How would you react?

[CountryBoy19]

Recently I was in traffic on the south side of Indy 37 Northbound. Got to a red light, car behind me pulled up, driver swung his door open and ran back to the car behind him. At first I thought maybe he knew them, but then he threw his hands up and started yelling. He was almost to the point of pounding on the windows of the car. The occupants of that car just kept the windows up and didn't do anything to antagonize him.

Not knowing the "backstory" behind why this guy is mad at them, would you intervene if he began beating on the windows or attempting to get into the car any other way?

I was carrying at the time, and didn't want to see anybody injured, but also, not knowing the back-story didn't want to get invovled if I didn't have to. Ultimately I ended up making a snap decisions and I sat there until he walked back to his car and got in. Thankfully the situation defused on it's own, but it brought up a good question that I've been wondering about.

Would you do as I did and watch the situation intervening if necessary?
Watch just to be a good witness but don't get involved no matter what happens?
Or pull away because it's not your concern?

P.S. A mile or 2 down the road I saw red and blues in the traffic at least 3/4 mi back working his way forward. I had a sneaking suspicion that he might be coming after this guy. It took him a while to fight through traffic up to where I was. The "offender" was about 1/10 mil ahead of me and turning right just as the LEO caught up. LEO didn't see him turning right until he passed the intersection. The LEO then proceeded to show some very skilled driving . He darted right through a gap in cars onto the shoulder, all the while he was on full-brakes, and slammed it into reverse high-tailing it back to the intersection in reverse on the shoulder. Seeing as how I had some what pulled right to let him pass and knew the offender has turned right, I knew he would likely be slowing down and going back. So I had completely stopped where I was, right past the intersection on the right shoulder (in his path), so I jumped into the left lane quick and gave him lots of room.

 

[bobzilla]

The best weapon to use in that case is your cell phone. 'd call the police and let them handle the situation.

 

[daddymikey1975]

I would have kept an eye on the situation. Called the police if necessary. Intervened if ABSOLUTELY necessary.. and by that I mean someone getting beat down.

 

[ssmith512]

I have no desire to be a "Cowboy Vigilante". I would only involve myself if I feel an unarmed individual is in eminent danger of being physically harmed by an attacker, and honestly that would be a hard thought decision on my part. Not to sound selfish, but I decided to purchase and carry a handgun for MY and MY wife's protection.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

I would have kept an eye on the situation. Called the police if necessary. Intervened if ABSOLUTELY necessary.. and by that I mean someone getting beat down.

I have no desire to be a "Cowboy Vigilante". I would only involve myself if I feel an unarmed individual is in eminent danger of being physically harmed by an attacker, and honestly that would be a hard thought decision on my part. Not to sound selfish, but I decided to purchase and carry a handgun for MY and MY wife's protection.

I'd say ^^^^^^^^^ would be my default position.

Like you said, you didn't know the back story. You weren't given a LTCH to be a police officer. Hopefully we'll know when it is time to cross the line, but in the scenario you outlined, that was not the time.

 

[Que]

I would have kept an eye on the situation. Called the police if necessary. Intervened if ABSOLUTELY necessary.. and by that I mean someone getting beat down.

This.

 

[THard6]

I would have kept an eye on the situation. Called the police if necessary. Intervened if ABSOLUTELY necessary.. and by that I mean someone getting beat down.

this..
keep it as safe as you can!

 

[daddymikey1975]

Basically, similar situation happened to me this past summer.

Some dude and his lady friend are aggressively arguing on their front porch across the street. I sat in the window (as a good witness) with the local PD ready to be called. Things eventually subsided. The dude left and we didn't hear much from him afterwards.

My wife and I both talked about it at length. Our perspective was if we 'notice' the situation after it's escalated to punches being thrown, we still would not intervene unless it's imminent death/bodily harm. Even at that point, it's a scary line to cross. The problem is, as the OP stated, we (the third party) aren't privy to all the facts. When we see punches being thrown, is the guy defending himself from the girl or vice versa ? At that point, it's a tough call. The right call, would be to PD and still keep watch. If someone brandishes a weapon, that might be a good time to get involved and help neutralize things.

If you don't have all the facts and details, being a good witness and the guy to make the phone call is an excellent first step.

 

[jfryan]

I would have kept an eye on the situation. Called the police if necessary. Intervened if ABSOLUTELY necessary.. and by that I mean someone getting beat down.

Phone ready to dial 911....

 

[THard6]

Basically, similar situation happened to me this past summer.

Some dude and his lady friend are aggressively arguing on their front porch across the street. I sat in the window (as a good witness) with the local PD ready to be called. Things eventually subsided. The dude left and we didn't hear much from him afterwards.

My wife and I both talked about it at length. Our perspective was if we 'notice' the situation after it's escalated to punches being thrown, we still would not intervene unless it's imminent death/bodily harm. Even at that point, it's a scary line to cross. The problem is, as the OP stated, we (the third party) aren't privy to all the facts. When we see punches being thrown, is the guy defending himself from the girl or vice versa ? At that point, it's a tough call. The right call, would be to PD and still keep watch. If someone brandishes a weapon, that might be a good time to get involved and help neutralize things.

If you don't have all the facts and details, being a good witness and the guy to make the phone call is an excellent first step.

IMHO, if you have a if I saw either one hitting the other I would step in and atleast break it up. (after calling the police)
I guess it's just not something to take lightly as I know alot of men that could kill a woman/men with one swing.. kinda just doing my part and looking out!
but +1 for observing in your situation!

 

[tom1025]

Mind your own business. I have seen a few guys stick there nose where it didn't belong and end up getting whipped by the two arguing party's. If you don't like what's going on call the cops and stay out of it.

 

[daddymikey1975]

Phone ready to dial 911....

Not from a cell phone I won't (unless I'm travelling on the highway out of town, or in the boonies).

I challenge you to do 2 tests with a cell phone

1) Call local PD and report an emergency. See how long it takes for them to arrive on-scene.

2) Dial 911 and report the same emergency and give them the same details. See how long it takes for them to arrive on-scene.

On a cell phone the 911 call gets routed first to the state dispatch (somewhere) then based on what you tell them, could be a bit of a hassle for them to effectively get the call routed properly to the local PD for dispatch. I'm a cell phone weenie

Also, on a cell phone, when you dial 911, your phone goes into 'emergency mode'.. When it makes this transition, there is a bit of pause as it switches to analog radio instead of digital. Secondly, most phones will begin to make some type of nasty and alerting noise when in 'emergency mode' that can alert a bad guy to your location within a building/house. Sometimes these noises can be disabled through menus and such.

I promise you, if you call the local PD in your area (city/county) they are familiar with your area/neighborhood and will get to you much quicker than a state police routed dispatch call to the local PD. Try it and see. You'll be shocked at the difference in response time.

 

[Thegeek]

Happened to me once in Castleton about 9yrs ago. Girl beside me on Allisonville didn't go through the green light because there was no room. The dick behind her lost his mind. He got out of his car punched her window and started yelling at her. She was in tears. I rolled down my window and said "ever hear of not blocking an intersection". He starts around the front of her car with the words "you want your ass beat toughguy?" I had my Ruger on my hip, so I got out and said "if you're threatening me, you might want to understand I'm not some scared defenseless girl".

He threw up his hands, retreated to his car and beat on the steering wheel. She got out and came and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I should have asked her for her number, but I was more afraid of her at that moment than I was of him!

 

[daddymikey1975]

Happened to me once in Castleton about 9yrs ago. Girl beside me on Allisonville didn't go through the green light because there was no room. The dick behind her lost his mind. He got out of his car punched her window and started yelling at her. She was in tears. I rolled down my window and said "ever hear of not blocking an intersection". He starts around the front of her car with the words "you want your ass beat toughguy?" I had my Ruger on my hip, so I got out and said "if you're threatening me, you might want to understand I'm not some scared defenseless girl".

He threw up his hands, retreated to his car and beat on the steering wheel. She got out and came and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I should have asked her for her number, but I was more afraid of her at that moment than I was of him!

If you weren't armed, would you still have done the same thing?

 

[HenryWallace]

Good thread here. I agree with the most of you. It's difficult to make any call... especially the one to 911. Not knowing the full details of what's going on, means not having enough info to react. And then Yes! Right now, the 2A means protection for me and mine. Letting an innocent get bludgeoned... We'll only know how to react when were there witnessing. Great story! Good reaction. (CountryBoy)

 

[Mackey]

Mind your own business. I have seen a few guys stick there nose where it didn't belong and end up getting whipped by the two arguing party's. If you don't like what's going on call the cops and stay out of it.

This is my opinion as well.
Even though we're packing, we are not police. We aren't trained in this stuff (most of us) and we're not given the authority by our little pink card to start throwing our weight around. As someone else mentioned, use the cell phone.

All bets are off if someone's life is in danger.

Also, just because someone it getting their butt whooped is not a reason to pull your piece. Like you said, you have no idea what the back story may be. Again, call the law.

 

[92ThoStro]

When my mother hit a deer, father sent a call to 911 through his cell. He has an Android. It went into emergency mode, and made these weird noises and animations, like you stated. It didn't stop until the officer arrived on scene. How exactly does that work? Do the cop cars broadcast a signal that cancels the emergency mode? Or does police dispatch send a signal to the phone? Never heard of this emergency mode before that.

 

[daddymikey1975]

When my mother hit a deer, father sent a call to 911 through his cell. He has an Android. It went into emergency mode, and made these weird noises and animations, like you stated. It didn't stop until the officer arrived on scene. How exactly does that work? Do the cop cars broadcast a signal that cancels the emergency mode? Or does police dispatch send a signal to the phone? Never heard of this emergency mode before that.

I don't know, might be when the call is ended. Maybe dispatch ended the call when the oficers arrived on scene? I do know that with that racket, if you were trying to hide in a closet or something, you'd be screwed.

That's why I always call local PD first. I have them on a speed dial for South Bend, Mishawaka, and St. Joe County.

 

[hps]

I aint gonna do snot!! watch it all unfold.

 

[jlgray]

before i became a mechanic i ran a wrecker for AAA. i was a a red light and noticed the guy behind me got out of his car, and went to the car behind him. he then started yelling at the woman in the car. ripped off the rear view mirror, and beat the window with it. i got on the radio and told dispatch to call pd. while he was busy with the lady. i backed to his car and got out and hooked it to the wrecker and lifted enough he couldn't move. when pd got there and he done enough to be arrested.