Treo
member
The difference between chemical weapons & most insecticides I usually only one of degree. I would really , really think twice before deliberately spraying that in someone's face.
jackdanson said:If I was carrying and got backed into a corner (I.E. no way to drive away safely) I would be hesitant to stay in the car. If the person has a firearm you are a sitting duck. A car isn't cover, it is concealment.
So what is the bottom line of the Buick O' Truth?
1. You do NOT want to be in the passenger compartment of a vehicle when someone opens up on it with a firearm.
As I was at Blackwater this week, my dentist was driving from his home with his wife to go to dinner when their jackass neighbor opened up on their vehicle with a firearm. His wife is dead and he is still in the intensive care unit on a vent at UVA.
If someone starts shooting at you while you are in a vehicle, get the hell out of there NOW. Hit the accelerator and if you have to run the bastard over, do it.
A car provides little in the way of cover, but it DOES give you the power to move fast which makes you harder to hit. Use that to your advantage.
2. If you cannot move, you CAN fight from inside the vehicle. By "fight" I do not mean that you can set up camp and shoot it out with the badguys from inside the vehicle. I mean that you can open fire on the bad guys so they are at least getting some incoming rounds while you try to escape.
3. If your vehicle cannot move, GET AWAY FROM IT ASAP. You have about 8 seconds to get away from the vehicle before your chances of survival are nill. As you can see from the Buick O' Truth, it doesn't take much to punch through the sides of a car with bullets.
A determined adversary with some ammo can turn your "cover" into a death trap in seconds. If your vehicle cannot move, you are better off getting away from the vehicle and going prone to return effective fire than you are holding up behind the vehicle waiting to get shot.
"But...That is leaving my only cover!" I can hear someone object.
Firstly, the Buick O' Truth isn't cover. It is a gigantic bullet magnet, and if you are hiding behind it you are more likely to end up shot than you are to use it effectively for cover. Real life engagements have shown that bad guys tend to focus on and shoot the hell out of the vehicle, and that if the good guys can get away from the vehicle and get prone that they are able to return fire effectively while the bad guys remain fixated on the vehicle.
4. If you must shoot into the passenger compartment of a vehicle, it is almost impossible to predict what will happen to the bullet or the people inside that passenger compartment.
When I said that there were bullet jackets and fragments everywhere, I meant it. Your bullet could penetrate through two people and keep going out the trunk, or it could be so damaged by entering the vehicle that it doesn't have the energy to break the skin of the person you are trying to stop, and the difference between those two outcomes can be 1/4 of an inch.
5. Shooting stuff is fun.
6. Shooting stuff isn't as much fun when you start to picture yourself inside a vehicle that you have just turned into swiss cheese. It takes some of the fun out of things to realize just how exposed you are. In fact, it is darn scary to see the passenger compartment shredded with chunks of bullet lying all over the place.
I had a radio at my disposal, and could have quickly gained sufficient cover cars if the situation escalated...I don't know what his issue was, and was too tired to care.
Tacoma P.D. was of no assistance at all , they got there after golden boy left ( no suprise). He took off so fast that he left his passenger ( who Tacoma P.D. refused to apprehend). We gave T.P.D, make, model, color and license plate & they didn't even bother to follow up...When seconds count , Tacoma P.D. really doesn't care...
rainbowbob said:I assume from your narrative that you are an LEO. I don't mean to criticize - but I am surprised you did not immediately call for back-up. Perhaps he was having a heart attack - although it sounds more like drunk/drugs/psychotic (take your pick). The fact that your were tired undoubtedly had a lot to do with it. As a civilian, I would have called 911 and kept driving. Does your profession prevent you from doing the same - or are you required to remain on the scene?
You seem to find it hard to resist the opportunity to dump on a PD
When you say you aren't surprised they didn't show up until after the jerk disappeared, you insinuate they should have somehow magically showed up before you called them.
Then you criticize them for not apprehending the jerk's stranded passenger who, as far as we can tell from your story, did not break any laws.
You go further to insinuate that the entire Tacoma Police Force "doesn't care" because these particular officers didn't go racing after someone who had been involved in what, from their POV, was a traffic incident for which you had no corroborating witness.
realize such an incident is frightening and frustrating. But do you think it is possible the TPD may have also had other fish to fry that night?
Of course you have a right to file a complaint with the expectation it be followed up on. But expecting the PD to engage in a high speed chase to catch up with said jerk based only on your complaint is probably not realistic - especially if it was a busy night. And it's my understanding that it is always a busy night for Tacoma PD. Concluding that the entire department "doesn't care" because you didn't get the response you had hoped for seems a little harsh.
They didn't need to get involved in a high speed chase, they had an accurate description of the car, including the full license plate number all they had to do was run it and go pick the guy up, how's that unreasonable?
They didn't need to get involved in a high speed chase, they had an accurate description of the car, including the full license plate number all they had to do was run it and go pick the guy up, how's that unreasonable?
How about he has cooled off and is driving reasonably by the time the cops catch him? Before you answer that, think about this: Imagine the roadrager idiot calls 911 and reports *you* as the one screaming and cursing and tried to run him off the road. What do you expect the cops to do if/when they come looking for you? How is it any different?