Someone followed me home

[Pro2A]

I swear I attract all the low lifes in town. Here is the story... this morning I was delivering my route as I do every morning (I won't be much longer). Towards the end of the route I pitched a paper on the steps of a house and proceeded to back into an ally to turn around and head back down the street I just came up. About 5 houses down across the street I heard some yelling, and just assumed it was some 'trash' yelling amongst themselves when I realized they were all looking at me and yelling. "Put that paper on her porch" they said. I thought to myself who the heck are these people and who the heck do they think they are telling me what to do? I yelled back, "don't yell at me like that" and put my windows up. I had to pass their house in order to get next. They continued yelling and flipping me off as I drove by. I guess they were mad because I threw that paper on the steps as opposed to the porch. I remind you that if I had to get out at every house and put the paper on the porch it'd take me all morning to do. As long as its on the steps or yard there is no issue.

Well the teenager of the group decided he thought it'd be cute to throw a snowball at my car as I drove past, at which point I squealed to a hault, rolled down the window, and above their I yelled "If you people keep this #$%! up I'm going to call the police". I drove off and finished the last little bit of my route and headed home. Well I was sitting at a red light when I noticed they pulled up in their junky car behind me, still fuming about the earlier incident. I could see them pointing and flipping me off. The light turned green and I figured I'd lose them at the next light. They were following me around no matter where I turned. So I finally decided to mash it around some traffic (I was driving my 2001 Mustang) and zip around a few cars before the 2 lanes turned into one, in which I lost them as I turned off a side road.

How would you have handled this situation if they decided to get out at the light and start a brawl? Would this be a situation in which it would be ok to draw and shoot? How would the courts see it? Would it be ok to just draw to scare them off or head thru the red light to avoid the problem? What if you drew to hault the attack and they decided to call the police and say "We just got into an argument with some guy and he pointed a gun at us". So many things could go wrong with this... how would you handle it?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[wmhawth]

I ? I yelled back, "don't yell at me like that" and put my windows up. I

, at which point I squealed to a hault, rolled down the window, and above their I yelled "If you people keep this #$%! up I'm going to call the police". ?

If you are carrying, (or not), It's unwise to feed into possible confrontations like this by stopping your car, yelling etc.

[bandit383]

Why chase you in the traffic...they expect you to be back the next day...

1) I would of ignored them...even after the snow ball. They achieved their goal of bringing you into their beef and down to their level.

2) Following you...would of called 911 and headed to a safe spot...witnesses are important

3) As soon as they got out of their car...would of driven away. They wanted you to confront them

4) Make a police report and work report

Now...what you going to do about tomorrow??

Rick

[goldshellback]

Why chase you in the traffic...they expect you to be back the next day...

1) I would of ignored them...even after the snow ball. They achieved their goal of bringing you into their beef and down to their level.

2) Following you...would of called 911 and headed to a safe spot...witnesses are important

3) As soon as they got out of their car...would of driven away. They wanted you to confront them

4) Make a police report and work report

Now...what you going to do about tomorrow??

Rick

+1........Don't fight or argue with an idiot, you have to lower yourself to thier level and they'll beat you with experience every time.

#4 is good advice and BE CAREFUL!

[TheSamurai]

okay to draw and shoot? heck no!!!! bandit was right on.

[JD]

I would have kept my mouth shut and kept going about my business, hence no incident, no throwing snow balls, no punk kids following me.

In situations where you are being followed, drive to the police dept.

[bluelineman]

Why chase you in the traffic...they expect you to be back the next day...

1) I would of ignored them...even after the snow ball. They achieved their goal of bringing you into their beef and down to their level.

2) Following you...would of called 911 and headed to a safe spot...witnesses are important

3) As soon as they got out of their car...would of driven away. They wanted you to confront them

4) Make a police report and work report

Now...what you going to do about tomorrow??

Rick

Very much agree.

Who cares if they threw a snowball? It's not gonna hurt you or your car. If they get out to confront you, stay in a safe place (your car). Drive away. If all heck breaks loose, your car can be used as a weapon as a last resort. Remember, if you are not fun to pick on, they will likely move onto something else.

Tomorrow, I would suggest driving on by, ignoring them.

[Stirling XD]

I didn't see a point in your situation where you were in imminent danger. By them following you, they were only an imminent annoyance. You can't shoot people for that. Pulling your gun with the intent to scare someone is usually called “brandishing a weapon” by the police. And trying to outrun someone that is following you is called “speeding” and “reckless driving”. Those terms could also get worse depending on circumstances.

Your actions worked out for you in this situation THIS TIME. It may go differently next time. Listen to the advice of other here. Don’t argue with idiots. If you think some idiots are following you, call the police. Trying to outrun them puts you in more danger as well as other innocent drivers. Come up with a better plan for the next time this happens.

[Janq]

I would not yell back at people yelling at me at any time muchless odd hour of the morning/night (drunk and high goblins are up to no good at that time);
I would not try to 'lose' them;
I would upon being followed change course and obey all traffic safety laws driving myself straight to the local police station, and dial 911 on my cell if I have it to let them know we are coming.

- Janq

[Logan5]

Hitting a moving vehicle with anything is a violation in most cities.

I added some to this-
To dispatch: I almost lost control of my vehicle – I almost hit a kid from the impact of the snow & ice the people at (address) hit me with. A few minutes after I regained control of my vehicle they where driving behind me recklessly.

When I was a teenager I tossed a few snowballs at cars with some friends until one of them called the cops, the cops came and that was the last time we did that.

[Cthulhu]

If possible (distance and time), casually drive to the nearest police station or sub-station. Pretty good bet the low-life element would continue on their merry way.

Unless they were too stupid to realize where you led them. Which could then be fun.

-JT

[Sharp]

They must still be drunk from the night before or had their morning dose of meth. Sitting in a chair saying what we would do is much different than what each of us would do in the given situation. I'm generally not a morning person, but I avoid people like you encountered like the plague.

[Pro2A]

I understand that I can't shoot people for being an annoyance. I'm not that dense Thats not what I'm getting at any way... I asked what people would have done if you were at the red light and these people pulled up behind you and got out of their car to start something with you.

[C Paul Lincoln]

As others have pointed out, fueling the fire by yelling back was an error. If the situation had escalated to the use of force, it would have probably not turned out well for you in court. There is a huge responsibility when carrying, and part of that responsibility is to avoid possible confrontations whenever possible.

Since your job requires you to be out in the early morning hours, I would suggest finding out if you can get the number for the "back line" to your dispatch center. The jurisdictions where I live know me by name because I give them heads-up reports on the non-emergency lines -- impaired drivers, disabled vehicles, etc.

If I had been in your situation, I would have not responded, and then would have reported the verbal harassment. Not to prompt police contact, but so that it was documented in the system. That way if there is trouble in the future, you can demonstrate their pattern of harassment.

Remember that when you pull up to a stop behind another vehicle, you should always be able to see their rear tires over your hood. This generally gives you enough space to turn and escape a bad situation.

[rocky]

Why chase you in the traffic...they expect you to be back the next day...

1) I would of ignored them...even after the snow ball. They achieved their goal of bringing you into their beef and down to their level.

2) Following you...would of called 911 and headed to a safe spot...witnesses are important

3) As soon as they got out of their car...would of driven away. They wanted you to confront them

4) Make a police report and work report

Now...what you going to do about tomorrow??

Rick

Exactly. By shouting back, you just escalated the situation more.