This is a real world incident that occurred and it happened to me. It was an opportunity to put into practice what I teach my university students and the law enforcement personnel that I train. Please read this and pass it on to others in an attempt to have them remain safe and not get bated into taking the wrong action in one of these situations.
I was in my persona vehicle driving to work on US 27 and as
I passed through the area right before the traffic light at the College I was
beginning to slow down from 55 to 45 due to the change in speed limit near the
gas station. As I began me deceleration I notice a vehicle coming closer and
closer to the rear of my vehicle. I was in a great mood knowing I had about 4
hours of teaching to do and then back home and off until Tuesday so I made the
assumption that the person driving the vehicle would begin to slow down. Well I
looked back again in my rear view mirror and now the person was directly on my
rear and was getting closer and closer and I was not going to speed and there
was traffic around me so I started to be concerned. When we got to the
beginning of the gas station area the person pulled to the right really fast
and almost hit the rear of my car and as he passed I yelled out to him that was
a “real freeing idiot move”. It was an
idiot move. He could have caused me to get into an accident by me focusing on
him. He could have hit me if I had to stop for any reason. He could have
clipped my car when he pulled around to the right. He began giving me the
finger and cursing at me and I went into Use of Force mode and Legal Stand Your
Ground mode and waved him on and slowed down to keep my distance from him. He
must have been doing about 15 miles over the speed limit so I made the
assumption I would not see him again. Two mistakes here. One; my window and his
window were both open and based upon his actions while operating the motor
vehicle there was no telling what he could have had in his possession and with
the display of his temperament anything could have happened. I expressed my
assessment of his dangerous and violating actions as he passed without thinking
about my safety. Second I assumed I would not see him again. Incorrect move
number two.
I was driving slow thinking about the lectures I was going
to be giving in class and as I passed the area new big lots I changed lanes
from the middle where I had been driving to the left so all of the cars
stopping for the eateries would not constantly delay my progress as I do this
every morning when I go to work. Well as I am thinking about my lectures I am
approaching the light at main street in Avon Park and I notice I am now coming
up on the same Georgia tag that I say fly by me when the irate driving
tailgated me and almost hit me while passing me. I had the turning lane to the
right and cars to the left and that is what it is like at 8:00am during the
week in this area. So I am slowing down and hoping the light will change and it
does not. Once I am behind him, at a distance, I see him looking in the rear
view mirror staring at me and making hand gestures. At this time I once again
go into Use of Force and Stand Your Ground mode and am thinking that this guy
could do just about anything so I said I am going to keep focused on him and
his car door and then I thought is this guy jumps out with a gun no one is
going to know what the vehicle looks like or the tag. I was not going to take
my eyes off him or his car door to call dispatch because that inattention could
be my life. So I reach for my phone and on the front as an icon is my camera
and I said I have to do this and I do not want him to see it but I have to do
this now. I try to get the camera up to take the photo without him seeing it
and he sees it and goes completely ballistic high order irate and nuts. He
starts yelling and screaming from inside his car. He then slams the car into
park, flings the door open, throws his seatbelt and jumps out of the vehicle
and begins coming towards me screaming and yelling and waving his hands and
arms.
At this time I am thinking I do not believe he is coming
here to ask for directions so I need a plan. Now here is where I was glad that
I am a Use of Force Expert and Legal Expert in the areas of Use of Force and
Stand Your Ground. Right in front of me I now have the exact example that I use
in my classes and in my lectures. I sat there and I kept my seat belt on and
buckled, never opened the door and never made any aggressive movements at all.
Here is one of the first lessons I want to convey. If you are on duty, off-duty
or even retired and this occurs what is the most efficient and effective weapon
you have that can hit the target to stop the threat with ease; it is your
vehicle. I kept my eyes riveted to his hands. He was coming towards my vehicle.
In my mind I thought if he pulls out a knife in close proximity to my window or
a gun I will use my vehicle as my defensive weapon. It is easy to aim, it is so
large it cannot miss the target, it is something that most people will not
think about being used as a weapon so you have the advantage of surprise. If
you have a firearm with you it can be a real challenge to use it in this type
of situation due to several factors. First if you are a right-handed person you
are going to be in a bad positon to fire at the suspect because your body is going
to be very contorted and uncomfortable. If you have the time and mental acuity
you may try to change hands and shoot lefty and there is going to be an
accuracy issue. If you do fire your weapon under these conditions what will be
the level of accuracy? Is there a great propensity to miss and hit an innocent
bystander? Using your vehicle as a weapon when you are in a self-defense
situation can be the best weapon selection possibly at your disposal.
Now in my case as this irrational irate out of control individual
was walking toward me and screaming and yelling he noticed an Avon Park Police
Vehicle at the Corner waiting to make a right turn and yelled to me there is a
cop you want me to call him? As this irate individual is still walking towards
my car slowly I yelled back saying yes call him because you were tailgating and
you are out of your car coming towards me in a violent manner so yes please
call him. At this time he was getting closer so I thought it might be time to
try one last thing that I never do unless absolutely necessary and that is I
pulled out my badge from my belt carrier and put it out the window and advised
him that I was also a cop and I really would like for him to call the cop in
the car. It worked and he stopped dead in his tracks; however his mouth and
comments never ever stopped. He turned around cursing and yelling and screaming
fuck you, fuck your badge, I do not give a shit about your badge and you can
shove that badge up your ass. I yelled out to him that he needed to call the cop
or just stay in his vehicle and go about his business. Remember, this was the
only time I identified myself and it was done as a last resort to hopefully
stop him from getting to my window where I felt something not very good was
going to occur. This action assisted in preventing something that could have
turned out to be really bad. It is usually better to be a great witness in an
off duty and non-uniformed situation than to take action that can be
misconstrued due to no police vehicle and no uniform because if you exit your
vehicle to take action it provides the individuals with the ability to advised
that they did not know you were a cop and that you aggressed them and they took
the action because they were afraid of being victimized by you.
I thought about what else I would do if he came to my window
and if he had a weapon that I did not see until he got there. I, thank
goodness, have been training in the martial arts for many years and if any part
of him entered into my vehicle we now have a burglary and if he strikes me it
is a major felony. I am in fear for my life and I have stand your ground to
rely on and take the necessary martial arts action I need to take.
After the incident was over I thought it through and was
very glad that I had the training I did and knew to not take off my seatbelt,
not open my door, not get out of my vehicle, and to have a plan of what to do
based upon the law. Knowing the law and knowing what the law says about these
types of incidents assisted me in using progression of activities to keep
myself protected and also allow him to be the aggressor and place himself in
the negative legal position and also in the negative strategic position in that
car versus weapon can be great if you can be focused and know at what exact moment
you need to take that action. Of course the actions will be different if you
are in an on duty capacity.
I know someone is going to make a comment about me making a
comment about his actions being that of an idiot and this is the response to
that comment. The First Amendment covers the comment that I made because you
can make an observation as to the action taken by a person that you witness
that has truth and validity to it as this one definitely did. Even the
president has had, and continues to have, many people who are well known and renowned
calling his actions regarding the Iran Nuclear Deal dumb and stupid. The
adjectives dumb, stupid, and idiot all fit in a very close community. So
advising a person that the act they just performed in your presence is “a freeing
idiot move” is a totally legal and a reasonable comment. The responses of this
individual were not reasonable and not rational at all. Also, I am not a believer in this political
correct nonsense of which many prominent individuals are not voicing their
opinions that politically correct is ridiculous and produces a society of liars
and people who misrepresent. Also, I am so sure that no one has ever said
something worse that what I stated to a driver who was endangering them and
other drivers on the road. So, before you make the comment and divert from the
learning points here, please do some pattern recognition in your mind regarding
some of your most prize moments on the road. Once you are done please focus on
the important learning points contained in this writing.
One last item that I really found to be very interesting, that
set this person off, was the fact that someone was taking a photograph of him
in his vehicle; however, individuals like this do not want cops to say a word
when they are photographed.
His actions demonstrate that he has some serious issues. He
has no control of his emotions and is impulsive. He acts in a dangerous manner
by driving his several thousand pound vehicle through the streets at high
speeds and in a reckless manner tailgating people without regard for anyone’s
safety. He becomes completely irate when someone takes his photograph. He has
some serious self-esteem and anger issues in that when someone calls him on
doing something that is unlawful and dangerous he has to strike out immediately
and repeatedly while knowing full well his actions were wrong. This is also
another reason why you do not get out of a vehicle if you feel something is not
right because going up to this individual provides with them with the element
of surprise if they have a weapon and it also takes you out of the victimized
positon and now there can be two aggressors.
Please keep in mind that even when you are minding your own
business and just trying to get to work that there are people with issues and
situations that are going to come into your life that are unreasonable and very
dangerous and you need to be prepared with the knowledge of the law as to what
you should and should not do and can and cannot do in these situations. It is
quite obvious that today we are dealing with individuals who are embolden and
disregard laws, mores, norms, and any type of respect and these individuals
will take actions that normal and reasonable people would not. Always be
vigilant and prepared to encounter these types of individuals at any time.
Know the law, know what you can use as a weapon that will be
effective, efficient, and safe to yourself and to those innocent civilians
around you. Know how to place the aggressor into that position and keep them
there and keep yourself out of that position and this is especially true if you
are off duty in civilian clothing. If you have a car that has a voice activated
phone calling system or a phone that has a phone activated calling system use
it and make sure you call the dispatcher if anything like this occurs. However,
do not take the chance with a normal phone that would require you to take your
eyes off of an irate out of control person like the one I was dealing with on
this day.
Be safe.
Dr. Barone 