Roadside Assistance

[katmandoo122]

You, your spouse, and your child (or children) are driving along a freeway late at night. Up ahead, you see the flashing lights of a Trooper who has pulled over a car, so you slow down.

As you approach, you see that the Trooper is fighting with two civillians in what appears to be an all out struggle. You will be past the cars in two seconds.

What, if anything, do you do?

Factors:

1) You have a cell phone
2) You are not near any known police stations
3) There is not much traffic in either direction
4) Your kid(s) is(are) age 5 or less (i.e. not in a position to help at all - substitute grand kids if necessary)

I've wondered what I would do while watching those police video stories...what would you do?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Redneck Repairs]

without a dobut i assist the officer , btdt got the plaque lol . No officer will ever go without help no matter the circumstances if i am within helping distance . I was an officer too long , and had citizens bail me out of bar fights a few times when there was literaly NO backup , ill pay it back the only way i can , by being there for that lone officer when chance puts me where i can assist .

[goawayfarm]

Since my wife carries & my daughter is an Army MP, I think the BGs would be toast.

This is a case where you should do the right thing & render assistance.

[SIGguy229]

Pull over...have wife call 911 (with BUG handy)...engage with a command voice and let all of them know 911 has been called.

Engage with weapon? maybe...depends on circumstances of struggle.

If I can distract BGs long enough to give the PO a chance to regain control--that's what I'll do. I would not want to present a weapon if the PO has the possibility of regaining control and get myself shot.

If the PO was just plain getting the pi$$ beat out of him, I would engage with my voice and my weapon--after all, none of them know who I am (is he a PO or not?...I don't mean having a stinkin' badge--I'm talking body language, demeanor, voice...oh yeah, and maybe the haircut.)

Then I would turn it over to the PO...or if he/she was unconscious, render first aid. If the BGs were to get away, I would let them, as I would also note the lic plate and description...plus if the PO has a dash cam, all is well. My concern would be for the PO.

However, if the BGs decided they didn't want witnesses and attempted to mete out a beating in my direction or that of my family--I would STOP THE THREAT...read that how you will.

Mike in VA

[P95Carry]

Well - I have to imagine the wife and kids thing, as I am too old for that!! Oh - could be grandkids - Ok - that'll work.

Whatever - this has to be a stop to render assistance. I will NOT see a cop under attack like this and do nothing. I will stop - ensure wife calls things in (hope to heck we have signal!) - and make sure she has either her carry piece or the spare so she can guard the kids.

I will then do whatever my instincts tell me will work in the situation I see, flashlight almost for sure will be in use at some point. This could be a case where CT grips give an edge. Anyways, ''play it as I see it'' to best of my ability.

[PolarBear]

Pull over...have wife call 911 (with BUG handy)...engage with a command voice and let all of them know 911 has been called.

Engage with weapon? maybe...depends on circumstances of struggle.

If I can distract BGs long enough to give the PO a chance to regain control--that's what I'll do. I would not want to present a weapon if the PO has the possibility of regaining control and get myself shot.

If the PO was just plain getting the pi$$ beat out of him, I would engage with my voice and my weapon--after all, none of them know who I am (is he a PO or not?...I don't mean having a stinkin' badge--I'm talking body language, demeanor, voice...oh yeah, and maybe the haircut.)

Then I would turn it over to the PO...or if he/she was unconscious, render first aid. If the BGs were to get away, I would let them, as I would also note the lic plate and description...plus if the PO has a dash cam, all is well. My concern would be for the PO.

However, if the BGs decided they didn't want witnesses and attempted to mete out a beating in my direction or that of my family--I would STOP THE THREAT...read that how you will.

Mike in VA

Mike I agree,
Stop and render aid, while wife calls in to 911 and defends the kids (she has her CCW also).

I am a Fire Fighter and my Truck is equipped with emergency equipment so all of this would be activated. See below:

The lights will add to the "none of them know who I am" and help them all realize I am one of the GGs.
I would most likely stop in front of the vehicles, as I would be driving by to see the fight. In this case I would quickly clear the BGs car AND take any keys that may be in the ignition. Then go to assist the LEO in anyway I see necessary.

PLEASE NOTE: I am assuming the LEO in this scenario is a uniformed officer in a marked patrol car. My response WOULD differ with an unmarked car and plain clothes officer.

[randytulsa2]

I can't say that I'd just drive merrily on my way. It depends on which ride we're in. If it's my truck, I pull out the Mosin and if I get a shot, we have one less goblin worry about. If I don't get a shot, I still get the Mosin and see what I can do, based on my assessment of the particulars of the situation. At minimum, wifey is doing the 9-1-1 thing- engine running, doors locked.

In the wife's van, I pull my piece and get busy while she calls 9-1-1....

[Ben Hennessy]

Pull over...have wife call 911 (with BUG handy)...engage with a command voice and let all of them know 911 has been called.

Engage with weapon? maybe...depends on circumstances of struggle.

If I can distract BGs long enough to give the PO a chance to regain control--that's what I'll do. I would not want to present a weapon if the PO has the possibility of regaining control and get myself shot.

If the PO was just plain getting the pi$$ beat out of him, I would engage with my voice and my weapon--after all, none of them know who I am (is he a PO or not?...I don't mean having a stinkin' badge--I'm talking body language, demeanor, voice...oh yeah, and maybe the haircut.)

Then I would turn it over to the PO...or if he/she was unconscious, render first aid. If the BGs were to get away, I would let them, as I would also note the lic plate and description...plus if the PO has a dash cam, all is well. My concern would be for the PO.

However, if the BGs decided they didn't want witnesses and attempted to mete out a beating in my direction or that of my family--I would STOP THE THREAT...read that how you will.

Mike in VA

I do about the same as Mike but for a few exceptions. As I'm pulling over I would be sounding me horn anouceing That someone else is here. I then turn my car over to my wife and tell her to leave takeing her out of harms way. We'll meet back up soon.

[Biloxi Bersa]

Gotta stop and help, someway, somehow.

Call 911 first.

Assess the situation before drawing weapon. Maybe the 4 cell Mag-lite comes swinging first.

At the very least the distraction would probably help the LEO get the upper hand.

If his life or ours is in imminent danger, I'd have to draw.

[peacefuljeffrey]

Pull over...have wife call 911 (with BUG handy)...engage with a command voice and let all of them know 911 has been called.

Engage with weapon? maybe...depends on circumstances of struggle.

If I can distract BGs long enough to give the PO a chance to regain control--that's what I'll do. I would not want to present a weapon if the PO has the possibility of regaining control and get myself shot.

If the PO was just plain getting the pi$$ beat out of him, I would engage with my voice and my weapon--after all, none of them know who I am (is he a PO or not?...I don't mean having a stinkin' badge--I'm talking body language, demeanor, voice...oh yeah, and maybe the haircut.)

My hair is about a foot too long for me to be mistaken for a cop, but, I'm thinking that it might help to use that command voice to say, "Get away from the officer!! Officer, I'm here to help you!" and proceed with what needed doing.

[peacefuljeffrey]

Gotta stop and help, someway, somehow.

Call 911 first.

Assess the situation before drawing weapon. Maybe the 4 cell Mag-lite comes swinging first.

I would not want to chance it that when I swing once, I don't knock the guy immediately unconscious, and perhaps BOTH he and his accomplice turn on ME, grab ME, grab MY maglight, beat ME with it, get a hold of MY GUN...

If his life or ours is in imminent danger, I'd have to draw.

His life IS in clear, imminent danger: he has a gun that two people are probably trying to take from him, and if they succeed, they will surely use it against him, or at the very least, they will abscond with it. And they have proven themselves to be violent criminals already, by virtue of the fact that they're committing battery on a police officer!

This is not ambiguous to me.

How could there be confusion that a cop struggling against two attackers is in a fight for his life?

Even if they started out utterly empty-handed, if they beat down the cop and take his gun, they no longer will be unarmed. And then they surely would be a deadly threat to the officer.

[F350]

I could not possibly drive on past....I just couldn't.
In fact when on the road and I see a stop at the side of the road I catch myself looking to see if everything is OK as I go by. I regularly drive two road signs declaring that section of highway was named for the State Trooper that was killed there.

They have already attacked a LEO, what makes anyone think they will respect/obey a civilian; plus how do you know that it is only the two you see attacking the cop??? Could there be one more going for the shotgun in the cruiser from the far side???? You just showed up and do not know anything about the situation other than what you have seen in a couple seconds……. As far as I am concerned……it’s dead meat time.

[retsupt99]

I would not let an officier struggle for his life against two attackers...
As a 60 year old with recent organ removal, getting into a physical conflict is not a choice...

The wife would already be calling 911 and be ready to drive away if necessary...
I would announce my available assistance to the officer, and without further direction I would offer the BG 1911 assistance.

Here in Florida, defending the life of an officer would fall under the Castle Doctrine...I believe...and one would be protected from a BG's attorney...
Ending a serious confrontation, if the need is there, would cause less of a problem (and how terrible that would be) for the civilian than it would for the officier...
Who could fault anyone for assisting LEO's in serious need?

OMO

ret

[peacefuljeffrey]

Who could fault anyone for assisting LEO's in serious need?

I'm sorry to say that I am conditioned, from years of reading cop quotes in news stories, that the first thing I would expect would be for the chief of police to indirectly admonish the good samaritan in a press conference.

He's probably say something along the lines of, "While I, and Officer Smith and his wife and two daughters, and the rest of the police force, appreciate that the actions of Mr. Jeffrey likely saved Officer Smith's life that night, what Mr. Jeffrey did endangered himself and could have led to disaster, and we hope that the public does not take this as a cue to act like civilian police officers..."

(You know, notwithstanding the fact that if Mr. Jeffrey had not acted to aid the officer, it surely would have been a situation that ended in disaster.)

You see this kind of disavowal every time an armed citizen saves him or herself from a criminal attacker. "It's dangerous to fight back, and we wish that citizens would leave the police work to us." (And never mind the fact that if Suzy Jones had done that, she'd be dead with a phone in her hand. The fact that she actually did kill her would-be rapist seven minutes before the first cops arrived proved that waiting for the cops' help is the wrong plan. This is shown over and over again.)

[SixBravo]

Pull in right behind the cruiser. Be sure officer knows I'm there for assist. Command voice. Shoot. Once the assailants are down, get on the radio and call dispatch for shots fired and offcier needs assistance.

I'll be damned if I let a cop get beat. Especially by two assailants. He or she is going to get my assistance. That is not a scenario for one to stop and consider for a moment. That kind of situation requires a swift and extremely violent act. I think the only thing one would have time to remember is "front sight - fire."