Warning a potential attacker that you are armed?

[Stephen Cue]

to be clear and to agree with above posters, you or I do not have to fire, but If I pull it should be with the intent to as necessary.....NOT under any circumstances to scare, deescalate or anything else.

Agreed! But, the scumbag better be quicker to show his/her intent to back off, then you are with pulling and firing.

If I pull and the man with the knife gets scared as I'm aiming and turns and starts to run away I'm not going to shoot the guy in the back. At this point I am no longer in harms way and my life is not in danger so there is no reason for me to take this mans life no mater what he may have planned on doing before.

So what you guys and ssgrock3 are saying is that I originally had the intent to shoot him (not to scare) so it's ok, right?

Right, and rest assurred that its the scumbag's responsibility to de escalate/neutralize the situation once he gives due cause for FFL/GBH.

If a reasonable person would believe you to have justifiable cause to pull, then the scumbag better be faster, to show his retreat, than you are to pull and fire.

Pulling and firing to me is ONE action, not TWO autonomous actions. To me there is no such thing as pulling alone. For this reason, is why I make for DAM SURE that FFL/GBH is firmly established before I P&F

Again, IMHO, IF you pull and said scumbag has ample time to decide whether or not to continue the attack, then it nots justifiable.

 

[Perrone]

Pulling and shooting to me is one action, not two. To me there is no such thing as pulling alone.

Well said. That's something to think about.

 

[spd67]

Pulling and firing to me is ONE action, not TWO autonomous actions. To me there is no such thing as pulling alone. For this reason, is why I make for DAM SURE that FFL/GBH is firmly established before I P&F

Amen Brother

 

[LtCCMPUnit42]

then youd already be dead b4 you could draw, find your target , and fire.

you see a knife in the hand of an aggressive person, back up, shoot, then call the police

You got that sh*t right! 10 ft is way too close for a potential assailent w/an edged weapon. He can cover the distance too fast for you to react effectively (unless you're trained to "shoot & move").You are not any "more" dead from a knife attack(especially from someone that knows what they are doing) than from a gun shot!
All attempts to de-escilate the situation should be done from more than 25 ft if at all possible, inside 25 ft, the talking stops and the fighting starts.

 

[ttowncrimefighter]

I'm gonna throw my two cents in. This is my Virgin Post too so yall take it easy on me. As a police officer I don't like the idea that the "victim" (by victim I mean the non-aggressor) should have any responsibility to withdraw or flee from a violent encounter. I feel pretty strongly that people have the right to stand their ground.

I've served in the Army. I'm an active LEO. I've been involved in violent encounters in my life both on and off the job. My two cents is this: You have to remain level headed and you have to do everything you can to control any situation that may result in violence. Included in controlling the situation is controlling yourself. The 21 foot rule makes good sense but if the guy is standing there with his hands empty and the knife isn't in play then it is an idle threat. Until you are actually threatened with the knife you are still for the most part dealing with an unarmed man.

Part of keeping the upper hand is not giving up all your cards. If you tell the potential attacker that you're armed, that may seem like a threat of violence to him and he may decide it's a good time to draw and fire.

Your best bet is probably to tell him to keep his distance and/or to create distance yourself. Distance in a fight, hand-to-hand or armed, is always your friend. I've been on calls where the party in the right was some dad with too much pride to stay in the car and let the idiot run his mouth and so dad's kids had to watch him get his rear handed to him.

One last thing. I have never taken a concealed carry class as I carry under my commission card. I am unsure but wouldn't be surprised if TELLING people you have a weapon was considered the same as SHOWING them. If you aren't justified to draw the weapon, telling them about it probably isn't a good idea.

 

[spd67]

I'm gonna throw my two cents in. This is my Virgin Post too so yall take it easy on me.

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