Things are not always what they seem...
Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 5:42 pm
The discussion about using force to help a third party, and the resulting comments about how you never really know if the situation is actually what it appears to be reminded me of something that happend to me a couple of months ago.
I was pumping gas at the gas station on the SW corner of Midway & Beltline in Addison, an extremely busy intersection. It was a little after lunch time and the roads were packed as usual. I had my driver door open, other doors locked, windows up. The keys were hanging in the ignition and I was standing in the open driver's doorway.
As I pumped gas I was looking out over the Midway & Beltline intersection. As the light for east/west traffic turned red a guy on a motorcycle turned north on Midway from westbound Beltline and wiped out across the intersection. His motorcycle came skidding towards the corner where I was pumping gas, and he went rolling in front of the southbound Midway traffic that was just taking off from their fresh green light.
Being a lifelong motorcyclist, I immediately ran to the rider to see if he was OK and see if I could help. The rider was in jeans and a t-shirt, but appeard to be OK considering his spill. He immediately jumped up and and asked me to help him get his motorcycle out of the street. We rolled the bike to the curb. He was acting a little freaked out and not answering my questions about if he was OK. He seemed nervous and jumpy, but I attributed that to his near death experience.
As soon as we got his bike to the curb he just dropped it on the grass, not bothering to use the kickstand. He kept glancing back at the intersection. I looked over at the intersection and saw an Addison police SUV trying to navigate over the curb westbound on Beltline to get to the intersection. I figured the officer saw the wreck and was trying to respond.
As soon as the motorcycle rider saw the officer coming he took off running straight towards the open door of my truck. At that instant I knew that the situation was more than it first appeared. I also instantly realized that the guy was closer to my open truck door than I was, that my keys were in the ignition, and that a loaded 1911 was in the center console.
I wouldn't normally leave a weapon in the truck, but I'd placed the gun in the console when I changed into running clothes and was on the way to run with a friend. I wouldn't normally leave my truck unattended with the keys in the ignition and the door open, but the circumstances caused me to react in order to attempt to assist an injured person. So the circumstances being what they were, that's how it was.
The guy headed straight for my truck and tried to hop in. I got there in time to drag him out from the driver seat area and start to scuffle with him on the ground. He was sweaty and hard to hold on to and got to his feet fast. At the same time the Addison police officer was pulling into the parking lot just north of the gas station trying to get over to the gas station (he couldn't get directly into the gas station from where he had been).
The motorcycle rider wasn't interested in fighting, he just wanted to get out of there. I wasn't interested in fighting, I just wanted him away from my truck, my gun, and myself. The guy took off running northwest through the parking lot seconds before the officer rolled up to me. I pointed and told the officer that he was running between the buildings. The officer drove after him but the guy ran into a wooded creek area and disappeared.
Addison police searched for the guy but I don't know if they found him. It turns out that the motorcycle was stolen and the guy had been running from the police when he ran the light and wiped out. Due to the traffic, the pursuing officer was stuck way behind the motorcycle and the cycle was splitting lanes to get to the front of the traffic jam, so I never saw the officer when the wreck happened. To the people who saw the wreck it looked like a normal crash, not a chase and a crash, so there was no way to know that the guy on the motorcycle was running from the police.
Long story, but just an example of how we can see everything with our own eyes but still not see "everything" (circumstances leading up to the event, other factors) and it's very easy to make a conclusion about something based on what you know and then find out that your conclusion was way off because of what you didn't know.
This is no different from people thinking that they see a crime such as robbery or assault or kidnapping occurring when they are actually seeing a disturbance between familiar parties or something else totally different. This is one reason why I am hesitant to jump into any force situation that doesn't directly involve me, because I probably don't know all of the circumstances, and I'd prefer to not get involved unless/until it is absolutely necessary.
I was pumping gas at the gas station on the SW corner of Midway & Beltline in Addison, an extremely busy intersection. It was a little after lunch time and the roads were packed as usual. I had my driver door open, other doors locked, windows up. The keys were hanging in the ignition and I was standing in the open driver's doorway.
As I pumped gas I was looking out over the Midway & Beltline intersection. As the light for east/west traffic turned red a guy on a motorcycle turned north on Midway from westbound Beltline and wiped out across the intersection. His motorcycle came skidding towards the corner where I was pumping gas, and he went rolling in front of the southbound Midway traffic that was just taking off from their fresh green light.
Being a lifelong motorcyclist, I immediately ran to the rider to see if he was OK and see if I could help. The rider was in jeans and a t-shirt, but appeard to be OK considering his spill. He immediately jumped up and and asked me to help him get his motorcycle out of the street. We rolled the bike to the curb. He was acting a little freaked out and not answering my questions about if he was OK. He seemed nervous and jumpy, but I attributed that to his near death experience.
As soon as we got his bike to the curb he just dropped it on the grass, not bothering to use the kickstand. He kept glancing back at the intersection. I looked over at the intersection and saw an Addison police SUV trying to navigate over the curb westbound on Beltline to get to the intersection. I figured the officer saw the wreck and was trying to respond.
As soon as the motorcycle rider saw the officer coming he took off running straight towards the open door of my truck. At that instant I knew that the situation was more than it first appeared. I also instantly realized that the guy was closer to my open truck door than I was, that my keys were in the ignition, and that a loaded 1911 was in the center console.
I wouldn't normally leave a weapon in the truck, but I'd placed the gun in the console when I changed into running clothes and was on the way to run with a friend. I wouldn't normally leave my truck unattended with the keys in the ignition and the door open, but the circumstances caused me to react in order to attempt to assist an injured person. So the circumstances being what they were, that's how it was.
The guy headed straight for my truck and tried to hop in. I got there in time to drag him out from the driver seat area and start to scuffle with him on the ground. He was sweaty and hard to hold on to and got to his feet fast. At the same time the Addison police officer was pulling into the parking lot just north of the gas station trying to get over to the gas station (he couldn't get directly into the gas station from where he had been).
The motorcycle rider wasn't interested in fighting, he just wanted to get out of there. I wasn't interested in fighting, I just wanted him away from my truck, my gun, and myself. The guy took off running northwest through the parking lot seconds before the officer rolled up to me. I pointed and told the officer that he was running between the buildings. The officer drove after him but the guy ran into a wooded creek area and disappeared.
Addison police searched for the guy but I don't know if they found him. It turns out that the motorcycle was stolen and the guy had been running from the police when he ran the light and wiped out. Due to the traffic, the pursuing officer was stuck way behind the motorcycle and the cycle was splitting lanes to get to the front of the traffic jam, so I never saw the officer when the wreck happened. To the people who saw the wreck it looked like a normal crash, not a chase and a crash, so there was no way to know that the guy on the motorcycle was running from the police.
Long story, but just an example of how we can see everything with our own eyes but still not see "everything" (circumstances leading up to the event, other factors) and it's very easy to make a conclusion about something based on what you know and then find out that your conclusion was way off because of what you didn't know.
This is no different from people thinking that they see a crime such as robbery or assault or kidnapping occurring when they are actually seeing a disturbance between familiar parties or something else totally different. This is one reason why I am hesitant to jump into any force situation that doesn't directly involve me, because I probably don't know all of the circumstances, and I'd prefer to not get involved unless/until it is absolutely necessary.
so I had it in the OWB holster in the console. I guess I could use a fanny pack for running, but even with the fanny pack I'd probably only carry my airweight .38 when running because I don't want a 1911 banging against me for several miles of running.
When I saw him up close he looked like a typical white trash meth tweak/burglar type, just kinda nasty. It was hot outside and he was all sweaty. I'm just glad I didn't squeeze any open sores on him.
. Therefore, even if they notice the “bulge�, they assume something like a cell phone or PDA. 