Was I legal or brandishing?

[yellabret]

Scenario:

I was in the right lane of a 2 lane road approaching an intersection with a stop light. There is a convenience store to the right on the corner, a guy in a vintage Bronco (actually a very nice vehicle) pulls out of the store (side drive entrance) intending to turn left at the light, and blocks the right lane i am in although he has plenty of room to fully enter the left lane, so i tap the horn. he gives me a dirty look and pulls forward, but now his right tail end is still blocking me, and he STILL has plenty of room ahead of him. I tap the horn again, and he finally pulls all the way forward. as i pull even with him and stop before making my right turn, i gave a shrug/hands up "wtf" gesture - windows still up, no finger, no vocal comment, nothing, and keep moving (no stop and stare) a bit for my stop, then as i begin my turn i hear a loud "WHACK" on my rear window. Apparently the passenger had thrown a half bottle of beer at my truck. so i complete my turn and immediately turn again into the front entrance of the store, and get out with my phone to get a photo of the vehicle, still with a red light. once they see that, he turns right across the right lane. now i know they intend to confront me and i have no clue of what they could do, so i rushed back to my truck and retrieved my pistol from the door side pocket - the door was left open. I then held the gun behind my back and assumed a defensive martial arts pose - an unassuming but confident back stance, and looked at them and asked "what did you throw at my truck?" i could see the back window at this point - miraculously the glass was not cracked, but the bottle broke on impact and there was beer dripping down the window and body. At this point the driver started apologizing for his friend, and i warned them in a stern voice they better think about their actions or its going to get them hurt or killed some day, then said "now get the F out of here NOW.

so my question is if the police had been called bay me or a witness - would i be facing any charges?

great forum, glad i found it!

 

[Maverick44]

Welcome aboard!

You kept the gun behind your back didn't you? Did they ever see it?

If your area has an idiot of a prosecutor, then maybe you could have been charged (not with brandishing, because Texas doesn't have a law for that. It's called something else). Based on the situation you were in, I'd say you were reasonable in your fears and took the proper precautions to protect yourself. It's not like your were waving your gun around threatening them.

 

[Charlie]

Agree with the above, ............... to a point. If someone else had seen you with a gun in hand, yelling at them, and in a "defensive" posture, the witness may have seen it completely different. The witness may have not seen the beer bottle thrown or any of the rest of the situation. May have looked differently to them and sound differently in court, should you have been charged. If a law enforcement officer had seen only they last part, what do you think he or she would have done?

And, welcome to the forum!

 

[yellabret]

very good points

 

[easy rider]

If it was held in a way to "cause alarm" that would be illegal, unless in defense. Depending on the witness and/or LEO it may go either way. It is a good thing you didn't point it at anyone.

 

[jrbfishn]

What they said. Sounds like they sobered up quick.
Welcome to the forum. We have an introduction thread if you want to tell us a little about yourself.

sent from an idgit coffeeholic

 

[Vec]

Scenario:

I was in the right lane of a 2 lane road approaching an intersection with a stop light. There is a convenience store to the right on the corner, a guy in a vintage Bronco (actually a very nice vehicle) pulls out of the store (side drive entrance) intending to turn left at the light, and blocks the right lane i am in although he has plenty of room to fully enter the left lane, so i tap the horn. he gives me a dirty look and pulls forward, but now his right tail end is still blocking me, and he STILL has plenty of room ahead of him. I tap the horn again, and he finally pulls all the way forward. as i pull even with him and stop before making my right turn, i gave a shrug/hands up "wtf" gesture - windows still up, no finger, no vocal comment, nothing, and keep moving (no stop and stare) a bit for my stop, then as i begin my turn i hear a loud "WHACK" on my rear window. Apparently the passenger had thrown a half bottle of beer at my truck. so i complete my turn and immediately turn again into the front entrance of the store, and get out with my phone to get a photo of the vehicle, still with a red light. once they see that, he turns right across the right lane. now i know they intend to confront me and i have no clue of what they could do, so i rushed back to my truck and retrieved my pistol from the door side pocket - the door was left open. I then held the gun behind my back and assumed a defensive martial arts pose - an unassuming but confident back stance,

i made it that far into your story and then all i could think of was something, like this....

and then I thought you must have been trained in classes with others , like this...

Welcome to the forum!

my dog says Hi!

 

[fishingsetx]

It was not held to threaten or cause alarm so I would say you were good according to your story, but the law and witnesses may ot may not have said otherwise. If I would have been in your situation, I would have taken down the license plate # and at least filed a report. Too many times people drive off then file a report that you were threatening them with a gun (assuming they noticed it).

I yend to try and avoid those kinds of situations though. I would have just assumed they were being cautious about pulling out into oncoming traffic and wouldnt worry about the 30 seconds of my day that they took up blocking the road. Some vehicles are tough to see out of especially when angled and trying to look out of the passenger side (what i gather was the case from your story). Still doesnt excuse the passengers actions by any means, but might have caused you less of a headache.

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[oldag]

Discretion is the better part of valor.

You tapped the horn, he moved. Give up the cute gestures and get on with your day. That would have avoided the entire problem.

Martial arts pose? Really?

 

[hellishhorses]

Discretion is the better part of valor.

You tapped the horn, he moved. Give up the cute gestures and get on with your day. That would have avoided the entire problem.

Martial arts pose? Really?

+1

Like Cesar Millan says, "No touch. No talk. No eye contact."

 

[txinvestigator]

Scenario:

. as i pull even with him and stop before making my right turn, i gave a shrug/hands up "wtf" gesture - !

Did you learn anything?

 

[Renegade]

First the law:

[FONT=&amp]Sec. 9.04. THREATS AS JUSTIFIABLE FORCE. The threat of force is justified when the use of force is justified by this chapter. For purposes of this section, a threat to cause death or serious bodily injury by the production of a weapon or otherwise, as long as the actor's purpose is limited to creating an apprehension that he will use deadly force if necessary, does not constitute the use of deadly force.

[/FONT][FONT=&amp]The problem is how the other party interprets your action. Many people could see you pulling firearm, and IMO, think you are going to shoot, and thus shoot you, justifiably. Then of course, what are you going to do?

This is why I think it is a bad idea to pull a gun unless you are going to use it.[/FONT]

 

[oldag]

[FONT=&amp]This is why I think it is a bad idea to pull a gun unless you are going to use it.[/FONT]

Yep.

 

[Governors20]

In my opinion, the only reason to pull a gun is because the decision to shoot someone has already been made before you ever touch it.

 

[RACER X]

Crane stance?

 

[Charlie]

In my opinion, the only reason to pull a gun is because the decision to shoot someone has already been made before you ever touch it.

This! Just driving away saves a lot of money .................... and possible incarceration, justified or not.

 

[winchster]

Discretion is the better part of valor.

You tapped the horn, he moved. Give up the cute gestures and get on with your day. That would have avoided the entire problem.

Martial arts pose? Really?

Agreed. If I were on the jury, you started the entire debacle.

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[Recoil45]

Did you learn anything?

+1

 

[Vaquero]

I'm really working on my attitude in traffic.
I've got a ways to go.

Anyway.
A couple of minutes delay beats a physical confrontation every time. Let the dumbasses go on their oblivious way.

We've got bigger issues to worry about.

 

[Charlie]

I talk to myself when I see people that don't know (or care) how they drive. But I talk about those people. And most of the time, I agree with myself.