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Chasing a bike thief on foot with sidearm.

6K views 92 replies 52 participants last post by  fizzle 
#1 · (Edited)
So (what if) this situation just happened and no police were called because the bike was recovered but I wanted to recount the events and get some perspectives from the community on how I handled it.

I work at a pawn shop and we keep some merchandise outside (mainly 2 BMX bikes) for advertisement purposes.

I was taking care of a customer when I noticed 5 suspicious young black males congregating outside of the store looking at the bikes and then looking inside the store. I finished with my customer when I noted that one of the young kids had taken on of the bikes and started riding off with it quickly down the street out of the plaza.

I ran from behind the counter (I open carry inside the shop as I am allowed to do so but not legally allowed to open carry outside in Florida) outside and proceeded to chase the kid on the bike. As I was running I grasped my sidearm still in the holster and within earshot I yelled at them "Stop or I'll shoot!". I had not gotten out "Stop or I'll..." and the kid jumped off the bike and started running.

I grabbed the bike and rode it back to the store without continuing the pursuit. No police involvement and the property was recovered.

I wanted to get the communities perspective on how I handled it and maybe what could have been done differently.

Thank you for any feedback you give...
 
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#77 ·
I want to thank everyone for their input no matter how harsh. I respect and appreciate the entire community here at Defensive Carry and I am glad to be a part of these forums. That said going forward I have learned something and I told the owner that this was a one time deal with these bikes and now he either has to pony up for some locks or risk losing them because I am not going to make the same mistake twice (see Einstein's definition of insanity). What I did had many things wrong with it and I am man enough to admit it. I got ahead of myself in my haste to make sure a thief would not get away. While I believe my intentions were admirable I went about it wrong. I will learn from this experience and move on. Again thank everyone for their honesty and opinions. As for posting about this I want to say that the learning experience I have gained from posting about my experience is worth the post. Also for the one person who asked why I mentioned the kids race, I did so to give a more accurate description of the situation and tried to recount the events as thoroughly as possible. Noting that I would have mentioned if they were a group of White or Hispanic kids as well. Race had nothing to do with this thievery and impulsiveness had everything to do with it. I have learned that unless they steal from me or while inside the store I have no interest in giving chase and I damn sure know now to either conceal or secure my firearm beforehand as well as not planning on using it unless the situation changes from thievery to threatening me. As for securing the shop itself I want to make clear that there is and always is another person here with me and that in no way did I leave the shop unsecured while in pursuit.
 
#78 ·
I want to thank everyone for their input no matter how harsh. I respect and appreciate the entire community here at Defensive Carry and I am glad to be a part of these forums. That said going forward I have learned something ...
The way I think of the risk is with one's own car in the driveway. It's on your property. It is your property. You're walking around the house and see someone rooting around inside. You approach, you demand he/she leaves, but the assailant decides to up the ante and attack. At that point, by almost every statute on use-of-force in all the states, you've got every justification to lawfully refuse to be assaulted, to whatever lawful degree your state statutes dictate.

Still, in some states, or with some zealot DA's and GJ's, it might even be taken to be a situation that you yourself caused, being the one pushing things. Bad juju, in a state where you don't know for certain it's going to back you in dealing with escalations in situations where you have every right to intervene. FLA is one of the SYG states, and it wouldn't surprise me that in this case (of a car being burgled in your driveway) that you'd have every lawful right to intervene, and (if it escalated) to deal with that escalation.

Not everyplace is like that, though. Nor is every county, as the DA and GJ change with the counties. Beyond any of that lawful stuff, though, is the simple fact that any violent encounter with a determined felon can get deadly. Might well be that you're right ... but you can be dead right. For many, it's simply not worth that, jumping into the fray in such ways, in which you know nothing about the assailant or his 4-5 buddies (who almost surely would back him up). Things to consider.

A good read on the pros/cons of carrying: In The Gravest Extreme, by Mas Ayoob.


Another thing to keep in mind, too: that guy and his homeys know the shop and know they were thwarted by you. Watch your 'six', for awhile. They might be a bit bummed at getting "bested" at the pawn shop, publicly. Some folks don't take that too kindly, particularly if they "know where you live." Heads up, for awhile.
 
#82 ·
Best quote of this entire thread. I cannot speak for the entire forum community, but i think that while some posts may come off as mean or condescending, they are offered with good intentions. Mine is especially. I know for fact that using tact is not one of my strong points, and I apologize if my post came off as rude. I personally have a lot of respect for you by even posting this situation. Yes you made mistakes, but what makes us better is by learning from them. As mentioned, it was good that no one was hurt, and you went about your day. we wont what if this to death. Take the criticism with a strong heart, learn and be better. No one here is perfect all the time, and many of us, myself especially, have learned from mistakes, both mine and others. I promise, for every armchair professional, there are ten people who read your post but didnt respond, yet they now have a better understanding of what they should do in a similar situation.

As my fovorite cartoon as a kid always said... knowing is half the battle. YO' Joe !!!!!
 
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#89 ·
I'm with the other guys.

I believe it's irresponsible for an armed person to give chase. If he is running away, then he's not a threat. We don't carry guns to stop criminals. We carry guns to protect ourselves and the people around us from real, deadly threats. Even a police officer wouldn't have drawn, grabbed for, or threatened to use his gun as long as he still had this guy in sight.

You made a threat of deadly force against an individual who had not displayed a weapon and was running away from you. That's a legal nightmare. You could've faced some serious time.

Let's pose this situation.

You give chase, yell "Stop or I'll shoot!"

Kid jumps off the bike, turns around and sees your gun, reaches into his pocket and produces a small revolver

You open fire, kid dies. His buddies scatter.

Police arrive, suddenly, his buddies are back. They tell the police he was just defending himself. This crazy white guy came out running after him and he only drew the gun to defend himself. The evidence matches their story. The bike is in a ditch facing away, witnesses say you gave chase, guy in the next store over remembers hearing you say "Stop or I'll shoot!"

You and your cellmate for the next couple decades both lament about how the law got it wrong and you were innocent. Your boss loses the $6 profit margin on the bike training another employee to replace you.

I don't care if it's a bag carrying all the money to my name, the signed titles to all of my vehicles and the deed to my home. I'm not giving chase over 'stuff'. And I'm certainly not involving my weapon.

Finally, and this is me- the only time I'm telling someone I have a gun and will use it is when it's already drawn on them. That scenario would be that they are armed but not elevated to the point of needing to fire (such as with a knife but 15 feet away, or having already assaulted or attempted to assault me but not produced a weapon). The situation where I say "I'll shoot", is a situation where I need to use deadly force to defend myself. Not a situation where someone is stealing my stuff.
 
#90 ·
One day .... was working on my bike on the side opposite of where my neighbor is across the street ...... and saw a bike go by , that looked a lot like mine. Seconds later...... my one neighbor came rushing around the corner and yelling , we just saw someone steal your motorcycle and my husband and our other neighbor both jumped in their cars and are chasing them down. Then she "breathed" ... and realized I was working on mine..... the look on her face was priceless...... she said "I think I better call my husband real quick to tell him it wasn't your bike" . I bought them some steaks to barbeque..... for being such good neighbors.

One guy was taking pictures of my house one day..... and she went out and confronted him and wanted to know "what" he was doing, and "why" . She must have scared him because he jumped in his car and left in a hurry. He left so quickly, that concerned her even more so she called the police. Two days later the County Appraiser's office called me...... told me they were in the area updating appraisals on homes and taking the pictures, and their appraiser didn't want to come back out there due to my neighbor. I was laughing. He then updated the info over the phone and asked me to send a picture in to them. LMAO.

Good neighbors ... are worth their weight in gold.
 
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#92 ·
Ha, yeah.

I live in an apartment, bikes get parked outside. Older neighbors bedroom window faces the parking spot my wife and I park out motorcycles. Was on a business trip (and he knew) and didn't take the bike. First thing I did when I got back was install a little accessory I had ordered before the trip but hadn't had time to install. I wrench on it for about a minute before my neighbors door swings open, and this 70 year old dude comes running out with a pump action shotgun. "Oh, you're back!" he said. "I thought someone was messing with your bike!"
 
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