Just when I thought it was safe.............
I'm driving home with my daughter from school, and a maroon Caravan that was swerving around on the main road had followed us into our neighborhood. He was driving very erratically, and almost hit me twice from behind as I had to slow for speed bumps. Speed limit is posted at 20mph. He tries to blow past me and what looked like from my perspective a PIT Maneuver. We are about a block from my house, and there is not really any place to pull over or get out of the way. I go ahead and turn down my street and pull over across from my house.
He pulls in and stops behind me, and is leaning over and pulling something out of his glovebox. Looks like a revolver to me as he holds it up to his steering wheel.
I put the Legacy in gear and squirt across the street into my driveway behind the WRX and make sure I'm fully on my property. Guy in the Caravan squeals his tires and blocks in my driveway, so I'm sandwiched in. He jumps out of his van and CHARGES towards me. Now, I have my 3.5-year-old daughter still strapped into her seat, and I unbuckle my seatbelt. I pull my Glock 26 out of the center console and slide the holster off of it, and pin it under my right leg while I open my driver's side door. I don't know if he is going to pull me out of my car, or beat the $h^( out of me, or what. He's screaming at me, "what the [censored] are you doing driving like you're on your cell phone you stupid mellonfarmer (well, not mellonfarmer but you know what I mean)!". I tell him to "BACK UP and get OFF of my property. Speed limit through this neighborhood is 20mph, and you almost hit me twice! BACK UP!". This exchange went back and forth. Guy is just off my rear driver's side near my daughter's door.
I tell him to get back into his car and drive away. Must have worked, he stomped back to his van and got in, and tore [censored] down the street. I call HPD non-emergency (what are they going to do? Situation over, no 911 needed. Just reporting in case he comes back.............)......
As I'm on the phone with the HPD dispatcher, he comes back driving down the street as I am giving them the license plate . He nails the brakes, and throws it into reverse. He comes back onto the corner, throws it in Park, and comes back out of his van, walking towards us (I have taken my daughter out of the car and was trying to get her into the house. I see his demeanor has changed .
He came back to apologize!!! He says he lives down the street, and his daughter Nyna is having open-heart surgery at Texas Children's Hospital right now and he's been trying to reach his wife and other kids at home but no one would answer their cell or home phones. He was frantic, almost maniacal. So he came back to apologize. I shook his hand twice and we greeted each other properly. I told him I'd pray for his daughter, and TOTALLY understand how crazy worried he must be given his situation. He attends the local Presbyterian church down the street, and said thank you for the prayers.
I am sure as [censored] thankful that it did not escalate beyond that! I did not draw or point or reveal my weapon at any time, but was prepared to use it if necessary and instantly. My escape was blocked purposefully by his van and it sure gives thought to if anything more sinister was to occur like this at my house.
I think it was more frightening for me because Katherine was with me, and he blocked my exit. He even told me later he was going to pull me out and beat the tar out of me, but did not. I did not ask about the revolver.
Still, this is a good example of the following: take inventory and assess every second of a situation. Also, verbal altercations can be kept to just that with well-placed orders and options ("get off my property", "get back into your vehicle") rather than just shouting back and forth or escalating the situation.
In hindsight, had I hit him with pepper spray, he may have shot at us with his revolver. Instead, I was able to deescalate the situation with words but ready to smash into his van and escape, or draw my weapon and give orders from there. He had his cell phone (Blackberry) in his left hand when he came at me, and I took that to mean that if he was going to do me serious harm he would have been holding the revolver and not his cell phone. I think that was the one thing that made me want to talk to him instead of drawing my weapon and ordering him to leave, which I was about 5-10 seconds away from doing as he charged at me.
Cliff Notes: James followed home, blocked in, charged by lunatic...guy comes back to apologize and has legitimate reason for being a lunatic. Nobody gets shot today.
I'm driving home with my daughter from school, and a maroon Caravan that was swerving around on the main road had followed us into our neighborhood. He was driving very erratically, and almost hit me twice from behind as I had to slow for speed bumps. Speed limit is posted at 20mph. He tries to blow past me and what looked like from my perspective a PIT Maneuver. We are about a block from my house, and there is not really any place to pull over or get out of the way. I go ahead and turn down my street and pull over across from my house.
He pulls in and stops behind me, and is leaning over and pulling something out of his glovebox. Looks like a revolver to me as he holds it up to his steering wheel.
I put the Legacy in gear and squirt across the street into my driveway behind the WRX and make sure I'm fully on my property. Guy in the Caravan squeals his tires and blocks in my driveway, so I'm sandwiched in. He jumps out of his van and CHARGES towards me. Now, I have my 3.5-year-old daughter still strapped into her seat, and I unbuckle my seatbelt. I pull my Glock 26 out of the center console and slide the holster off of it, and pin it under my right leg while I open my driver's side door. I don't know if he is going to pull me out of my car, or beat the $h^( out of me, or what. He's screaming at me, "what the [censored] are you doing driving like you're on your cell phone you stupid mellonfarmer (well, not mellonfarmer but you know what I mean)!". I tell him to "BACK UP and get OFF of my property. Speed limit through this neighborhood is 20mph, and you almost hit me twice! BACK UP!". This exchange went back and forth. Guy is just off my rear driver's side near my daughter's door.
I tell him to get back into his car and drive away. Must have worked, he stomped back to his van and got in, and tore [censored] down the street. I call HPD non-emergency (what are they going to do? Situation over, no 911 needed. Just reporting in case he comes back.............)......
As I'm on the phone with the HPD dispatcher, he comes back driving down the street as I am giving them the license plate . He nails the brakes, and throws it into reverse. He comes back onto the corner, throws it in Park, and comes back out of his van, walking towards us (I have taken my daughter out of the car and was trying to get her into the house. I see his demeanor has changed .
He came back to apologize!!! He says he lives down the street, and his daughter Nyna is having open-heart surgery at Texas Children's Hospital right now and he's been trying to reach his wife and other kids at home but no one would answer their cell or home phones. He was frantic, almost maniacal. So he came back to apologize. I shook his hand twice and we greeted each other properly. I told him I'd pray for his daughter, and TOTALLY understand how crazy worried he must be given his situation. He attends the local Presbyterian church down the street, and said thank you for the prayers.
I am sure as [censored] thankful that it did not escalate beyond that! I did not draw or point or reveal my weapon at any time, but was prepared to use it if necessary and instantly. My escape was blocked purposefully by his van and it sure gives thought to if anything more sinister was to occur like this at my house.
I think it was more frightening for me because Katherine was with me, and he blocked my exit. He even told me later he was going to pull me out and beat the tar out of me, but did not. I did not ask about the revolver.
Still, this is a good example of the following: take inventory and assess every second of a situation. Also, verbal altercations can be kept to just that with well-placed orders and options ("get off my property", "get back into your vehicle") rather than just shouting back and forth or escalating the situation.
In hindsight, had I hit him with pepper spray, he may have shot at us with his revolver. Instead, I was able to deescalate the situation with words but ready to smash into his van and escape, or draw my weapon and give orders from there. He had his cell phone (Blackberry) in his left hand when he came at me, and I took that to mean that if he was going to do me serious harm he would have been holding the revolver and not his cell phone. I think that was the one thing that made me want to talk to him instead of drawing my weapon and ordering him to leave, which I was about 5-10 seconds away from doing as he charged at me.
Cliff Notes: James followed home, blocked in, charged by lunatic...guy comes back to apologize and has legitimate reason for being a lunatic. Nobody gets shot today.
