slash maraud
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Overreaction?
Today, the day after Thanksgiving and the biggest shopping day of the year, the family and I went out to do our bit and feed the economy. While not getting up at dawn to hit the stores at 5am, we did venture out in the afternoon after having a proper lunch and prepped for shopping mayhem.
Witnessing the carnage of the buying frenzy, we made our purchases and headed back home. Before we had actually left the mall area, it was decided that for convenience sake we would have a dinner out and kill time in hopes the traffic would lessen. Not wanting to use the old credit card, we made a stop at one of the bank branches ATMs.
Here’s the layout. This particular branch sits about 35 feet below the main road and only the roof is seen from that road. The drive-up ATM is at the last lane of the drive-up section and you have to drive around the bank to use it and end up facing the main parking lot where you can get a good view of the walk-up ATM located at the front of the building and the rest of the mall parking lot. Although the bank is in the same parking lot of the mall, it’s at the far end away from the main flow of traffic.
Me being the kind of guy that I am, have always been aware of my situation or have a heightened sense of what is known as ‘situational awareness’ and the read the local papers when they show a map of the crimes in the area. This particular area has seen an increase in carjacking and ATM robberies but not at this branch.
Back to the point of this story. We pull up to use the drive-up ATM and having driven around the building to get to it, took note that there was no one else there or in the general vicinity.
I roll down the window and am in the process of inserting my debit card and making the appropriate inputs when I see movement in the driver’s side mirror.
It’s a guy walking around from the back of the bank with some paperwork in his hand and heading up to the ATM I’m at. He looks up, sees my truck and then pretends to not notice me. I watch this unfold and the old military reflexes kick in.
Hitting the E-brake I bail out of my truck and draw my legally owned and licensed handgun and put this guy in my sights while I start yelling at him to show me his hands.
The guy acts like this is the first time he ever saw my truck even though I’d watched him look up several times and take note of me idling there. I’m approaching him alongside my vehicle all the time yelling for him to show me his hands.
The dumb**** just stands there like he doesn’t know what I’m talking about. By this time, I’m at the back of the truck and he’s still standing there with a look of total confusion on his face. At no time during this had my finger left the outside of the trigger guard so there was absolutely no chance of an accidental discharge. My wife is yelling at me to get back in the truck and dumb**** is still standing there like a deer caught in the headlights.
Some of you are asking yourself what’s the problem with all this and most likely this guy is over-reacting to the situation, right?
First, the walk-up ATM is at the front of the bank as previously mentioned and I would have seen a car or person walk up to use it from the position I was in at the drive-up ATM.
Second, I had already driven around the bank to get to the drive-up ATM and there was no one standing behind the bank.
Third, the only way for the guy to have gotten to this position is to have climbed down the rock wall from the main street above or been waiting at the top of the wall for a car to go by then moved on them.
By this time, I was 10 feet from him and he’s shaking like a leaf. I commanded him to get on his knees, cross his ankles and place his hands on the top of his head. Moving backward, I got to the drivers door and told the wife to get a zip-tie from the glove compartment and then moved back to dip****.
I zip tied his hands and then frisked him down. His paperwork that he had dropped was nothing but a bunch of blank pages, probably from Kinko’s. I put him on his face, my boot to the back of his neck and called 911 from my cell.
Knowing most of the local cops from when I was still doing fugitive recovery work, I got a buddy of mine to show up and pick up the garbage I was holding.
Turns out this guy was wanted on several counts of vehicle prowl, misdemeanor theft, shoplifting and yes, you guessed it, robbery of ATM patrons.
Was this over reaction on my part? What would have happened if it were someone else? Dumbass would have most likely gotten away with another robbery during a time when most people carry more cash then the rest of the year.
Happy Holidays to you too.
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Nov/24/2007, 3:24 am
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STARSAILOR
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Re: Overreaction?
Overreaction, yes and no...............
As you say he looked suspicious and so your first reaction was to protect those close to you........ but also he may have been someone mentally ill who had just decided to make his way there........ I know you say he would have had to climb down a rock wall...... but if he was mentally unstable then he wouldn't have needed a reason.
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'Why in the World are we here?
Surely not to live in pain and fear?' John Lennon - 'Instant Karma
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Nov/24/2007, 10:13 am
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MurfSpud
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Re: Overreaction?
I don't consider this an overreaction at all given the situation, the locality and the suspicious acts. As a qualified Karate Sensei and ex-military too (although, not Army), you do gain a "sixth sense" when it comes to unusual circumstances and suspicious activity. With Karate I used to conduct the self-defence classes for children and women, and most of that (apart from the combat, which is the last resort anyway), is to keep very aware of your environment when you're in somewhere strange or known to you as a possible risk.
Good call, Slash!
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"I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." - Albert Einstein
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Dec/16/2007, 2:56 pm
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