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Q: I live in New York, and
it's generally too crowded on the streets to be accosted by someone without many
others noticing. (Whether they'll help out if they do is another question.) But
let's say I'm walking down a relatively deserted street late at night and I'm
approached by one man who flashes a knife. --should I make noise or be quiet?
--give him what he wants or resist? --how would you assess the situation based
on how big he is, whether he appears to be intoxicated, whether he has a gun?
A: First of all – what are you doing
walking down a deserted street late at night? That’s when the vampires come
out and "go to work" looking for people like you. Anytime someone
brings a weapon to the party, the potential for deadly force is introduced. As I
see it you have these possible responses:
- Stop like a deer in the headlights and give him what he wants. Await your
possible murder since your credit cards are worth more to the criminals if
they aren’t reported stolen within the first 24 hours. If he lets you
live, feel crummy that you enabled a predator to continue his career of
preying on more innocent citizens.
- Immediately turn and RUN – I mean sprint – away from the scene as soon
as you have an inkling of trouble. Studies from LAPD show that even trained
officers will lose a runner who can keep going for 200 yards or more. Get to
a safe place and call 911. One caveat here, most likely your
"flasher" will have an accomplice who is probably walking behind
you and closing in on you. Your escape path should be at a right angle away
from your attacker to avoid running into the second, unseen partner.
- Quickly step off the sidewalk behind the cover of an automobile while
drawing your licensed Glock Model 26. Challenge the attacker verbally with a
loud, "STOP, DON’T MOVE!" If he stops, retreat from the
situation and call 911. If he attacks you, keep focused on your front sight
and fire two shots into the center mass of the target. Retreat and call 911.
- Get cable and stay home at night.
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