Joe Link
Member
My girlfriend works in downtown Portland and I either take her and pick her up or she takes the bus and/or MAX (light rail) because it costs over $9/day to park down there. She's a small girl, 5'3 about 100-105lbs.
Last night she was taking the MAX from downtown to the stop where I usually pick her up and she got to the stop before me. She got off the MAX and noticed a seedy looking man followed her off. He got out one door down in the direction she had to walk to get where she needed to be, forcing her to walk past him as they were going in opposite directions. As they were about to pass he moved into her path, as to 'intercept' her. She moved left to go around him and he moved left, she moved right and he moved right. This wasn't like when you get in that wierd little dance when there's only a couple feet between yourself and someone else, there were at least five feet. As he passed her he said something she couldn't understand. She felt like she might be in danger so she called me right away and I stayed on the phone during this whole thing. She didn't feel safe on the MAX platform because there weren't any cars or people in the area, just this guy, so she started walking to a more populated/better lit area as I always tell her to do if she feels like she might be in danger. The guy walked down to the end of the platform then turned around and began following her. At first he was around a block behind her but was quickly gaining on her (walking fast) though she was walking fast. I told her to cross the street to distance herself a bit but the guy was walking in the middle of the street at that point. When he was about eight carlengths behind her an elevator maintenance van pulled up about half a block ahead and the maintenance man got out and went around his van to grab his tools on the sidewalk side. She went up to him and began a conversation, quickly telling him the situation and asking if he'd stay out there while she waited for me. At that point I was about 30 seconds away. He said sure, no problem. When the guy saw she was talking to the maintenance man he slowed way down and casually walked by, staring at her. I was driving down the same road he was walking down and when I passed the guy he stared at me. Looked like the usual older drugged out gangster I see so many of around here. When I picked her up we both thanked the maintenance man and went home.
This morning we woke up and she said she had a nightmare. She said the man was following her, caught up to her, and pushed her down. She pulled out an S&W Airweight she was carrying (we've been looking at one for her but she doesn't have one now) and shot him. She was extremely concerned when we were discussing THAT scenario because she feared she'd go to prison for murder because "all he did was push me down". I explained to her that I believe that's enough to make you fear for your life and it would've been a justified shoot. What do you guys think?
After this she won't be taking public transportation at night. I asked her right after it happened if she thought she could've shot the guy, had he actually caught up to her and done something and she said she wasn't sure because she was so shaken up.
EDIT: My girlfriend also wanted me to add she was carrying a large bag from Sak's Fifth Avenue.
Last night she was taking the MAX from downtown to the stop where I usually pick her up and she got to the stop before me. She got off the MAX and noticed a seedy looking man followed her off. He got out one door down in the direction she had to walk to get where she needed to be, forcing her to walk past him as they were going in opposite directions. As they were about to pass he moved into her path, as to 'intercept' her. She moved left to go around him and he moved left, she moved right and he moved right. This wasn't like when you get in that wierd little dance when there's only a couple feet between yourself and someone else, there were at least five feet. As he passed her he said something she couldn't understand. She felt like she might be in danger so she called me right away and I stayed on the phone during this whole thing. She didn't feel safe on the MAX platform because there weren't any cars or people in the area, just this guy, so she started walking to a more populated/better lit area as I always tell her to do if she feels like she might be in danger. The guy walked down to the end of the platform then turned around and began following her. At first he was around a block behind her but was quickly gaining on her (walking fast) though she was walking fast. I told her to cross the street to distance herself a bit but the guy was walking in the middle of the street at that point. When he was about eight carlengths behind her an elevator maintenance van pulled up about half a block ahead and the maintenance man got out and went around his van to grab his tools on the sidewalk side. She went up to him and began a conversation, quickly telling him the situation and asking if he'd stay out there while she waited for me. At that point I was about 30 seconds away. He said sure, no problem. When the guy saw she was talking to the maintenance man he slowed way down and casually walked by, staring at her. I was driving down the same road he was walking down and when I passed the guy he stared at me. Looked like the usual older drugged out gangster I see so many of around here. When I picked her up we both thanked the maintenance man and went home.
This morning we woke up and she said she had a nightmare. She said the man was following her, caught up to her, and pushed her down. She pulled out an S&W Airweight she was carrying (we've been looking at one for her but she doesn't have one now) and shot him. She was extremely concerned when we were discussing THAT scenario because she feared she'd go to prison for murder because "all he did was push me down". I explained to her that I believe that's enough to make you fear for your life and it would've been a justified shoot. What do you guys think?
After this she won't be taking public transportation at night. I asked her right after it happened if she thought she could've shot the guy, had he actually caught up to her and done something and she said she wasn't sure because she was so shaken up.
EDIT: My girlfriend also wanted me to add she was carrying a large bag from Sak's Fifth Avenue.
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