In the interests of "Strategies and Tactics", my takeaways from this incident include:
1) Keep your sidearm concealed until you decide to use it to protect yourself from a deadly threat.
In this case, Campos could not legally carry concealed. For purposes of this discussion, I'll assume that he did not conceal his firearm during this incident. Campos' actions with his car and his instructions to the neighborhood watch patrol seem to have been pretty aggressive. If there is no drawn gun, I would get pretty mad if somebody did that to me. However, if I was in Serbeck's shoes and somebody I don't know and who doesn't identify themselves as police blocks my vehicle's progress, points a gun in my direction, and tells me to get out of my car with my hands up, then I'm likely going to be afraid for my life. The mere presence of the unconcealed, drawn gun may have escalated the situation. Better to keep it concealed until it needs to be drawn
and fired.
2) Do not shoot someone who does not pose an immediate, deadly threat to you.
Sounds too simple, doesn't it? While in their vehicles, Campos could not reasonably have considered Serbeck to be an immediate threat to Campos' daughter. Campos could not have considered Serbeck to be a deadly threat when he apparently forced Serbeck's vehicle to stop (otherwise why do what he apparently did?). When Serbeck (apparently) put his gun on the ground and kicked it aside, he was no longer a deadly threat to Campos. Assuming that the news reports are accurate, then Campos never was in a situation in which he can say that he was threatened with deadly force, and when he would, therefore, be justified in defending himself with deadly force.
3) As ezypikns points out, de-escalate the situation if at all possible.
One of the first things they teach in CHL classes here are conflict avoidance and awarenes that you, as a CHL holder have a legal resonsibility to avoid escalation of any conflict. In other words, if you decide to take on the responsibility to arm yourself, you automatically go by different rules than an unarmed individual.
Campos had lots of opportunities to de-escalate. So did Serbeck. Campos could have called the SO. Serbeck could have called, too. Serbeck could have called off the pursuit after taking the vehicle description and plate. Campos could have done the same. Up until the time that the fateful shots were fired, both could have walked away with "no harm no foul".
4) Be polite first. Be aggressive only when you have no other choice.
We can't forget that an armed society has to be a polite society. I was once walking the boundary of a piece of land I own when the person who owns the parcel on the other side of the boundary (who I had never met) drove up and threatened me with great bodily harm, including threatening me with a handgun that he kept in the console of his truck. He never drew the gun, however. We talked for 20 minutes. At the end of that time, he and his wife had invited my family to Thanksgiving dinner at their place. Politeness had de-escalated the situation, nobody was threatened with immediate use of deadly force, my sidearm never came out, and nobody got shot.
Sorry for the long post. Just some things that I thought were worth saying.
