Completely caught me by suprise.  Was going up IH35 today in fast lane and a guy cuts into my lane almost crashing into me.  I was pissed and held my lane, yeah, should have just backed off, but I hate pushy drivers.  Maybe the guy didn't see me in his blind spot, maybe he thought I was trying to prevent him changing lanes, whatever.

He gets ahead of me and goes up 3 or 4 cars.  About 4 exits later I move to the slow lane and exit.  The guy cuts across from the fast lane to the exit going over the double white line and locks up his brakes preventing me from exiting the freeway.  I just stopped and waited.  The light went from green to red.  He went to the right lane, I went to the left.  I tried to avoid eye contact with the guy but looked over without turning my head.

The guy didn't look over or anything.  He just had a blank look with a set of "Manson eyes" that really worried me.  He appeared to be turning right, I turned left.  At the last moment he changed over and made a left and followed me.  Geez, what's with this guy?

I ducked behind a Chic-fil-A and went across the Walmart parking lot (my final destination) and went to the ATM.  He didn't follow me into the parking lot, so I figured he was on his way.  As I start my transaction, I hear screaching tires and here he comes in his red pickup truck.  He pulls right up behind me, opens his door and charges my window.

At this point, I'm making a bank transaction, I'm on video, I have no idea what this guy wants, I've wronged him in no way, and I was really pretty scared.  He easily outweighed me by 100 lbs.  He had on a blue mechanics type shirt and looked like he weightlifted 6 days a week.  This guy was massive.  His arm was bigger than my leg!

Since I'm in the ATM drive through, I'm going no where fast.  I rolled up my window and locked my door and reached for my cel phone.  Oops, battery is dead.  About now the guy is at my back bumper.  I reached down and pulled out my glock 40.  He was so busy beating on my window and yelling he didn't even see it.  I just had it laying on my leg, watching over my shoulder.

When he finally did see it, he stopped yelling for about 5 seconds, and then started up again.  He kept yelling at me that he was going to kick my ass, etc.  I let him go on for about 3 minutes and then cracked my window about 1/2" and told him to get away.  He yelled that I was driving like an a-hole.  I asked him, "Why?  Because YOU cut me off?"  At that point he started yelling again for me to get out so that he could beat me.

I was pretty scared.  He was baning on my window pretty good, and if it broke, I was going to have to do something.  At that point I told him that I was feeling threatened and that he needed to get away from me.  

I guess at this point some sort of reason came over him and he realized that if he tried to get into my car he was going to get shot.  He ran to his truck drove around in front of the drive through and blocked me in.  He pulled out a celphone and started calling someone.

I backed out and drove 2 blocks (him following me) to the local PD.  When he saw me pull in he took off.  I spotted a cop, left my gun in the car, took my id, and walked over to him.  I told the cop what happened, he called it in.  Nothing else came of it.

cont.

I look back now and think I could have avoided the whole thing by letting the guy cut me off and or pile me into the center divider?  Perhaps if I honked at him that might have set him off as well.

Thinking back on it, I do believe that this steroided out MF does this on a regular basis to throw his weight around.  How stupid are you to charge someone making an ATM transaction?  Other than failing to yield my right of way, I didn't do anything to provoke this guy.  And after the original confrontation, I stayed a good 150-200 yards behind the guy, and later tried to get away from the guy.What a nut.

I've always said that you should never pull your gun unless you are going to use it.  Well, when he charged my car, if he broke my window, I do think I would have.  I don't know, it happened quite fast.  I was completely in shock when he came over.  I was really worried that he would tell the cops that I pulled on him on the freeway or something.  Good thing I was at the ATM and it was on video.  If it went to that, clearly the video would have shown me doing my business, being startled, and then scrambling to lock my car, roll up the window, use the cel, and then frantically rip my bag open to get to my gun.  Perhaps he realized that it was all on video, he was in the wrong and took off.  Or perhaps he has a criminal record and wanted nothing to do with the police.  

I dunno.  I had a major adrenaline burst, and after I left the PD I thought I was going to puke.

Well that's my excitement for the year.  Think I'll just stay in bed for the next two weeks.

^5


Hunter out...

Another good reason for packing heat.  There are too many strange people out there that are too unpredictable.  I won't comment on your traffic incident, because I wasn't there, but you showed good restraint in your actions when he came after you.  Bravo Zulu.

I think you did good.  The reason you have a firearm is so you don't have to use it.  Good Job!

You did the right thing. Some people are just plain nuts.

Many many stupid people out there for sure. The ones that would concern me are the ones that think they won't get shot if they press things too far. Good thing you were not forced to cap that idiot.

Ticonderoga - 'ya did good!

Amazing that the Jerk seeing the Glock (good choice, BTW) didn't halt the confrontation, but you pulling into the police station did!

I imagine with this psycho's conduct, he's been in front of a judge or two before.

Anytime someone who is in such an apparent  hurry on the freeway, nevertheless feels it so necessary to take such time as to pursue you, the situation is indeed critical!

BTW, don't forget Mesquite Big Town Gun Show this weekend![:D]

Eric The(Packing)Hun

Glad everything turned out well for you.  Good think you were prepared.

Question on the ATM,  do they have video or just still cameras?   I always thought it was still cameras taking your picture.  And only directly in front of the ATM booth.   ie, drivers face and thats it.  Or is it a wide angle?

Good job.  If you would have used it you might have had a long stay at the PD.  You would have had to prove that you were threatened.  It would have taken more than what he did to satisfy that legal requirement.  You kept your cool.  The next time he does that he might not be so lucky.

Good job,
but I would of had Mr. Glock in my hand, and the first sec of trouble, let Mr. Roid Boy see that tupperware.  Of course, finger off of trigger.  For sure pointed at his chest.  
If he was with 21 feet of myself, the gun needs to stay right on him till the trouble is on the ground bleeding, or running away.  
Don't rely on cameras to protect you.  I seen a special where a lot of those ATM camara's are broke.  
Rely on Glock.  
c-rock
[url]www.illinois-shooter.org

Ticonderoga,

Outstanding job, and I'm glad things worked out in your favor. Way to keep cool with the Samsonite gorilla banging on your window. As some here have said, ATM cameras are still-frame only, so you were pretty much on your own there...along with your Drastic Plastic.

As a wise man once said, "To ensure peace, prepare for war."

Semper Fidelis
Jarhead out.

there are a lot of nutcases out there, but if this one had connections you gotta wonder who he was talking to on the phone. i would be in high alert for a while, i know its unlikely, but this guy may have a vendetta with you and with the right comnnections he could find out whare you live. be carefull and stay armed.

I don't have a CCW now, but reading things like this just make me realize how important it is for me to get one.  I will make the call to get the info today.  By the way, Ticonderoga, it does sound like you had a pretty scary day, but you handled the situation well.  What might have happened if you had not had the CCW and the ability to legally carry (as I now don't, but soon will)??  Scary thought!

My dad tried this once. He said "Go get me something to beat you with." I tore off teh corner of a piece of paper and said "Go ahead, Dad, beat me to death."  (Okay, I stole that from Bill Cosby)  [:D]

Hey - do you think he is on the ATM video camera???

Just a thought....

Anywho, glad you are OK, and glad you were "packin'"

In a perfect world, we'd all have done sonething different. But in the REAL world, feces happens. Don't beat yourself up over this one, just try to learn from it for WHEN the next one happens.

I had a whole carload of idiots give my first wife and I a scare when I was at Bragg (1/504 PIR, 82nd Airborne). We were driving along the highway minding our own business when a carload of "kids" started weaving AROUND our car. First tailgating, then swinging in from the right, in front jamming on their brakes, then around to the left. It was messed up. I slowed down and watched them take the same exit we were. About halfway down the ramp, the car slammed on the brakes and parked the car sideways. I hit my brakes, pushed my wifes head down and flew backwards up the ramp until other traffic showed up. I was armed with a puny little S&W Airweight and thanked God that I didn't have to use it. The world is full of idiots.

You did the right thing by not losing your cool.

Imbecils like that are the ones that could make you wind up shooting them.

They put you on such a thin line of legality that you are in a real mess.

Thanks for keeping yoru cool and using your head.



[b]PS.Next time why don't you try just running him off the road instead..............kidding here[/b]

Similar thing happened to me a few years back. Guy in a work-style truck nearly ran me off the road and got pissed when I honked at him to let him know I was there.  He started weaving back and forth between lanes to keep me from passing and gesturing for me to pull over, presumably so he could confront me. I pulled my Glock out of the glove compartment and held it up so he could see it in his rearview.
He made his hand shake exaggeratedly to let me know he wasn't afraid...but for some reason, he took off and stopped trying to block the road.

After reading some of these experiences, I can't help but wonder:

What is the legality behind it all?  Would the ATM linebacker have a good brandishing charge against you?
Would you spend the night in jail for doing this?
I know this varies from state to state, but how much force is considered deadly force?

Still, nice to know that there are some cool-headed CCW people out there.

Yours is a good example of why I carry a Kimber .45 in my glove box (legal here in AZ).  However, it's a better example of why I ought to get a CCW and CARRY.  

You did everything exactly right.  As M15A2 said,  

That sounds almost like a replay of the Tavai/Hale incident a couple of years ago. Hale (CCW) was getting severly beat in the face while sitting in his car by a much larger Tavai after a minor traffic accident. Hale unable to escape the situation was forced to draw and fire his gun killing Tavai.  The media made a big deal about it trying to use the incident as an example as to how "dangerous" to society CCW holders are.  The shooting was found to be justified and Hale got no-billed by the grand jury and the news media quietly dropped the story.

I suppose if the guy did break my window and try to grab me, and I did shoot him, I would be sure to not say a thing to the cops.  Let a lawyer do my talking.  I would use the standard, "I think I'm in shock, I need to go to the hospital." (sure I would have been pretty close to it).

If it turned out that the ATM camera wasn't working, it would sure look like the guy was trying to strong arm rob me or carjack me at the ATM.  Say as little as possible to the cops.  If my lawyer said, "My client felt threatened," along with a 250 lb monster, a broken window, and ATM cash on the ground (oh yeah, I'd drop a few bills), I'm sure it would have looked like a  robbery gone bad.  I wonder if the DA would even file?  Who knows.  

It's all really not worth it.  I really should let the ahole take the lane, but for those of you that drive the DFW area, you know how the idiots drive around here.  They all think it's road warrior or something.

Yeah, I wonder who he called on his phone.  I'll drive my 3rd vehicle for a month or so and leave the other vechicle in the garage.  That guy was just plain nuts.

Ticonderoga! That was you? Hey your blinker was on,that was all! - ATM gorilla

Seriously though, good job keeping a cool head!
I'm afraid that I am more aggressive and may have gotten myslf in trouble in that situation like getting out of the car to see WTF his problem was.  I hope if confronted in a similar circumstance I would be able to handle it positively, like you. Congrats and don't feel bad.Be Proud.

Well done.  Cool thinking, not overreacting.  Won't say anything more, 'cause I wasn't there, not in your shoes.  Fact of the matter is, it worked out for you, so you did the right thing at the time.

Well thank God I don't live in Illinois. I couldn't even be carrying it with me in Illinois.



Naw, I think doing it as I did defused the situation with minimum of fuss. Woulda been hard for him to call the police on me anyway as he was in front of me at the time (no front license plates in FL) and I was headed out of town so I wouldn't have been around for the police to find a car matching that description in the area.  Plus it was a rental that I was returning the next day.

I'll bet that it was your Barney Fife buddy from your South Padre trip last year.  He buffed out and came looking for you...  :D

Bud