This happened on Wednesday

Yeah, about that question, "Would you have shot if the perp had kept coming?"... That sounds like a setup. Were you obligated to answer the cop's questions? It doesn't sound like there was ever a time, during the police response after the incident, that you were in danger of being taken away for doing something illegal. So if you had "lawyered up" and said that you would be happy to discuss your legal use of defensive action once you had consulted a lawyer, could they have given you a hard time?

I ask this because I really wonder why that cop asked you that question. Was it for personal curiousity? Was it relevant to the decision of whether to charge you? Since you didn't shoot, or even draw, how is what you "would have considered doing" even relevant?? The cop might as well have asked you if you would have schtupped the queen of England if the perp had kept coming. It's rather moot, right?

Anyway, glad to hear it turned out well for you, and that you had the presence of mind, and the equipment, to defend your own life.

Cool on you that you're a former fighter pilot, too! Me, I just putter around in C-152s, but it's still fun. Every once in a while, I make a "fssshhhhh!" sound like I'm firing missiles at someone, a la Walter Mitty. (j/k) :p

-blackmind
 
Hey, blackmind, you ask some interesting questions:
"Yeah, about that question, "Would you have shot if the perp had kept coming?"... That sounds like a setup. Were you obligated to answer the cop's questions? It doesn't sound like there was ever a time, during the police response after the incident, that you were in danger of being taken away for doing something illegal. So if you had "lawyered up" and said that you would be happy to discuss your legal use of defensive action once you had consulted a lawyer, could they have given you a hard time?"
My impression is that it was a casual question. He had filled out his report and we were just chatting. He and I both knew that I was clean on the deal. He was a friendly guy, asked me how I liked the Kimber, where I practiced etc. I didn't feel that he was trying to entrap me in any way.


"Cool on you that you're a former fighter pilot, too! Me, I just putter around in C-152s, but it's still fun. Every once in a while, I make a "fssshhhhh!" sound like I'm firing missiles at someone, a la Walter Mitty." (j/k)
I know the feeling...my son owns a 172 that I drive every once in a while. Frankly, I get more fun out of Microsoft's Combat Simulator!
"Throw a nickle on the grass, my friend"
 
I think that you did well. You were in fear (and who wouldn't be! A knife being pointed at you at 10ft is like a gun being pointed at you at 15ft IMHO).

The only thing that I would have done differently was to take the "long way" around the wino (as in, go out of my way to have distance between he and I).

I understand the "backpedling" because it was actually shock that caused you to panic for that instant and it's normal to get the "flight or fight" response in a deadly situation. But I think that you regained your composure (most likely due to your past) quickly and handled the situation well.

As for the people behind him, that is why you practice, practice, practice so that you hit your target, even under pressure.

The only thing that I will commit on is to practice with your carry rounds also and not just hardball. I know that it can be/get expensive but each different type of ammo fires differently (recoil, point of aim, etc..) and could "throw" off your shots under pressure since you're mostly used to using hardball.

And my last word is, you went home unharmed that day, so therefore, you did well!

Wayne
 
You did well (especially by reporting it afterwords, hopefully they can find him and give him "3 hots & a cot" for a while).
jail.gif
 
You did well (especially by reporting it afterwords, hopefully they can find him and give him "3 hots & a cot" for a while).

Sounds like he's already been found and may wind up pleading out.

So, instead of stealing only five of his victim's dollars with which to feed and shelter himself, he'll steal thousands of his victims' tax dollars by proxy through the government to be fed and sheltered. :rolleyes:

The concept of restitution by criminals makes so much more sense.
 
TheeBadOne
You did well (especially by reporting it afterwards, hopefully they can find him and give him "3 hots & a cot" for a while).
Click to expand...
Well if it was in Maricopa County, the cot is correct, but the chow is likely to be cold baloney sandwiches! :D :D :D
 
Well done, I think you did perfectly; I am glad he chose to flee.
For us Phoenix members let us know where this took place.
I obviously live in west Phoenix where hese wino's are everywhere and unpredictable.
There are also people trying to sell you stuff in dark parking lots.
They way they approach makes me prepare to reach for my pistol.
 
First of all, thanks for the comments, compliments and critiques. They are all taken to heart and I will benefit from them.

Several of you have asked where in Phoenix this took place. My legal eagle advised me to give no details, so I won't. Suffice it to say, it was South Phoenix below the I 10 and east of Central Ave. Sorry, best I can do. :)

I understand the perp is enjoying Sheriff Joe's tent city...green balogna and all.
 
LE Opinion on Physical Threat?

I'm curious how LE views situations like this where a knife is involved. I practice martial arts and we luckily have an attorney as our head instructor. He often reminds us, among other handy things for staying out of fights to begin with, that in any confrontation the larger person has a more difficult time proving that they needed to use a certain level of force. I pay close attention to this (6'3", athletic 195 lbs.). In the same situation would I be more likely to have trouble in the investigation because the size advantage made the guy with the knife "less threatening"? As far as I'm concerned a weapon immediately takes size out of the equation, but I'm curious if anybody has knowledge/experience about this.
 
Come October with the new law in Florida, azspyder could have killed that individual without worrying about criminal or civil liability.
 
azspyder

Well done! You were cool under pressure and did exactly what you have the legal right to do - stopped the bad guy with the minimum amount of force required. You were prepared to escalate the force if necessary, but had the presence of mind, and steady nerves, to go no further than you needed to for the situation at hand. I admire you for that and thank you for sharing with all of us.

It is perfectly normal to re-think every move later, and to see things that you could have done better - we are our own worst critics after all.....But I can not imagine how the outcome could have been better. The back-pedalling was an intelligent move, you needed to gain distance but you could not turn your back on him to do it - Only a second before you had been facing that direction and knew what lay (now) behind you, so you moved backwards over known ground without stumbling - what could be wrong with that? Perfect move in my estimation.

Everyone who reads this thread will have learned valuable lessons from you.

THANKS!
 
Seems good to me.

Bad guy pulls a knife and accosts you in a crouched "fighting" stance. You clear your clothing and put your hand on your gun. Bad guy runs away. Excellent and fortunate example of the defensive use of a handgun.

I am not a lawyer, but I don't think putting your hand on a holstered gun constitutes a threat of deadly force. The bad guy, on the other hand, had already threatened deadly force. What you describe tells me that this guy was not innocently walking his knife to the local hardware store to get it sharpened.

In my opinion, you would have been justified to pull the gun out of the holster and aim it at the guys guts, had you felt the need to do so.

~Ichiro
 
sounds good, you did a great job.

Only thing I would suggest is to get some fox labs pepper spray and carry that as well, I would recommend a 2oz can. My reasoning for this - what if he didn't have a knife, and he was just going to strong arm the money from you. You generally cannot draw your firearm in that situation, but pepper spray would be legal and likey persuade the perp to get lost.

Obviously the use of lethal force (firearm) was justified in this situation, and as such it was handled correctly.
 
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