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Tactical
Scenario: 08-2006
The
Fender Bender Scenario
By:
It
is a warm sunny Saturday afternoon and you decide to get some home maintenance
chores done. As luck would have it, you open up a nasty laceration on your
strong side palm on broken glass. After
appropriately cleaning and wrapping your hand in a clean bulky dressing, you
head off to the local urgent care center for some stitches and a tetanus
update.
On
the way to the urgent care center, an old Ford Ranger tailgates you for several
miles. The vehicle does not pass because
it is a narrow winding country road. You
of course are obeying all the rules of the road. At a 4-way stop you
appropriately stop. As you start to pull forward, another vehicle enters the
intersection from your right without stopping.
You hit the brakes to avoid being hit, by this inattentive driver. Unfortunately, the person behind you does not
brake and runs into your bumper.
You
suffer no injury in the rear-end crash as it was a low speed collision. The
windows of your vehicle are down because the coolant has evaporated from your
air-conditioner. Immediately, you hear
the person behind you start to curse. Looking in the rear view mirror, you can
see the person is getting more agitated as he presumably hunts for insurance
information. You exit your vehicle to go
get some insurance information. You look back at the man who just rear-ended
you. He exits his vehicle with a
baseball bat. He is yelling about how you are going to pay for the damage you
caused to his vehicle. The distance between you is 15 feet.
In
your strong side pocket is a KelTec 32 caliber. You
left your cell phone at home in your haste to leave for the urgent care
center. In your pants pocket is a 3-inch
folder and in the glove box is Pepper spray.
Analyze
the situation and take appropriate action. Describe your thought process and
why you took the actions that you did.
Response
to the Fender Bender Scenario
By: Eric Dean
I
take a defensive, but timid posture, holding my left hand up toward him, and
putting my right hand in my pocket, hopefully I still have some grip. I
say “Wait sir, I have some money in the glove box. I’m injured and on my
way to the hospital. Let me get it and I won’t trouble you anymore,
please.”
A) If he complies, I go around, not through, the
vehicle and open the passenger door, and then the glove box. If he is not
in line of site, pull the .32 and place it in my left pocket. If he IS in
line of sight I simply retrieve the pepper spray and my insurance info. I
hold both in one hand, with the papers covering the spray. I walk to within ten
feet, saying something apologetic like “I’m so sorry, I’m going to rectify this
situation I assure you, I’m very very sorry.”
At ten feet, I stop, and ask him if he has a cell phone to call the police so
we can bring a unit out to the scene and make a report. If he complies, I
stay outside the vehicle, at lease 15 feet away, watching him, and continuing
to sound apologetic until the cop arrives. If he refuses, or demands I
give him the cash I mentioned, I grip the papers in my injured hand, and toss
them into the air, creating a momentary distraction. I grip the spray in
my left hand and begin discharging it at his face, all the while maintaining 10
– 15 ft distance. I discharge the ENTIRE CAN onto his face, eyes, mouth,
etc. Once empty, I discard the can. If the pepper spray immobilizes him,
I pull the .32 from my left pocket, or gently from my right pocket with my
injured hand, and transfer it to my left hand. I loudly inform him that I
have him at gunpoint, and I will kill him if he rises to his feet. I
demand he crawl, or roll, away from his vehicle at least 20 feet. I
retrieve his bat, and throw it into the woods, or into my vehicle. I
demand he toss his cell phone, wallet and car keys away from himself. If
he doesn’t have one, I ask him if he has one in his vehicle. If he does,
I walk around the passenger door of his vehicle, thus keeping my eyes on him,
and his vehicle between us. I remind him that I will kill him if he
rises. I check his glove box, pocketing any weapons I find, and
retrieving a cell phone if he has it. I also retrieve and pocket his car
keys. If he does, I call 911, inform them of the situation, and
tell them that I incapacitated him with pepper spray, and now have him at
gunpoint because he not only demanded my money, but acted in a threatening
manner with a baseball bat and I feared for my life. If he rises, I warn
him to lie back down, and I back away toward my vehicle. If he gets into
his vehicle, he won’t be able to start it without keys… so this is fine, but I
keep him at gunpoint in case he had a hidden firearm I didn’t detect. I
position myself on the other side of my car from him. If I see the
slightest hint of a firearm, I shoot to kill.
B) If he rises from the ground and comes at me,
I back away and position myself on the other side of the car from him, and
evaluate whether he is in the state to be a real threat. If so, I warn
him again. If he does not comply, and comes at me, I shoot to wound
(thigh, ass, belly) If he continues, I shoot to
kill. If I deem him not a threat, and he still comes at me, I fire a
warning shot at the ground near him. If he still does not comply, and
comes at me, I shoot to wound. If he still does not comply, and I don’t
feel that I could keep a safe distance from him, I shoot to kill.
C) If no cell phone can be found in his vehicle,
I return to my vehicle, and drive to the nearest population center. He
won’t be able to follow without his car keys. I then get the police, and
return them to the scene where his truck SHOULD still be waiting. If he
has somehow driven his truck away, it’s okay, because I still have his
wallet. I turn this, and anything else from his vehicle, over to the
police.