Situation Deescalated

S

sgtmike88

Joined
Oct 15, 2000
Messages
799
On Friday afternoons, I travel south to see my girlfriend for the weekend, so a typical Thursday night is spent rushing around taking care of personal business before I depart. Last night was no exception, but it required a stop at the local Mall for some travel supplies and a much needed stop at the ATM.

I got stupid in my haste to get my business done. I had forgotten school's out for the week, so there would be a prevalence of kids and gangbangers at the mall. I didn't pay my usual amount of attention to the bystanders as I approached the ATM.

As the machine handed me my much needed expendable income and receipt, from behind me and to my left I heard a voice behind me say "Yo, I want some of that" in a demanding tone.

I turned to face that direction, assuming a solid semi-defensive stance. When I did so, I observed several of our local bangers all attired in their best "Let's go to the mall dress." Another of these pleasant young gents said, I believe to the first who had spoken, "He gots a big knife" as he pointed to the Spydie Starmate protruding from the ruler pocket in my carpenter jeans.

With that having been said, they turned and walked out the exit, boarding the city bus that was preparing to depart.

Relieved, I thanked God for not having to escalate this situation, for my Starmate, and for the ASP KeyDefender (with OC) that they hadn't seen. I laughed and walked back to my truck, quite a bit more alert to my surroundings as I had been a few short minutes before.

------------------
It's not the pace of life that concerns me, It's the sudden stop at the end.
 
Scary. I hate that such situations arise in this world. Glad they got smart when they spotted your knife.

A couple of years ago I was in a mall in the Hartford Civic center. I had just finished luch with a friend and when we got onto the elevator to leave a mob of young kids maybe 12 or 13 years old got onto the elevator with us. They were loud and boisterous and seemed friendly but one of them insisted on blocking the buttons so that we couldn't press our floor. I didn't really realize what was happening at first but luckily my friend did and he stared and talked the kid down using a firm adult voice. The kid started to reach for something in his pocket but then thought better of it and finally let my friend press our button. The doors opened and we stepped off and only then did I realize that they were trying to get us up to the deserted third floor to rob us.

That incident scared the sh*t out of me and I wouldn't go into Hartford for a long time after that. I seriously thought about getting a handgun but didn't do it. I carry large knives now.
biggrin.gif


------------------
Peter Atwood

email: fountainman@hotmail.com
 
Coupla things here:

- dude, they let these guys roam the mall and terrorize folks ??? You need to find a new mall.

- pros/cons of not so covert carry, or a visible clip:
pro - in this case, averted trouble
con - had the situation been different, the same trained criminal eye that spotted your clip might have been quick/smart enough to get it away from you.

Quaetion: Assuming you did not have the OC, and they had not seen the knife but had pressed closer, would you have drawn ?
 
Ten years ago, i had a similar situation on an elevator in the Washington, DC, subway system. When one punk reached for the "Emegency Stop" button and the other came toward me, I pulled out a Spyderco Police and did a Spyderco Drop. Suddenly, everybody's minds focussed on getting out of the elevator while I swiped the back of the blade against my leg and put the knife away. I went on down to the subway, shaking all of the way.

------------------
Walk in the Light,
Hugh Fuller
 
<<<shaking all of the way>>>

Anyone who believes they would NOT be feeling this way, has never been involved in such a situation. I also am licenced to carry concealed weapons, right up to the "big boy toys", in many states. Just make sure that you don't "flash" whatever you're carrying just to "scare" someone before they actually present a threat. These punks would probably go back to the mall, find a uniform LEO, and have you charged with "threatening". I'm glad to hear everything worked out safely for all concerned.

"Avoid the scare. Be aware."

------------------
Holger
:c{{{&lt;
 
Ehh, I´m a newbie here and I have searched the forum:

What is a Spyderco Drop?

Sorry about the lack of knowledge (and the break of a thread) - teach me, please.



------------------
"One must exert oneself unceasingly and study very hard."
 
A "Spyderco drop" is a fast way to open a Spyderco folding knife.
All Spyderco foldingknives have a hole in the blade. By gripping the hole and dropping the handle with a little twist the knife opens with a nice impressive "ssswhack"....
 
PS:
The drop works best on heavy handled models like the Police, or the SS handled Endura. Takes a litle more effort with a Zytel handle.

I don't like it because now you are holding a very sharp blade, in a tense situation, by the blade.

[This message has been edited by RH (edited 02-23-2001).]
 
Thank you very much, have never heard of this openingprocedure before. Will try it.

Be Well.

------------------
"One must exert oneself unceasingly and study very hard."
 
RH,

First off, I wasn't concerned about anything but my personal safety at that moment, and if advanced upon, yes I would have drawn. I was outnumbered at least 2 to 1, with other "color bearers" nearby. I also would have shouted loud, clear, concise verbal commands. (I am a LEO.)

Secondly, yes, it takes a pretty good eye to spot my unobtrusive carry method. However, sheeple seldom notice (if they do, they usually don't recognize what it is.)

Lastly, I always have some type of backup system available for immediate deployment.
wink.gif


------------------
It's not the pace of life that concerns me, It's the sudden stop at the end.
 
cockroachfarm, thank you for making a point that I should have made. If you do have to draw a weapon, you have escalated teh confrontation to the level of deadly force. You had best be prepared to employ deadly force, because if you are not and they are, then you are screwed. They will turn your weapon onto you. Your point about legal complications is also a very, very good one. In my case. I was trapped on an elevator by two very strong and healthy looking young punks while I am an arthritic, middle-aged, over-weight man who looks a very easy target. I walk with a cane much of the time, and I limp all of the time. I am the sort who attracts the two-legged predators, so I have thought through what I would do. My thinking has changed since then, along with my religious beliefs, but not as much as my wife would like since she is a true hoplophobe.

RH, I would say that normally you would be right about a Spyderco Drop, but it seems to work well with the Police, at least in my hands. Now, I would have trouble with, say, my Military or my StarMate. I think that my Gunting would work OK, but I have never really tried it. And you can bet that I have never tried the snap opennings on my own arm after having watched Bram's tape. Ouch!!! hardly covers what trying to learn them with a live knife would do.

------------------
Walk in the Light,
Hugh Fuller
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by sgtmike88:
Lastly, I always have some type of backup system available for immediate deployment.
wink.gif

</font>
Click to expand...

I know you are a LEO so I was kinda wondering about that part.
smile.gif


------------------
Hoodoo

I get some pleasure from finding a relentlessly peaceful use for a combative looking knife.
JKM
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by FullerH:
If you do have to draw a weapon, you have escalated teh confrontation to the level of deadly force.
</font>
Click to expand...

Since there was no confrontation yet, no escalation to deadly force. Just hold the knife tip down by your side to give not the impression of being a attacker. Or clean your fingernails.
Bye Kurt


------------------
DUEL3.gif


Money talks...but all mine ever says is good-bye.

www.selbstverteidigung.org

Some Knife's
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by sgtmike88:
RH,
it takes a pretty good eye to spot my unobtrusive carry method

I always have some type of backup system available for immediate deployment.
wink.gif


</font>
Click to expand...

While most of us here are probably not leo's some of the 'better' habits of awareness, mindset, attitude, preparadness perhaps are even more important to us civies. Our best/only real weapon is what lies between our ears...all else mere tools. Yes it's happened to me, luckily unscathed, at a off an interstate gas stop...very late...unfortunately wrong area wrong time. Carful of creeps hunting for a victim...figured I was nearest option. Lucky for all of us they took it too heart when I told them loud to keep moving as they circled me. And yes hair does stand up on back of head, at least for me. I do my best to avoid such situations but sometimes s**t happens and for a variety of reasons any of us can find ourselves in harms way.
Be ready, stay safe.

btw I always have a variety of 'tools' at ready avail.
smile.gif
 
Glad it ended when and where it did. If it had progressed, life would have been miserable for you while you hacked through the red tape,

Paul
 
If you "show" a bunch of kids a knife to scare them, who's to say they won't whip out a gun and blow your head off?

I have a friend who was being annoyed by a bunch of kids in a car when he was out in some park flying a radio controlled airplane. I don't remember exactly what happend but I remember that he told me he walked up to the car and opened his coat so that the kids could see he had a gun. Now there were 4 or 5 kids in the car, any of which could have had a gun. Now they know he has one. So it could have come down to who is the fastest draw. Big mistake imo.

Here's another story. A local farmer where I grew up hated people hunting on his land. One fine saturday morning he heard a gunshot out in his woods so he jumped in his truck and headed down the lane to the "back 40" as they say. According to his wife, he had a 357 revolver lying on the front seat of his truck. He found this kid (a local moron and terror of a small town) who had just killed a deer with a muzzleloader. The kid came up on the passenger side of the truck. What happened next no one really knows exactly. We do know that the kid stuck his muzzleloader in the window and fired it, killing the farmer. He then took the pistol and fled.

The state police finally caught him. He said it was self defense and that the guy pointed it at him. However, it could just as easily just been lying there for him to see and this moron decided to strike first. They asked him why he took the gun and he said he just figured that farmer wouldn't be needing it anymore. Now here's the kicker. When this went to court, he was acquitted. It was his word against a dead man's.

The moral of the story is don't flash a weapon unless you intend to use it. IMO, of course.
smile.gif




------------------
Hoodoo

I get some pleasure from finding a relentlessly peaceful use for a combative looking knife.
JKM
 
Hoodoo,

I did not flash a weapon and I have no idea where you came up with that silly notion. My Starmate was resting peaceably in a pocket where it is relatively unrecognizeable. What I did display was a mental and physical attitude that I was not "easy prey." What I am displaying now is a reluctance to share further info here to armchair quarterbacks like you.

Indignantly, Mike

------------------
It's not the pace of life that concerns me, It's the sudden stop at the end.
 
SgtMike, I think Hoodoo was commenting about some of the Other comments in this thread which may have implied that displaying a weapon might be a good idea in a confrontational situation.

You did not say you did that, nor did Hoodoo say you did. In fact, his comments are examples that show that 'showing' a weapon to bad guys can get you into More trouble. I do not see how he was criticizing what you did, or anything you have said in this thread. No need to get indignant, IMO

Paracelsus

[This message has been edited by Paracelsus (edited 02-25-2001).]
 
It's just sucks when you can't go the the mall ATM to get money without fear of being robbed.
My story is a little different. I live in Louisville. I'm not going to say which parking garage I was in, because there are these little signs that say NO CONCEALED WEAPONS. When my back hurts, I walk with a limp. A middle aged man limping through the parking garage looks like an "easy target", I guess. Anyway, the ones with "the colors" began to follow. Then they got close. When thay got close to my personal space, I reached into my right rear pocket and wrapped my hand around the butt of the Seecamp .32ACP that was in my Hedley back pocket holster. With my left hand, I ripped open the velcro of my horizontal sheath that holds my razor sharp Dalton "Mini Seal". I made as much noise with velcro as possible. They knew what it meant. The bangers split off in different directons. I would have killed them all. They knew it and I knew it. That's just the way it is. I hope nobody is offended.

Will
 
sgtmike88 glad you avoided a bad situation. At the end of the day you are safe and well. That is all that matters
biggrin.gif


Have a good one!

W.A.


------------------
"To strive to seek to find and not to yield"
Tennyson
Ranger motto

A few useful details on UK laws and some nice reviews!
http://members.aol.com/knivesuk/
Certified steel snob!
Founding president and member number 1! Wana join?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top