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joe817 wrote:I want to say I agree 100% with what Abraham & USA1 said. This is an educational forum and I learn something everyday. It is by sharing our experiences with others here that we learn and improve ourselves.

Thank you for sharing your story with us.

priusron wrote:I find that a lot of people post without carefully reading the original post... My weapon was on my lap because I am left handed and it is impossible to draw with your left hand and fire out the drivers door.

priusron wrote:This incident has caused me to think a lot about "being a good witness". We live in a violence ridden society. Yes, there are worse than ours. I also recall that there were many, many witnesses to what happened to the Jews.

hheremtp wrote:

dicion wrote:Hate to rain on your parade, but I am of the opinion that you were in the wrong here, with respect to drawing your handgun.

I don't see littering anywhere in the force statutes, let alone the deadly force statutes.
Sure, you could claim that he approached your vehicle in a threatening manner, but he could claim that you instigated it by blocking him in.
Other than approaching your vehicle, he did nothing that justified any kind of force.
As far as him littering, you're lucky he admitted to it, as it was his word versus yours. Both on scene, and in court.

For an example, spin the tables.

You're backed up to a fence area of your property that you own. Someone has dumped some trash there, and you're there cleaning it up.
Out of nowhere, some guy pulls in front of you, blocking you in. When you approach him to ask him what the heck he's doing, he pulls a gun on you.
In this situation, I would feel that *I* was justified to unload on this guy, since I was on my property, doing my own business, and he randomly pulled a gun on me for no reason.

You're lucky that the Sheriff's Officer didn't cuff you right there.

This is definitely a case where you should have just gotten his License Plate number, and reported it to police. No need to go Vigilante, and try to play Officer of the Law.
CHL Holders are not police. It is not your job to stop people in the commission of a crime. We get CHL's to protect ourselves, and our loved ones. What he was doing was no violent threat to anyone. By blocking him in, and pulling your handgun on him, you changed it from a petty littering scenario to a deadly force scenario, potentially putting your family at an even GREATER risk. If the guy had been armed, and was a CHL holder as well, chances are there would have been bullets flying through the air.

Just my opinion.

I hate to agree with Dicion but I must. I do not see anywhere in that story where the use of deadly force would have been warranted. Think about it this way, is it worth killing someone over some trash on the side of the road. I think you are very lucky that you are not trying to post bail right now. You probably would have been better served by stopping further away from the person, recording his plate # and calling the cops.

priusron wrote:I find that a lot of people post without carefully reading the original post. I find that if I reread a posting, I no longer have a need to reply because I misunderstood what I read the first time. I did not present my weapon until he had come out of his vehicle and was approaching mine and was within 5-7 ft of my door. That is when I felt I was in danger, not at any other time.

priusron wrote: This incident has caused me to think a lot about "being a good witness". We live in a violence ridden society. Yes, there are worse than ours. I also recall that there were many, many witnesses to what happened to the Jews. They did nothing and look at the results.