What Would You Have Done

[Cappy_TX]

An older fella lives nearby and owns a Wrangler Unlimited was about 3 miles from our place yesterday afternoon on a paved 2-lane County Hwy. Traffic ahead of him had come to a stop and from what he could see there had been an accident up ahead. There was a fire truck and a couple squad cars on the side of the road 100 yards further down the road.

There was an 18 wheeler hauling sand and gravel behind the Jeep and it had been tailgating him for the past mile. With traffic slowing down to a virtual stop, the impatient 18 wheeler pulled up even closer behind the Jeep. The Jeep driver put his left arm out the drivers window and gave a "back off" motion. That apparently incensed the truck driver who blew his horn in response.

The Jeep driver attempted to signal he was going to make a U-turn and the trucker pulled up even closer. The Jeep began backing at an angle onto the shoulder and the trucker again blew his horn. Jeep driver yelled out "Back the F off, I'm trying to turn around!" With that the truck door flew open and out came an obviously enraged driver.

The trucker got right up next to the open Jeep driver's window and started screaming "you dumb a$$ old jerk, I'll pull you outta that F_ng Jeep and whup you a$$". The Jeep driver had already slid his right hand down between the seat and center console and gripped the loaded .357 in anticipation of a confrontation. It was a matter or 3-4 seconds from the time the driver stepped out of the truck to the time he was at the Jeep drivers window. By the way, the Jeep driver's wife was in a panic by then and already begging him to just roll up the window and leave.

The .357 was loaded with "rat shot" which is like #9 bird shot. Quite lethal at 3-5 feet but not much further than that. The 2 squad cars were still 100 yards up the road. What would you have done?
:shock:

 

[SteelHeadz]

MMmm, Tough call.. That can easily be justified by the Texas Penal code 9.22.Necessity, but arguable in the court of law. From a prior L.E. training, Avoid confrontation with a deadly use of force. From my Martial arts training from grade school to college, Kick his arse till he calls you his daddy. From my CHL training, Make sure i've exausted all means to avoid a lethal force, if unsuccesful, Shoot e'm.. My instinct would probbably tell me to stay in the vehicle and try to get away and take action if needed if he takes the first swing. So what was the end result of the altercation?. BTW, If your going to carry a weapon, make sure your ready to face the consequence on the outcome of using that weapon..If i draw my weapon, it would be to extinguish the threat, not to pi$$ e'm off with a snake shot.

 

[avan]

Agree with SteelHeadz on this one, as soon as you draw your weapon you become the evil doer in the eyes of the law. I would have had the missus dailing 911 asking for assistance as "husband" was under attack. Other than that I would have killed the engine , coasted to a stop, put on hazzards then climbed out and opened the bonnet.

 

[mud4feet]

I would have continued my U-turn (be it now a 5, 7, 9 point turn) and continued on my way. If he got in the way and got hit by my I-beam bumper, so be it. There is no cure for ignorance.

I don't and won't carry a handgun, so that is not an option for me. And I don't mind leaving some raging dumb-arse in my rear view mirror. Life is too dear and there's plenty of road in the other direction.

 

[Utah_jeepster]

The last thing I would have done is pull my CCW. Once a gun is pulled it's called brandishing a weapon and if used in a threatening manner you could be charged with a class 'A' misdemeanor or worst a class 6 felony assault with a deadly weapon.

The only time you can pull your CCW is when your life is threaten, that means if someone pulls a deadly weapon and/or threatens you, where you believe (and a jury if necessary) that your life was in danger.

With this type of scenario the trucker could have said he was stopping to ask if you were ok, because you were driving erratically. In this scenario a reasonable person could flee the seen just by simply driving off. Any D.A. will pursue this case as a brandishing charge against your friend.

The best thing that man should have done is continue down the road and report the truck driver to the police. Many states now have aggressive driver laws on the books.
With two eyewitnesses the police would pursue the trucker and stop him for questioning.

 

[NeHi]

The last thing I would have done is pull my CCW. Once a gun is pulled it's called brandishing a weapon and if used in a threatening manner you could be charged with a class 'A' misdemeanor or worst a class 6 felony assault with a deadly weapon.

The only time you can pull your CCW is when your life is threaten, that means if someone pulls a deadly weapon and/or threatens you, where you believe (and a jury if necessary) that your life was in danger.

With this type of scenario the trucker could have said he was stopping to ask if you were ok, because you were driving erratically. In this scenario a reasonable person could flee the seen just by simply driving off. Any D.A. will pursue this case as a brandishing charge against your friend.

The best thing that man should have done is continue down the road and report the truck driver to the police. Many states now have aggressive driver laws on the books.
With two eyewitnesses the police would pursue the trucker and stop him for questioning.

Yeah, I would agree with that its better to let the police deal with it, unless you are directly threatened with physical harm, before brandishing a weapon...however, you have to admit it would be awesome to make that dude soil himself...