Glass bottle attempt: concealed weapon breakdown

1/4/2016

Watch this video for some pointers. First off, from the video description, these guys were on their porch when this woman trespassed and was verbally assaulting them, though they egged her on and provoked her.

Things they did well: the outcome, they showed good restraint in removing her and nobody got hurt or injured, including the attempted attacker. Once they identified the weapon, a large glass bottle, the guy accessed an available improvised weapon, a lawn chair, a nice equalizer to her close-range weapon, knocked her down and rendered her ineffective at using her weapon.

What could have gone terribly wrong?

Go back to 1:25 of the video. Watch how fast she accessed her concealed weapon and got it into her hand. Imagine if this had been a gun rather than a glass bottle. How quickly could the outcome have changed if she was accessing a gun with the intent of using it on them?

An important take-away is to understand how quickly a concealed weapon can be accessed from someone with zero training. On the street you do not know who you are dealing with, what they are carrying, or what they are willing to do.

It’s important to analyze variables: for example, given woman's behavior, her hand obscuring from view and digging into her bag should have been a huge red-flag for the man she was verbally assaulting, but he was distracted by her dialogue and didn’t see it, and she accessed the bottle fast.

Real Talk: I prefer to distance myself from the, “I would never let that happen or I would never let someone get that close,” statements and look at things more critically. Well, maybe you wouldn’t let this happen, but under what circumstances could this situation or something like it be presented to you?

What if you went to a cookout at a friend’s house, and you were one of the bystander friends?

Would you be of sound mind, calm and collected enough to intervene and handle the situation proactively without unnecessary escalation?

And if it did escalate, how could you adjust and respond limiting potential risk? Can you handle yourself, check your attitude, and prevent the preventable escalation of violence even when it appears justified?

Remember, put yourself in their shoes. In this scenario, the woman was definitely in the wrong, but allowing the escalation to occur and "teaching her a lesson” when she knows where they live could bring a repeat payback visit for another day.

Be smart, be safe, & keep the crazies off your porch.

Evan Dzierzynski
Owner/Lead Coach
NOVA Self Defense
www.novaselfdefense.com

4 Comments

Mike Mckay

1/14/2016 11:21:58 pm

I read an account which whilst not the same did result in the law enforcement officers saying that the person shouldnt have shot and that it was a clear sign of poor training or them ignoring any training that they might have had

It was where shoplifters ran to a car with a trolley full of tools closely followed by the store security personal when a passer by drew her gun and opened up on the car in a public area with other shoppers arround

Several of the comments below the article were from gun owners who said they would never consider firing in such a situation especially as she was niether close enough to have managed to hit them and I dont even think she managed to hit the car so thank god those bullets didnt hit a passer by

A police officer who posted said that even they (the police) wouldnt have fired in a situation like that where no life was in danger and where the criminals didnt even appear to be armed and were no immediate threat to anybody

So initially training would seem to be needed, but what happens when someone quite literally chooses to disregard what they have been taught?

Nowhere in the article did it mention any type of prosecution or action against the woman who could have killed several civillians with her actions

Unfortunately its the exceptions like that who shine a bad light on everyone else with their behaviour

Mike Mckay

1/14/2016 11:28:11 pm

One thought that did cross my mind after seeing the video is the problem that some people are like that almost constantly, argueing, swearing and even fighting in public

With a stranger it would be far easier to draw conclusions, but where its a person known to the other person and where they are routinely going at it like that I would imagine it would be harder if not impossible to predict it reaching a new level of aggressiveness if that hadnt happened before, maybe even impossible the first time

This led me to think that an alternative "might" be to view EVERY interaction with anyone, friends and family included in a "tactical" mindset which is something not uncommon with some ex military personnel who struggle to switch it off when back in civillian life especially if they were in some of the more specialised units

So could that being constantly on edge actually add problems rather than removing them if someone went in that direction?

Evan D link

1/15/2016 03:10:31 am

Hi Mike,

Good points. Yes, I believe people are generally more likely to engage in an argument with people they know rather than strangers. I think you can be more vulnerable and in some ways antagonistic when emotions fuel what you say, which can lead to physical retaliation when things get out of hand (you might consider that yelling or being that way with someone you know is "ok" because you think they won't take it physical, but that could build up like a pressure-cooker, eventually erupting in an attack!)
I wouldn't consider being cognizant of your words as being "on edge" though I would prefer that people realize when they are pushing too far, and know to back down & "let it go" You just can't be tactical 100% of the time, you have to be able to relax, and hopefully in the home, with family, that is when you can do that, otherwise you would definitely be on edge! It's just best to recognize, ok... I shouldn't say that, before it's said, rather than after.

Evan link

1/15/2016 03:12:47 am

As for the lady that shot at the shoplifter, definitely a poor decision as nobody's life was in danger (except for those in her line of fire, if applicable). I think her case that she had no training. Training should always require thinking and promote decision making, in that case, not drawing and firing should have been her action.

Glass bottle attempt: concealed weapon breakdown

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