What Would You Do If.....

[BarbC]

What I personally would do is first call 911 immediately to get them started. Then I'd beep the horn and holler at him from the car, which would also gain the attention of other people. Sometimes people hate being the first to step in but if they see other people involved, they'll get involved. Then, if the man did not stop and the woman was in continued grave danger, I would get out of my vehicle and try to deflect his attention. If his diverted attention turned into a direct grave attack on me, then he'd have to be stopped.

 

[Smitty500Mag]

Originally posted by VAPA:
What would you do if you and your wife were in your local Walmart lot looking for a parking place and you see a guy severly beating a women...

It's according to how hot the woman looks. If she a porker I'd say she can probably take a few punches until the cops arrive but on the other hand if she's a hotie I'd have to dawn my cape and come to the rescue!

Smitty

 

[n4zov]

What I personally would do is first call 911 immediately to get them started. Then I'd beep the horn and holler at him from the car, which would also gain the attention of other people.

This is one of the best and toughest questions I've seen posted on the forum. Barb seems to have the most common sensical advice so far, and since I don't normally carry it would be about all I could do.

 

[Bobwtn]

I am a 24 yr. mental health counselor and 9 yr. police officer prior to my present profession.
As for a cop perspective, cops hate those DV calls for they can come to save the victim by arresting the abuser only to have the victim turn on them. So bad situation even for those that do it for pay. From a psychological perspective, there are a lot of strange dynamics in relationships with DV. Sometimes, the victim does not view themselves as a victim, the abuser is a controller usually, so lot of stuff. Usually, what you may see is "same song, 15th verse", meaning it has happened many times.
A permit does not make you a cop and frankly, calling 911 is more than many would do. Making a call is good, but don't go walking into someone else's fight.It is not right, but still, you just don't know. Most cops will not roll up and pull a weapon either. If you are there, holding a gun on someone in a parking lot, when a cop rolls up, the dispatcher may not give the officer the full details. You might get shot or arrested. It is not worth the risks to you or your family. 911 and let the pros take it.

 

[John R]

Originally posted by Nanook 450:


Why in the hell were you rendering aid to the husband in a domestic fight?

Been more than one time I've seen the guy get his ticket punched by the gal in a domestic.

 

[GLV]

Originally posted by Nanook 450:
Help her, or you would be a grass-eating ***EDITED***.

I'll be the grass eater--and you can be the guy who gets involved after the woman picked the guy's pocket, or,or,or.

If I am to get involved, I need to know the players. If a child is involved, yes I am in. Two adults, I'll wait and watch, making a second call if needed.

 

[Hook686]

Call 911 and then pull far enough away to be a good witness, keep the windows up and doors locked. Maybe turn on high beams to give the arriving LEOs good lighing.

 

[Out West]

A buddy of mine came upon a nearly exact scenario. While driving home from work, he sees a man restraining a woman. She is fighting back and the man starts to turn up the pressure on the woman: cuffing her about and trying to gain control over her arms. My buddy backs his car up to the scene, gets out with his 45 acp and tells the guy to let the lady go. SURPRISE! The man tells my friend that he is an undercover cop and is making an arrest. He instructs my friend to put his gun up (like now!) and get out of there.

Now my buddy is really confused. It could be a cop and it might be a really quick witted thug. Never the less, my buddy holstered his gun, got in his car and drove off with the two of them still struggling. He called 911 to report a possible assault on the way home.

Out West

 

[S/W - Lifer]

There are a couple of options you can exercise now, before you get into a situation like this.

First, check out the "Good Samaritan" laws for your state. There may be something on the books that can guide your decision. Be aware of your legal protections and vulnerabilities.

Second, just because your state granted you a permit or license to carry a concealed weapon does not empower you as a law enforcement officer. I do understand that permit holders have intervention options that vary state to state.

So - If you are willing to get involved in parking lot assaults, consider joining the police reserve and getting properly trained. At least then you can buy the professional liability insurance that you are likely going to need.

There are a lot of negatives to getting involved. I'm not saying you shouldn't. I am saying you should do your legal homework first.

 

[G-ManBart]

For the average CCW holder their options are going to depend on the laws of the state they're in.

Being a LEO I don't really have an option if I see a violent felony in progress and have the ability to stop it without endangering others (do I have clear shot etc). Assuming the guy is fixated on the victim, a near contact shot might be possible.

Personally, I'd have a hard time watching someone get killed regardless of LEO/non-LEO status. When I lived in MD a young man was killed in the mall about a mile from my house. This young man was walking, holding hands with his boyfriend. A local skinhead saw the couple, knocked one of them down, sat on his chest, grabbed him by the ears and beat his head into the ground until he was dead...sickening. There was a crowd standing there watching it and nobody did a thing...more sickening.

 

[Guest]

I've already stated the ONLY option that I personally have and have used and will continue to use.

 

[Smitty500Mag]

Let's look at it another way. Suppose it's your daughter that's getting mugged by this thug would you want someone to intervene then? I'd be wanting to do something to the man that just stood by and let my daughter get beat up.

Smitty

 

[Capt Steve]

Smitty, +1
If you aren't prepared to do something at least go find someone who will.

 

[GatorFarmer]

Originally posted by Smitty500Mag:
Let's look at it another way. Suppose it's your daughter that's getting mugged by this thug would you want someone to intervene then? I'd be wanting to do something to the man that just stood by and let my daughter get beat up.

Smitty

That's the problem with playing "Suppose". We could also play "Suppose she's a hooker and that's her pimp, and she didn't have the money?" or even "That is his wife, but she just drowned their children." For extra fun maybe suppose she's Jenny Jihad with a vile of anthrax and Tommy NSA agent is attempting to stop her.

 

[flop-shank]

+1, Gator.

Originally posted by Smitty500Mag:
Let's look at it another way. Suppose it's your daughter that's getting mugged by this thug would you want someone to intervene then? I'd be wanting to do something to the man that just stood by and let my daughter get beat up.

If it were my daughter, the people who's daughter I could come to the rescue of in this scenario, probably won't have a gun to save her. I'm probably not the only person in this thread who's been sued, but I'll bet most haven't. All I can say is that I'm a lot more "Han Solo" than I was when I was younger.

 

[GLV]

Originally posted by Smitty500Mag:
Let's look at it another way. Suppose it's your daughter that's getting mugged by this thug would you want someone to intervene then? I'd be wanting to do something to the man that just stood by and let my daughter get beat up.

Smitty

Smitty, if I knew it was your daughter--yes, but as I do not know, I'll continue to watch.

If you can read minds, and are sure [yes it is someone's daughter] that she is not a hooker that just ripped off a john, then go for it.

 

[TAC]

A domestic is one of the most dangerous situations you can encounter, due to the unpredictability of both partners. I'd call 911, then observe and be a good witness.

When I was in my 20's, I was driving home from a date and passed by a park where I saw a guy beating the crap out of some girl. I stopped, grabbed the guy, pulled him off of her. Suddenly she was on my back trying to claw my eyes out. The guy, drunk, was laughing his ass off, saying..."Good luck, she's all yours now!"

 

[Agent6-3/8]

I didn't read all the posts so If I repeat something, sorry.

Anywho, I'd call 911 and mind my own business. No good will come of getting yourself involved in someone elses domestic dispute. She'll just be back with him the nexy day/ as soon as he gets out of jail. If you shoot you end up having to shoot him, she will be the first to tell the police how you killed her dearly beloved. It might sound cold, but you can't help those that aren't willing to help themselves.

Just ask a cop. I don't know one that hasn't gone on a domestic and ended up arresting both parties. One for beating their spouse and the other for interfering or assulting the cop when he tried to arrest the one doing the beating to start with.

 

[The Big D]

For those of you who somehow extrapolated the scenario orginally into a "domestic" case (which is still an assault, btw), shame on you. For those of you who would do nothing, even worse shame on you.

Internet ninjas still exist, unfortunately.

Be safe.

PS:

One doesn't need a gun to be a person who cares about others.

 

[cshoff]

I can't say exactly what I would do without having the benefit of ariving at the scene and seeing exactly what is going on. No matter what, I would definitely call the police. If the situation warranted it, I would intervene VERBALLY. If that verbal intervention did not stop the aggression, then I would have to further assess whether physical intervention would be wise on my part or not.

In Missouri, we can use whatever force is necessary to protect a third person, that said third person would be justified using themselves if they could. In other words, if the man is three times bigger than the woman and she would be justified in using deadly force, then I would be justified in using the same deadly force to stop her attacker. Also in Missouri, justification of force is an absolute defense. So long as the force is judged to be justified, you cannot be held criminally or civilly liable, and in fact will be awarded attorney fees and other reasonable expenses in the event someone does attempt to sue you civilly.

That said, I have no desire to shoot someone. Shooting someone is a last resort, regardless of who I am trying to defend.