situation.
 
Yeah, if we're going to voice an opinion about this, at least get the facts right folks.

1)The OP's car was trapped at the time of the incident. The person leaving the parking spot was directly in front and the irate person's car was directly behind.

2)He did not start the altercation.
 
What peetzakiller said, PLUS the OP said he pulled into the parking place to wait for LE to arrive, so that he didn't give the appearance of fleeing LE.

This was NOT over a parking place, at least by the words of the OP. (Who knows what the other guy was thinking?) If someone is backing out of a space in a parking lot, you can't safely get by, you have to wait on them whether you want their spot or not. The other guy was a flaming, um, jerk because he thought himself too important to wait on anyone else.

I am not certain that pointing the gun was good, but I am not entirely certain it was the wrong move, either. Results count, whether you know Latin or not. OP ended the confrontation without bloodshed. Maybe there were intangible aspects to the situation that led him to think a display was right. Legally he could have caused himself trouble, perhaps, but it worked and he wasn't charged. (Although I have to remind you, Microgunner, that the jerk could change his mind about filing a complaint about it for a while yet.)
 
Alright, im going to state a fact that I have not seen posted so far

It is nearly impossible to break safety glass with your hands. And by nearly I mean maybe the hulk could do it. I have never seen a case where someone was able to just smash through with their fist. It take a sharp edge to shatter it, and then it can be smashed away.

That said, I am not really leaning toward either way on this one.
 
Over a parking space?

From Microgunner's original post:
Toyota behind me quickly became impatient and began tooting his horn. I felt bad for blocking the isle but I needed that space. The woman was moving very slow and after the third toot I looked in my driver's side view mirror just in time to see an incredibly irate man, face fire engine red, teeth gritted stomping toward my door.
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(My emphasis)
I stand by what I said in the earlier post. No, it didn't end up being about the parking space... but that was how it started, as an avoidable confrontation. Was Mr. Red-faced Toyota-head being an aggressive idiot? Of course... but if someone's honking at me persistently, I tend to think there may be a reason for me to move.

peetzakilla said:
Results count, whether you know Latin or not.
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That's funny right there.

Sorry Vanya.
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No problem... :)

Just saying that to claim that pointing a gun was the right thing to do because everyone walked away unharmed is a really common form of faulty reasoning... Another name for it is "magical thinking," which is all too common when it comes to guns and self-defense...
 
I've run into a fair number of people who are just not impressed when you point a gun at them. Some people just aren't going to be indimidated by the simple presentation of a gun. Most criminals who have spent any time in the system can feel whether or not you're going to use it and once it's in play, you've limited yourself to a couple options. You can either shoot it, put it up or possibly have it taken from you and used against you. While I hate to armchair quarter back, the OP was asking for opinions so, for what it's worth, I vote for locking the door, drawing the weapon but keeping it out of view, calling the cops and looking for an out. If it meant losing the parking space, then so be it. If the guy breaks the window and reaches into the car, you take the next step. If an opening presents itself, you take it and leave. Just becasue you CAN stand your ground legally, doesn't always mean it's a good idea.
 
ONCE AGAIN, the OP was blocked from the front and the rear, according to the post.
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Not to start with. From one of Microgunner's later posts:
By the time it had escalated to the point of confrontation the elderly woman, whose space I'd been waiting on, had begun backing out, trapping me between her and the assailant's car.
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(My emphasis)
It seems clear to me from this that it would have been possible for him to drive on when the assailant was still in the horn-tooting stage, before the confrontation occurred. Also (yes, with hindsight) desirable, IMO. I'm not so much trying to second-guess what he should have done, but to point out that -- in general -- it makes sense to avoid having things "escalat[e] to the point of confrontation."
 
By the time it had escalated to the point of confrontation
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OK, but that still doesn't tell us the exact timing of when the gun was drawn, vs when the car was blocked. Not that it changes my opinion that the OP should have employed other tactics prior to reponding with his pistol. He apparently had no other plan but to threaten with the gun, which in my view, was premature.
 
maestro pistolero said:
OK, but that still doesn't tell us the exact timing of when the gun was drawn, vs when the car was blocked. Not that it changes my opinion that the OP should have employed other tactics prior to reponding with his pistol. He apparently had no other plan but to threaten with the gun, which in my view, was premature.
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Yes, absolutely.
 
?

I am pretty sure that wildalaska is one of the people that are thinking about the end consequences of shooting a man that is simply unarmed. I am with wildalaska all the way but then again my wife is an attorney and I think about courtrooms and jurors and such. Many of people have ruined their lives because they have shot someone or beat someone for less than this. To me it is not a deadly force situation. I would be dead or in jail right now if I drew a gun on every person that ever wanted to fight me or "kick my as" or threatened me in this way.
 
Respectfully:

You pull a gun you pull the trigger.

If you have no intention of shooting, then keep the gun in it's holster.
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Am I reading this right? Or was some of the intent lost in the edit? You pull a gun you pull the trigger. This of itself is totally and completely ridiculous.:rolleyes:

If you have no intention of shooting, then keep the gun in it's holster. On that we can agree as long as you also realize intentions can change.
 
OK, but that still doesn't tell us the exact timing of when the gun was drawn, vs when the car was blocked.
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Here is how I remember it. I spot the old lady loading her trunk in the next aisle. I was pleased to find I was the first to pull in behind her. I stop, she's now getting in her car which is parked askew because she came down the aisle the wrong way when she parked. Almost immediately the gold Toyota behind me honks his horn. I look back and think "should I move on or wait?" By this time the elderly woman iis settling into the seat of her dark red Ford Focus. I decide to wait even though I felt sheepish about blocking the aisle. Toyota beeps several more times impatiently. Red Focus begins backing out but since she is askew it requires some maneuvering on her part along with a lot of head swiveling. I'm now blocked in. The Toyota driver now lays on the horn and I look in my driver's side view mirror in time to see the angry guy, who is actually the passenger in the Toyota being driven by another guy, come around between our vehicles in the described rage. I drew my pistol upon seeing this but kept it unseen until he hit my window with the side of his fist and began screaming the things he was planning to do to me. And you know, I believed him and prepared by pointing the KelTec at him. This all took maybe 60-90 seconds. The Toyota could have gone down 2 aisles at any time he wanted. Yes I aggravated him and I knew I was doing so, but he took it to a whole other level that surprised the s**t out of me, both in severity & swiftness.
 
Since 99% of the 1 million - 2 million instances of firearm self-defense end with no shots fired, by some of your accounts those were all irresponsible uses of firearms.
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Best thing I've read in this whole thread.


Here's the dumbest, basically because of the implied superiority and arrogance:

Dude I take more heat on this Board than anyone simply because i ask folks to think.
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Op, I'm with you 100% on this one brother. You sound like a peaceful man and know how to make a bad situation end peacefully. I would have done the exact same thing, with my KelTec. ;)
 
You sound like a peaceful man and know how to make a bad situation end peacefully. I would have done the exact same thing, with my KelTec.
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LOL.....

Here's the dumbest, basically because of the implied superiority and arrogance:
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In relation to your input, its not implied:rolleyes:

WildcanyoujestfeelthetestosteroneAlaska TM
 
call 911, keep your gun holstered....as you can see you accomplished nothing by whipping it out. Dont pull the pistol unless you are going to shoot him then and there. Besides...if you feared for your life that bad you could have drove away as he got out of his car and approached you. Sounds like you used your concealed carry to get a parking spot. : )
 
Sounds like you used your concealed carry to get a parking spot. : )
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Really? I mean c'mon... even with the smiley face at the end... that's just an insulting, pointless comment.

He used his gun to try and deter a REALLY angry guy that was banging on his car and threatening him... Right or wrong, saying that his actions were an abuse of his CCW is a matter of opinion. Saying that he used his CCW to get a parking space... that's just not right.
 
This may be somewhere in the last 119 posts, so if it is, please forgive me.

I used to have handicapped plates on our vehicles because of my late wife's disability so I appreciate the fact that these spaces exist.

So when this guy starts honking at you and you looked in your mirror, did you see handicapped plates or one of those mirror tags (we have them in MO, not sure if you have them in FL)? If not, why not just continue down the aisle and let the guy in the truck find a spot? Sure, you take your chances that the handicapped spot might be taken, but most Wal-Marts have quite a few designated spots. I find it hard to believe, unless it was a Saturday afternoon perhaps, that all of the handicapped spaces would be taken.

Sure, you could stand your ground like you did and risk having an "incident", or you could have just just moved on and looked for another spot or driven around and positioned yourself in a better spot so as not to block other cars from coming down the aisle while waiting for the spot you just had to have became available. This whole mess could have easily been avoided.

Scott
 
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