Agressive Panhandling

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Might not be a good idea to try that here. Local mind set kinda frowns upon that sort of behavior, just saying.

I never go right to my vehicle. I do a 360 approach. Any sign of trouble 911. Also helps Im a retired cop and well known to local PD and sheriffs as the house you can come to for a clean bathroom and a cold soda.
 
It's getting to be a problem here in Florida. When you are stopped at a red light, they move in, banging on windows holding a dollar store plastic bucket with "KIDZ CHARIDY" scrawled on it.
 
If you were to find some stranger leaning on your door, you could walk past like you are headed to another car then and quickly turn and go to the other side of the car and attempt to enter by the passenger door. The panhandler would just about have to lay hands on you to prevent you from opening the door. In my state that constitutes assault and you may resist assault with whatever amount of force is needed to ensure your personal safety.
 
What the OP describes does not include violence nor the threat of violence. To ESCALATE to violence would make you the aggressor. What he is doing is depriving you of the use of your car. This is not on the list of things that justify escalating force.

Where I live, panhandlers are not tolerated much. If one developed a reputation with the local cops, he would have his males and shelter provided by the state pretty quickly. (I actually read a survey once that said Utah is very nearly the least friendly place in the nation for homeless, hitchhikers, and pan handlers.) If you take a picture, back off, call the police and wait, you will get a quick response.

Now, if you take a picture, and he gets more aggressive, the situation might change. You should practice good awareness and safety, keeping a safe distance and staying in well-lit public areas. Most chain stores now have security cameras. If he came after me, I would probably back towards the front doors of the store. I doubt he would follow.
 
my word wouldn't even enter into it ... because I'm long gone
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Really, tremendously, spectacularly bad idea. Many parking lots are under video surveillance. In addition to it being his word against yours, now you look even more like a bad guy for fleeing the scene.
You could easily make the panhandler escilate the violence if you know what you are doing.
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Why, WHY, WHY would you post something like that on a public forum?

Even if it's true, why would you want to take the chance (even if it's a tiny chance) of a publicly made statement like that coming back to haunt you during a trial?
 
It's time to think outside the box. Just call a tow truck and have your car moved.
 
FWIW I posed this question to my wife and she came up with the best answer I've heard, turn around, go right back into the store and get security to escort you to the vehicle.
 
The parking lot is private property, walk into the store and get the manager and have the panhandler notified that he is tresspassing. In most states, once he is notified he is now guilty of tresspass and is subject to arrest. Take a few minutes and solve the problem for everybody.
 
Anyone think of Yelling?
"HELP, I'm BEING ROBBED!" "I THINK HE HAS A GUN!" "HELP HELP!"
This guy wants his money,..well actually he wants YOUR money and he wants it as quickly and quietly as he can get it.
After yelling the above he will most likely run, if not you have everyone's attention and have drawn your Pepper Spray and given him a snoot full, and you look like the victim.
 
I'd just say, "Wait right here", then walk back into the store where I call 911 and ask for the store manager. The LEO's need to know but the manager needs to be aware of the issue also. Then I'd just wait for the cops. It's irritating but there's not really a more appropriate way to handle it.
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Emphasis added.

For those of us who carry a gun, when we choose to do so we give up some of our freedom in being able to knock the chocolate out of such a scumbag. Think about it, if you get into a scuffle with the creep and he pulls a weapon, you shoot him and there are no witnesses (even if there are), your defense is now clear as mud.

This is a situation where having pepper spray might be a good option. Without laying a hand on the nasty man, you can show him your nice pretty can of OC whilst you are calling the cops.
 
hso said:
Nothing.:banghead:

Walk around to the other side and get in.:rolleyes:

Be smarter...;)
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While I understand your logic... I wouldn't do that unless I was certain the guy was unarmed... tire iron, hammer, knife and a rock to bash in the window, gun... whatever.
 
This is a situation where having pepper spray might be a good option. Without laying a hand on the nasty man, you can show him your nice pretty can of OC whilst you are calling the cops.
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Seems pepper spray might be a logical option for aggressive panhandlers.


That kind of brings up a whole other issue, though. If a person's armed with BOTH a concealed legal firearm AND pepper spray, and the "aggressiveness" rises to the level of an assault, a slimey lawyer could always say "You shouldn't have shot my client (who attacked you with a screw driver or his fists). You could've used your pepper spray instead!"

Don't know if that would ever be a problem or not. Something to consider, I guess. I still think pepper spray's a good way to deal with the immediate situation.
 
a slimey lawyer could always say
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A lawyer, slimey or not, can say whatever he chooses. You will always have to articulate why you used the force you did, whatever that force was. Even using pepper spray without due cause is at least assault, with some areas having a specific crime attached to using pepper spray.
 
the panhandler is leaning against your car door and tells you “If you don’t give me money I won’t let you in your car”.

How would you react?
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I'm relatively young, of decent size, physically fit and proud. Probably considered unwise by many, but I would issue and ultimatum along the lines of "you're gonna move one way or the other". Don't heed my warning, you get what's coming. No, I'm not going to threaten him with a weapon unless he produces one of his own. But forcibly remove him from my path, yes. I do not tolerate intimidation or threats that cannot simply be ignored; Blocking me from my vehicle is one such example.

I suspect the bum is going to get out of the way when a person demonstrates that they won't be bullied. They're counting on citizens trying to avoid any type of conflict at all costs. Once it becomes evident that they're not going to get what they want and will likely end up worse off for the effort, they'll move on.
 
^^^ Thirty years ago I'm sure I'd have said the same... though I was average size/build. I didn't put up with this sort of thing none-the-less. These days... well... that would be just plain stoopid of me.

ETA... Per HSO's post below. Yes, of course you're right. I think that issue is a matter of youthful bravado and lack of life experiences (hard-earned wisdom). Now that I'm older I know better and my "bravado" has declined significantly... along with other things. Better to be reserved and alive than rash and dead.
 
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Some of you folks seem to want to escalate the situation to violence when it isn't needed. I don't know what you want to prove to yourself or to others, but what you are proving is that you're not using your heads to deal with the problem that is simply handled.
 
Now people and businesses shy away.
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Not really. Downtown is fine. The park can be a little annoying but most of the folks leave you alone. The few that do ask do not push the subject. And ever since Occupy Everything moved in CSPD is around a fair amount. Not even sure if OE is still there actually... Boulder Park over by the Marion House is far worse though.

Back off, call 911 and report it. That type of thing, agressive panhandeling, is illegal in COS so getting the paper work rolling is a good start. Most of the aggressive street people, and he may not have been, are well known to the police. It would not be too hard to track them down.
 
....cannot simply be ignored; Blocking me from my vehicle is one such example.
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I'm older, too, and not so prone to bravado, but I think MachIVshooter brings up a valid point. Demonstrating confidence is important in a scenario like this. Self defence relies, in good part, on confidence.

Situational context would determine the extent to which you demonstrate that confidence. One person blocking another person's means of escape/egress (getting in a car) can range in scope from annoyance to something far more sinister. The ability to read people is important.
 
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