Parking lot smash and grab, WWYD?

[Sir William]

OK. You arrive at work, the mall, medical office or your own driveway. You shut your motor off and proceed to exit your vehicle. You hear a loud noise and hear a glass car window shatter. They are distinctive when they shatter. You look to your right and observe a BG wearing a hooded sweat with blue denim jeans and white tennis shoes butt up leaning into a SUV. He then jumps down from the SUV with a ladies purse in his hands. He starts running away toward a partially hidden trash dumpster area or other remote location. What Would You Do?

[last_stand]

call the police and stay a safe distance away...

I know a lot of you gentlemen (and ladies) are cops but I am not. I leave that to the pros unless the bg is breaking into my car.

[Twycross]

Huh. This is a tough one. I will assume that I would be packing?

Option A: Chase after him.
- I may or may not catch him, and if I do, what then?
- If the cops are near, and/or see it just after the act, I may now be on the target list as well, leading to a sticky situation
- He may not be alone

Option B: Call the police and sit back to watch where he goes.
- This is the safest option, but something in me just doesn't like the idea of sitting there watching

Option C: Draw and command him to stop.
- What if he doesn't? Now I am just standing there with a gun looking stupid
- What if he does, but pulls his own gun? I am now in a firefight over a purse

Option D: Get back in my vehicle and attempt to run him over in the hopes of getting him to drop the purse.
- This probably won't be feasible in a typical parking lot

That's all I can think of right now.

[#18indycolts]

call the police, follow him in my car trying not to be noticed.

[garryc]

observe, not persue, and report. He's running away so he's not an immediate threat.

[NDTerminator]

Do not attempt to stop & detain the dirtbag unless you're a LEO, and you are armed. Call 911. You are a witness, so do your absolute best to observe and as remember as much detail as possible...

[Tim Burke]

Dash into a phone booth, no wait, wrong fantasy.
Be inconspicuous, watch him, & call 911.

[bdc]

To Sir William:

Part of learning experience is being missed. When a question is posed, propose an answer. If someone else posits an answer, then you can learn more. You ask yourself 1. did I think of that; 2. if I thought of that and didn't choose the option, why? 3. and finally, if the solution never suggested itself to you, then you grow because you are taken outside the box.

In all these hypotheticals, they call for thinking responses and you would have to ask yourself internally for the answer before acting, so propose your own answer.

[Fremmer]

Option D: Get back in my vehicle and attempt to run him over in the hopes of getting him to drop the purse.


LOL! Man, I like the way that Twycross thinks 'outside the box.' :D :D :p

I suppose I'd yell "drop that purse!", watch where he ran, and call the police.

[308Enfield]

Well, if I have groceries I'd want to athletically throw a can of vegetables at the fleeing perp, knocking him to the ground and making him drop the purse. That looked so good in one of the Crocodile Dundee movies I've always wanted to try it....

*end movie fantasy here*

Realistically, I'd call 911 and try to provide as many details as possible about the perp (physical description, wardrobe, direction of travel, etc.) Whether I'm carrying or not I'm an IT guy, not a cop ;)

[kymasabe]

I'd call 911 with a good description, maybe try to follow without being seen to help law enforcement find perp. Other then that, there's not much that can be done. You're certainly not justified in pulling your weapon.

[pickpocket]

It's just a purse, man. Call the cops, observe but don't interfere. Nobody's saying we couldn't take the guy down, but really....it's JUST a purse :)

You could always light him up with your laser-pen...see what he thinks about that! :D

[Ares45]

1st priority is to secure your location or move to a secure location. Besides that the only thing you can do is dial 911 and report the incident. If you pursue the BG then you are escalating the situation and a justifiable shoot is out of the question, even if you're attacked (well almost, but it gets real technical here). I'm not a LEO. I don't chase down crooks. I carry to defend me and mine. Other than that its a LEO problem.

If there was an innocent person involved my response might be different. But just a property theft..no way I'd try to engage or detain the BG. Why risk it over a purse full of little kids snot rags and grocery coupons???

[Charles S]

call the police and stay a safe distance away...

I know a lot of you gentlemen (and ladies) are cops but I am not. I leave that to the pros unless the bg is breaking into my car.

In Texas the person in question is not committing a felony, you do not have the right to intervene.

Life and limb is not in danger. I certainly would not put my life on the line to protect another’s possessions.

Leave it to the professionals.

Charles

[Weeg]

I'd call Chuck Norris


.

[hIPSHOT33]

Call the Police . When they arrive give them the best description I can ,and the direction of travle.

[pickpocket]

weeg:
I'd call Chuck Norris

Sweet - :D

[Blackwater OPS]

Call local law enforcement, try to be a good witness.

Check this though.
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=195908

[Wildalaska]

Id get a description and call the cops, my waltermitty quotient is low today

WildantiheroAlaska

[OneInTheChamber]

In California, you are best to dial 911 and observe.

What if the guy has a knife? And you draw on him? Say he's 20 feet away. Although he can reach you in a second, if you shoot him now you are going to be in deep doo doo and looking at getting your CHL taken away. If he survives; you two might be cell partners :p

Chase

[Sir William]

My response. "Nice purse! Do you have heels to match it!?!" It snowed heavily yesterday. It warmed up today. I plan to walk a field and see if I can find the teenagers' purse. She is out of luck on insurance. She lost her ID and $80.00 cash. Smash and grab is popular of late.

[urbanassault]

Grab anything else of value in the car then call the police.