Has anybody here actually had to use their weapon?

[Ronin13]

I was about to make my move... in motion going towards him... when he stopped his swing. As I said I was standing at his 2. Plan was when he swings, jump to my 11 or so so that I'm behind him while grabbing and pushing his swinging arm down and to the right, hook my left arm around him and get him in a sleeper hold and choke him out till he passes out. Then get in the car and get the hell outta dodge.


I know... a bat is an impact weapon, and impact weapons can definitely be lethal or cause TBI. Last night I felt that it could have very easily be handled hand to hand, but looking back on the situation (if the same thing ever happens again), I think I just might draw on him when he approaches and leave it at that.


The car was about twice as far from us as he was, locked, there were three of us that hand to get in through 2 doors, and starting the car takes time.
First thought being he's coming towards us with a shotgun, and seeing he isn't aiming it at us yet, I figured I'd be better off taking it head on and not turning my back on him or giving him time to act while I'm preoccupied. Not to mention, a vehicle is a bullet magnet.



It was a crushed soda can laying in the middle of the street. I don't consider kicking something like a can, rock, etc. in your way while walking "idiotic and immature behavior."
And if you approach myself or a friend in my presence, after cussing at us and calling us this and that, while openly armed, all for kicking a can in the street... you're gonna be in deep shit (we ain't the group of punks you think we are). Especially if you think "putting in more quality time at the range" is gonna help you at all, there's a difference between shooting a gun and fighting with a gun... although we're getting into another discussion here.

Just from your narrative I feel like no one can really fully grasp the situation until they are in it. I'm sure some would say "Oh you were wrong in even thinking of pulling you gun" or this and that. No, it's the situation you're in that dictates what happens. Like with me when pulling and deciding to use a weapon, I was trained NOT to hesitate, NOT to withdraw (US Army infantry 101- NEVER RETREAT) and NOT to cease until the threat has been eliminated. It's one thing to say what you would have/could have/should have done, but when the rubber meets the road and you first suspect it's a firearm being brought to bear against you and yours then you have to think of what your next action(s) will be. I would have done the same thing. If I kicked a can and a guy got in a hissy because of it, well shame on him he shouldn't be such a prick. Now if I instigated something, no I wouldn't have thought of using a gun, I'd de-escalate the situation verbally. But you did nothing wrong, and him even threatening with a bat would have been grounds for you to put his ass 6ft deep.
Could the situation have gone bad? Of course. I've had encounters with baseball bats and probably wouldn't have hesitated to press some iron to the guy's head and told him to drop the bat or there would be consequences. Fine line between a mock charge and a real charge, but do you really think you can afford to differentiate between the two?

[KevDen2005]

I know I am late, but baseball bat, especially at close range in the threatening manner it was presented=deadly force.

Totality of the circumstances. One good swing to the head and you're dead.

Be judged by 12 not carried by 6.

Glad it worked out.

[Ronin13]

Be judged by 12 not carried by 6.

This.

Best defense, and we said this all the time in Afghanistan when there was an ROE issue that came up (concerning the legality of use of deadly force- hearts and minds BS) "You get a split second to make a decision, they get months to pick it apart."

[KevDen2005]

This.

Best defense, and we said this all the time in Afghanistan when there was an ROE issue that came up (concerning the legality of use of deadly force- hearts and minds BS) "You get a split second to make a decision, they get months to pick it apart."

No decision, in my opinion is going to be a hundred percent right when thoughts and scenarios are going that fast...just make the best one you can with your training...

You did your best to do the right thing and stay out of harms way, sometimes you have to choose to defend yourself.

[stevelkinevil]

Ok not exactly what the OP was getting at in asking as I was an LEO in Vegas at the time and I was moonlighting as a loss prevention agent at the time but one of the oddest encounters I have had none the less and the only one in plain clothes carrying concealed (we werent supposed to carry but they looked the other way for moonlighting LEOs). So anyway I had been lurking around doing my job in the Smiths (same as King soopers here) which was in North Las Vegas in a nasty part of town and had to use the restroom, I open the door and I see a man standing in the middle of the floor, not even in a stall, holding up his "twig and berries" with one hand and shooting himself up with what I later found to be methamphetamine with the other hand, IN HIS NACHO (or taint if you prefer)!!!. I was about 6 feet away from the guy and wasnt about to get stabbed with a god knows what tainted needle so I drew my carry gun which was a Walther P99 (used a 1911 on duty) and advised him to drop the needle, the dumb bastard, who didn't realize I was there till this point, raises the needle and takes a step forward, thank gawd he dropped it and complied from that point on because my finger had taken up all the travel on the DA trigger. Would I have been justified in shooting him? you better believe it, at that range and with what could be considered a deadly weapon raised I would have been OK. Scary part is if he had wanted to continue that attack nothing but a well placed head shot likely would have stopped him at that range.

[cofi]

tainted needle

[stevelkinevil]

hahaha, good stuff.

[Glock Shooter]

I was a single father raising my son on my own for 10 years until I met my wife 4 years ago. When it was just my son and I while living in Boulder, yeah Boulder, my dog woke me up barking a storm at the window. We lived in a split-level home (really bad design as far as safety is concerned) my bedroom window is at ground level, it's summer, and it's wide open all but a bug screen. I sit up and hush my dog for a moment and listen. She, R.I.P, was a well trained pit bull-lab mix and immediately obeyed my command. I could hear the chain fence that separates my house from my neighbor jingling like somethings on it or climbing over it. It's very early in the morning and the sun has not come up yet but I can make out a silhouette of a man just coming over my side of the fence into my back yard. I unlock my glock and use the cement side of my house as cover and yell to him to stop. I'm in no immediate danger so I'm pointed in a safe direction. My son is sound asleep in bedroom behind me so I'm between danger and my son. I let him know he is not welcome and that he should turn and leave. He replies in a very drunken voice that this is his house and that he's coming in. At that moment I dial 911. I tell the operator what's happening, give a general description of him, she asks me if he has a weapon. I must have been repeating her questions out loud because Mr. Badguy says "Well maybe I have a gun!" Well that's when I put more distance between us and took a defensive position at the doorway of my bedroom where I could cover the window. The 911 operator heard him and I could hear her typing frantically all the while telling me officers were on the way. I then went to the hall closet and unlocked my Winchester Defender 12ga. It was loaded with 00 Federal buck shot. No round in the chamber 7 in the tube. It seemed like minutes went by as Mr. Badguy worked himself up into a lather of anger. I kept yelling at him to leave that the police were on the way. By now I can see that he's is within kicking distance of my window. My dog, man she was smart, has now positioned herself behind me in my son's doorway. I can hear him yell that he's coming in, I drop the cell phone, I can see his leg go back like he's about to kick in my window. I've already come to terms with the fact that I may have to shoot this guy but I still can't be sure if he has a weapon or not but I am prepared to defend my son. I say to myself that if he comes into my home I will shoot. I'm about to chamber a round and at that very moment I heard POLICE LET ME SEE YOUR HANDS.....LET ME SEE YOUR HANDS NOW!!! I listen as he gets combative with the officers but since there were 3 of them they had him on the ground in cuffs in a matter of seconds. I lock everything up, my son is still sound asleep, if you can believe it, sound asleep I tell you. I wait for one of the officers to come knock. We speak for a few minutes, I never bring up the fact that I was more than prepared to defend my home, and they leave. I'll be happy if I never go through anything similar ever again.

[Irving]

Some great stories in here. Can we merge the threads?

[blacklabel]

I was a single father raising my son on my own for 10 years...

That's an awesome story and sounds just about text book. Similar scenarios run through my head all the time and I hope that I'm able to handle it as well as you did if I'm ever presented with one.