Will you do this as a CCW?

[gm272gs]

I wouldn't have done what that guy did. I agree with the above "your personal safety is your responsibility" comment in this situation.

If I were in that situation though, I would make sure that my pistol was holstered by the time the LEOs got there. I don't like being a target.

 

[feralmerril]

If he had holstered that gun before leo got there that guy would be in the next county and still running.

 

[gm272gs]

I don't really see a downside to that one. He (and the intended victim of the purse-snatcher) gives a description of the two people to the police. Done.

 

[Johnmuratore]

What if the situation wasn't questionable?

If someone was being hurt, not just threatened, it would change the equation for me.

 

[redlevel]

If someone was being hurt, not just threatened, it would change the equation for me.

In a discussion very similar to this one on another forum, a poster said he intervened in a situation where a young man was beating his wife/girlfriend senseless in the parking lot of a convenience store. He physically restrained the guy, not with a gun. He said by the time the police got there, he realized he was in the deep doo-doo because the girl was going to, and did, accuse him of doing the beating. If not for the store's surveillance cameras, he would have been in a mess.

For me, at age 65, after spinal fusion surgery, shoulder replacement, and multiple surgeries on my hands, no thank you. I will use no physical restraint, and I will use my gun ONLY IF me or my family is threatened, and in some specific instances, if my property is threatened.

 

[Protected One]

In a discussion very similar to this one on another forum, a poster said he intervened in a situation where a young man was beating his wife/girlfriend senseless in the parking lot of a convenience store. He physically restrained the guy, not with a gun. He said by the time the police got there, he realized he was in the deep doo-doo because the girl was going to, and did, accuse him of doing the beating. If not for the store's surveillance cameras, he would have been in a mess.

For me, at age 65, after spinal fusion surgery, shoulder replacement, and multiple surgeries on my hands, no thank you. I will use no physical restraint, and I will use my gun ONLY IF me or my family is threatened, and in some specific instances, if my property is threatened.

Situations involving men beating women is the ONE situation I will NEVER intervene in. Women today will make you hate them more than the beater, with their stupidity. I ALMOST did it once...thank God my brother in law stopped me.

 

[agwoodard]

I think this "sheep, wolves, sheepdog" nonsense causes people to think that a CCW is a pseudo badge of some sorts, to the point where some CCW holders go out LOOKING for incidents to intervene in.

Ability, Opportunity, Jeopardy. That's the standard for drawing your firearm. None of those existed in the video. Yeah, it turned out OK for the "hero", but it could have ended poorly for him and others, and if it did, it would have been a black mark on all of us who carry. Just because it worked out this time doesn't make it a correct action. He got lucky. We got lucky. People who rely on luck usually end up losing. Fall back on your training and if you don't have any, get some.

 

[Protected One]

Ah, I thought that might be the case based on what you said. Go back and follow the instructions. Count the passes, either team it doesn't really matter. Then post your answer here. This time, watch the video through to the end.

Watched the video...and yes, I saw the guy in the gorrilla suit.
Still, even if someone doesn't all that means is they are "less" observant than others.
It does nothing to prove that witnesses are "next to useless".
That contention goes WAAAAAAY over the top!

 

[shouldazagged]

I don't know if "useless" is the correct word or not, but I do know that in many cases two or more witnesses will each see the same accident or shooting or bar fight or whatever very differently than the others.

A much simpler example: a disputed call in a football or baseball game, on a really close play. Fans of one team will actually see the same play differently from fans of the opposing team. I've seen it happen even with multi-angle replay, many times.

Sometimes the appearance of one or more parties in a shooting, fight, accident, etc., can change the way eyewitnesses register the scene. You can see it in court as well.

It's just a fact, or set of facts, that a lot of factors, including shock and terror, can affect the way witnesses see an event. Defense attorneys and prosecutors, as well as LEO's, see it a lot.

 

[Rastoff]

shouldazagged is correct. Take any two people, show them the same situation and they will come up with two different descriptions. The sports analogy is apt.

The video is limited in it's ability to demonstrate this phenomena. Most people, if given no prompting beyond, "count the passes" don't see the surprise. I have witnessed (yes I used that on purpose) this in many groups of lots of people. Without exaggeration, 98% of the people don't see the whole thing.

Also, it's not important that one person is more observant than another. The question becomes, who do you believe? Still using the video, what if I had 6 other people watch the same video. Then I asked them, "How many passes did you see?" There would be disagreement on just that. Then have someone, you for example, say, "I saw a gorilla too." Now, I've got 6 people telling me they didn't see one and just one person saying they did, who do you believe? You know what the truth is, but it will never come out because so many others will say something different and they will be in the majority.

The majority of the "eye witnesses" got it wrong, but that's what's going to swing any jury. Scary huh?

 

[Thunderhawk88]

In my opinion, the appropriate move would have been to assist the woman in getting loose from the handbag, being she's trapped or just wouldn't let go. I would not have drawn my weapon, as I did not see an imminent threat of great bodily harm or death. If, I found the woman could not be extricated from the situation, or was going to be dragged, then the situation would escalate to the use of deadly force.
I am happy that it turned out ok for the woman and the "good Samaritan" , and that the scumbags were caught.