Thread: What is wrong with people today?

Originally Posted by gssixgun

HA !!!!

Wanna tell that story to the Cop that charged me anyway... In Colorado

BTW I was the un-armed one, of the 5 people involved, 1-vs-4, one had already cut me with a switchblade, another had a tire iron.. Three of them hit the pavement, the last backed off and lied.. Granted I won in court, but I was still charged along with the two with the weapons...
Expect to be charged regardless of the truth, be prepared to defend yourself on the steet and in court...

I made sure to bleed all over the summons as I was signing it I figured it would help my case LMAO

The Law in Colorado stood on my side, but I had to prove it in court anyway...Lucky for me we always had an Attorney on Retainer so it was not out of my pocket per se..
Also so you know 3 outta of the 4 had priors... I have ZERO still to this day....


People that defend themselves, are not always looked upon favorably in court, we have a "Submit and Live" mentality in the US when it comes to street crime, people that don't submit mess with the system so be careful when you choose to "stand your ground"...


ps: After the case was over, I talked with the City Prosecutor, his words " If you had shot them, you probably wouldn't have been charged, at least by my office"

Wow! Thanks for the story, that's interesting - and it really sucks! You were unarmed, kicked some armed assailants' asses, and the DA actually decided to charge you? Let me guess - was this in Denver?

Anyway, sounds like you came through it ok in the end. I'd much rather be in that situation than bleeding all the way to the ICU. Far as "standing ground", don't get me wrong - I have walked away, run away and verbally deescalated far more situations than those in which I actually had to fight. Nowadays, I can't run so fast, but I will always do my utmost to avoid or de-escalate situations. I would say that works just fine 90% of the time, it's the other 10% that concern me.

I always carry a gun. I wouldn't live in a state where I couldn't. Here strongarm robbery will get you 15 years. Committing a crime with a weapon 25 mandatory. Murder .... if they don't burn you .... 33 years.

As far as not resisting. I can tell you of two incidents where the victims were shot in the head , execution style, even though they did not resist. Three ladies murdered in a restaurant across from the old tattoo shop for $120.00 and two convenience store clerks . Not sure how much the perps got in that case. They killed them so no one could ID them. In both cases the perpetrators were caught.

If they come at me I will shoot first and worry about it later. I'd rather be tried by 12 than carried by 6.

Devilpup, glad to hear you didn't get hurt and didn't have to use that knife. A criminal won't have a conscience but we would fret about it after all was said and done, even if we had no other way to go.

Regardless of all our opinions, we don't know what we'll do unless we've been there before.
Case in point is an uncle of mine who was a bank manager. He always told his employees to just comply in case of a robbery and give the robber what he wanted, since everything was insured and he didn't want his people to get hurt. And then they got robbed at gunpoint when he was behind the counter somewhere. He got so angry that he grabbed the guy by the head, ripped away the ski mask, and then yelled and slapped the guy until he went away.

I think we can all agree that of all the possible choices he could have made, it was the stupidest thing he could have done, and compeltely contrary to what he always said he'd do.

Originally Posted by Double0757

I read this post and I have something to share too anybody that wants to learn from my mistakes. Like OP Devilpup, it turn out good for everybody, thanks God!
About 3 years ago there were a series of rapes on parkings and a park less than a mile from my home. Three in total in less than six months. As I parked across the Walmart parking, where one of the rapes occurred, I decided to park far away from the other cars to get on some shade, and walk to the grocery store. As I passed one of the lonely cars, I looked and saw a men making love to a women in the rear seat. In the missionary position I couldn't see his or her face. As I kept walking the thought of the rapist came to my mind. I pulled the phone out of the pocket to call the police. I thought on my 20 year old daughter and thought to myself, what if it was my daughter? I would like the stranger to intervene. That's when I felt a responsibility to the women's father to intervene before the police arrived.
As I approached the car again, my thoughts of the perp been armed and getting a jump on me as I knocked on the window, (mistake #1), I pulled my gun to get the jumped on him. As I nokcked on the window and see the guys and "lady's" face for the first time, I was so scared that I would need to shoot, that I think I was almost trembling. It turned out they where just a young couple making love at 3 o'clock in the afternoon on the parking lot of a grocery store???
What if the guy thought I was the perp and he saw the need to defend himself? I would have been at fault if I hurt him. As God had it, nothing happen. I put the gun down and let them know in a stern voice to take it to a hotel and that from where I was it looked like a rape to me.
My motivation was right, but the execution was not thought trough.
My lessons learned, call police first, approach car from an advantage position where I could take cover if I felt threatened and then take action after. Double O

Nothing unusual there. You just faced the same thing a street cop faces every day when he gets a call to investigate and comes upon a scene and needs to decide what action to take. Sometimes good things happen and sometimes bad things happen. The difference is, as long as he is in the scope of his duties and didn't act outrageously he is protected by law however YOU are not and You are liable for and civil action including false arrest whether you are right or wrong.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

When I read walking boot I was seeing a Military style boot

If he has a leg injuy it might fair better in court, as that makes him an easy likely target, but the knife might negate that advantage, basically a flip of the legal coin...

But it would change the moral code if you can't run then you have to fight with anything possible to stay alive, and make it to court

However that would bring in posts #17 & #18 never give your advantage of surprise away in combat...

But hey it worked and no one was hurt...

Running wasnt an option, I have three dislocated bones and some tendon damage in my right foot. With a minimum of 5 more weeks recovery time according to the doc.

I do appreciate the advice, and I would have preferred to get out of there. Unfortunately with an injury, and giving him 40-50 lbs and 2 inches I didnt like my chances unarmed either. I by no means take the event lightly, nor do I underestimate the severity of my actions had it turned to violence. I will be getting my CCW certification so that I can carry a handgun. I was always raised by the idea of talk or run your way out if possible but if it comes down to it it's better to be tried by 12 than carried by 6. Campus has been getting more and more dangerous every year with in the last two years several rapes and many more assaults and muggings happening in the middle of campus.

A side note, the knife is both legal in the city and on campus and have had confirmations by both city and campus police before carrying.

This generation is getting worse for having more and more youths with no respect, common sense, or ambition. I blame it largely on their parents attempts at raising them. Things are a lot different in this day, the old fashioned ways to teach & punish kids is a thing of the past. Not saying they're ALL bad, but these kinds of stupid crimes seem to be escalating. It's too bad you have to pack a knife to feel safe.

Originally Posted by Devilpup

Running wasnt an option, I have three dislocated bones and some tendon damage in my right foot. With a minimum of 5 more weeks recovery time according to the doc.

I'm in a similar boat, running, or even walking quickly is not an option for me now. The only difference I've been able to glean is, you are young and will get better, I'll hobble at best for the rest of my time. I've always been quite a diplomat, talking myself out of more trouble than I can think. But, I want, and will not feel safe, without an option to help me. I walk with a cane, I researched and checked several places before buying my last one. It had to meet certain criteria. Function was first and foremost. The ability to smack someone upside the head a number of times without cracking, bending or breaking was the second asset. I may be gimpy, but I'll be go to hell if some SOB's gonna use that as a sign of an easy mark.

So I've got other options, since I've got a permit to carry, but this popped to mind after donv 's post.
Cold Steel : Arizona. Heavy Duty Sword Cane : Cold Steel Knives
I've got full use of my legs, only due to build and training they're a lot better at standing my ground than at running.. . To put it mildly, most people I know run faster and better than me. I'd choose to run away only if I'm pretty sure the perp would not follow. Most likely I'll run only far enough to safely draw, or close in to close hand to hand,where my martial arts might give me an edge.
That been said ,until today I either reasonably talked or intimidated my way out of all confrontations. Knowing I have a gun,a reasonably sharp pocket knife and 12 years of martial arts (or in other words - options) might have been helpful to a calming and reasonable mind set. Perps look for prey, not opponents. Convince them you're the latter and not the former and it might work. Be ready to back your claim if it doesn't, and let the chips fall where they will. It's better to explain to the officer what happened than needing someone to explain the same to the EMTs.

Originally Posted by Bruno

that means 1 of the following:

- they were never searched or had to explain the knife to a police officer.
- they have a valid reason for the knife like going hunting, or being a groundskeeper (boswachter) or taking it to a flea market, etc.
- the knife is not deemed a weapon (such as a swiss army knife).

I strongly suspect that the only reason they didn't get into trouble was that noone simply knew.
Realistically, I could carry a handgun and I would not get into trouble either. As long as the police never knew, I wouldn't have any problems.
And given that police searches are very rare here, that could be my entire life.

However, as soon as I used it and the police became involved, the story would be quite different.

It's much the same as here then.

The thing is though. The police have to have a REASON to assume that you were planning to use it as a weapon.

Just becasue you had a potential weapon doesn't mean you were planning to use it as such and they can't prosecute you for that. The burdon of evidence is on THEM. Not on the person that they stop in the street.

There's some areas in Amsterdam (And maybe some other places) where this isn't true and where any sharp edge will get you in trouble. But most of the country is just fine.