Crazy thing happened today, what would you do?

[cydnote]

Very similar to what happened to me a few weeks ago. I was running some errands on a Saturday morning when my wife called asking me to pick up a couple items at Walmart and I agreed to do it. I hate going to Walmart, especially on a Saturday morning. Of course I had to park a fair distance from the entrance and as I walked towards it, I heard a lady a couple rows away screaming as two guys tried to wrestle her purse away. Same question: should I ignore it or go try to help? I decided to go help and I'm glad I did cause it took all three of us to get that purse away from her!

 

[JM4CY]

Curveball theory: Might not matter to him if he get's taken out. There's a missing piece related to how much this guy might hate/can't stand is wife.

 

[jcyclonee]

So. I had a very crazy morning. I work at a company that has a gated entry but we also rent space from the building directly across the street from us. I manage the rented space.

I pulled into the parking lot at the rented, non-gated, site at around 11:20AM. My wife called me as I was pulling in. I was talking to her as I sat in my truck in the parking lot. I heard a car alarm go off. Didn’t think much of it. And a few seconds later I see someone trying to break into the car parked directly in front of me.

This is where my decision making and my actions following are being questioned.

Here is what I did. I said to my wife, mid-sentence, thar I have to go. Someone is breaking into a car right by me. I threw the phone down (still connected) and ran after the guy. I was so close to getting him but a car was waiting and he hopped in and they peeled off. I never saw the licenses plate and only got a description of the car and the guy but not the get away driver.

Long story short, 6 cars had windows busted and I stoped him mid act on the 7th. Cops came and I gave my statement, talked to security for the business, and was eventually told “the investigators will call you if they need to”. I’m sure I’ll never hear anything.

But, I am now in the doghouse with the wife. She thinks it was extremely reckless and I could have been killed. I see her point but I also know I would do the same thing again. I’m not mad that I chased the guy, I’m mad that I didn’t catch him. I guess my thought is that if no one actually stands up to people like this than nothing will ever change.

Pick your battles. This one's probably not worth fighting since you probably won't be in that same situation again.

"I'm sorry honey. I guess my protective instincts kicked in. Next time, I'll try to do something else. I'll talk to management about better security for that building too."

I had a sort of similar situation a few years ago. A homeless guy was harassing a lady at the bus stop. I stepped in between them and asked him to leave her alone. He made a threatening gesture towards me with one of those plastic pick combs (that was odd). I stood there for a few seconds until he moved away. When I told my wife about the incident, she was not happy. Her thinking wasn't wrong but my action wasn't wrong either.

Honestly, you did better than me in that situation. There were a lot of people around where my incident took place. If in your shoes, I'd have probably peed on myself and gotten in trouble for messing up the car.

 

[DGC]

Maybe would have been better to call the police and flip the camera on. My guess is the first thing the investigators will do is check what cameras are in the area. Maybe they will find something on a neighbors security camera and then ask you if thats what you saw.

 

[Beernuts]

When I was in my mid 30's my family and I went swimming at the local pool. Came back to our house and a strange man was sitting on our couch. I immediately got my wife and kids out of the house and sent them in the car to a friends place. I questioned the guy on why he was in my house, but could tell he was out of it. Found out he lived in a neighboring town so I drove him home. Later I did some investigating and found his car stuck in a neighbors corn field. The next day the car was gone.

 

[BCClone]

Pick your battles. This one's probably not worth fighting since you probably won't be in that same situation again.

"I'm sorry honey. I guess my protective instincts kicked in. Next time, I'll try to do something else. I'll talk to management about better security for that building too."

I had a sort of similar situation a few years ago. A homeless guy was harassing a lady at the bus stop. I stepped in between them and asked him to leave her alone. He made a threatening gesture towards me with one of those plastic pick combs (that was odd). I stood there for a few seconds until he moved away. When I told my wife about the incident, she was not happy. Her thinking wasn't wrong but my action wasn't wrong either.

Honestly, you did better than me in that situation. There were a lot of people around where my incident took place. If in your shoes, I'd have probably peed on myself and gotten in trouble for messing up the car.

Where the average male vs female perspective and instincts can greatly differ. Married men with children have tendency to have a protective nature. Why we will step into those situations when others think it may not be the best decision.

 

[thisISnextyear]

I would have actually used my car. By that I mean drove our to him, chased him to the get away car and followed him to where ever they were going. If they happen to start shooting at me then I would have rammed them off the road.

I actually did that with a hit an run I saw one time. I followed the person all the way to where they were going so I could tell the cops where they were.

Many years ago, I drove by a car that clipped a parked car pretty good that was parked in the street. I stopped to make sure they were ok and the driver told me that he was fine and just wasn't paying attention and had already called the police.
Didn't feel right as I drove away so I turned at the next block to go back but as soon as I was out of sight, he drove off. I called 911 and "tailed" him with a play by play of every turn for about 10 minutes until the cops showed up and took over.
It was pretty exciting until I got home and told my wife that I was in hot pursuit with our 4/5 year old sleeping in their car seat...

 

[Dopey]

Admirable i guess. But not worth it to save someone’s high school CDs. A cell phone video would have been more helpful in this case anyway.

What would you have done if you caught him? People drastically over estimate their combative skills. What did he have in his pocket?

If someone was actively getting assaulted, that’s a totally different scenario. Then get after it.

 

[bozclone]

So. I had a very crazy morning. I work at a company that has a gated entry but we also rent space from the building directly across the street from us. I manage the rented space.

I pulled into the parking lot at the rented, non-gated, site at around 11:20AM. My wife called me as I was pulling in. I was talking to her as I sat in my truck in the parking lot. I heard a car alarm go off. Didn’t think much of it. And a few seconds later I see someone trying to break into the car parked directly in front of me.

This is where my decision making and my actions following are being questioned.

Here is what I did. I said to my wife, mid-sentence, thar I have to go. Someone is breaking into a car right by me. I threw the phone down (still connected) and ran after the guy. I was so close to getting him but a car was waiting and he hopped in and they peeled off. I never saw the licenses plate and only got a description of the car and the guy but not the get away driver.

Long story short, 6 cars had windows busted and I stoped him mid act on the 7th. Cops came and I gave my statement, talked to security for the business, and was eventually told “the investigators will call you if they need to”. I’m sure I’ll never hear anything.

But, I am now in the doghouse with the wife. She thinks it was extremely reckless and I could have been killed. I see her point but I also know I would do the same thing again. I’m not mad that I chased the guy, I’m mad that I didn’t catch him. I guess my thought is that if no one actually stands up to people like this than nothing will ever change.

Not sure what I would do in that situation, but good for you. It is hard to say what anyone would do until you are actually confronted by the situation. I do know that I am old, so there would not be much of a chance that I caught him if I did run after him.

 

[Cyclonepride]

Anymore, unless it's your property or family that is in harm's way, photos and video would be my recommendation (not that the cops are going to be burning the midnight oil looking for them). Beyond your health and well being, there are also legal risks to intervening when there's not a direct threat to you.

 

[jcyclonee]

Where the average male vs female perspective and instincts can greatly differ. Married men with children have tendency to have a protective nature. Why we will step into those situations when others think it may not be the best decision.

To be honest, if my wife was in OP's place, she probably would have yelled at the guy and got him to sweep up the broken glass mess that he made.

 

[ClonerJams]

I just would have layed on my horn to scare him off. Even if you caught him, in this litigious society you never know if the scumbag would try to sue.

 

[NorthCyd]

Anymore, unless it's your property or family that is in harm's way, photos and video would be my recommendation (not that the cops are going to be burning the midnight oil looking for them). Beyond your health and well being, there are also legal risks to intervening when there's not a direct threat to you.

This. If you want the guy to get caught call the police and take some pictures. I get jumping in if there is someone else involved and it might be a dangerous situation for them, but even then its probably not the best idea unless you really know what you are doing.

@BoomerClone what were you going to do if you caught the guy, beat him up? Assuming you are capable of that, then what? Expect him to stay put while you called the police? What if he was armed? He had friends you didn't know about. What if they were armed? Your wife is right. You're probably lucky it turned out the way it did and no one got hurt or killed.

 

[alarson]

Best decision would have been to yell at him\call cops\ lay on the horn to scare him off. Most thieves aren't looking to get into violence. They just want a quick, easy score. Once they know they've been detected, they want to get out of there as quick as possible.

You chase the guy, the guy would be decently likely to have a friend around (as this guy did). If you'd caught the guy, then what? Maybe you can take him, but his friend comes out and now you're outnumbered. And now its a violent situation instead of just a property situation, and instead of trying to run, maybe something terrible happens to you because the friend feels like he's defending his friend now.

And for those saying you'd run him down with your vehicle- murder is not a legal action in response to property theft in most places. Especially when it isn't even your own property being defended. Physical force can be used in a self defense situation, but once it was determined this guy was trying to leave, in most places you'd be in some trouble.

 

[wxman1]

As others have said never chase them down. Immediately call the cops and follow from a safe distance providing as much description as possible. If you have someone else with you have them film. I I don't know if I would even honk or let them know I am there if they haven't noticed. They are there, why entice them to run?

 

[CycloneVet]

So. I had a very crazy morning. I work at a company that has a gated entry but we also rent space from the building directly across the street from us. I manage the rented space.

I pulled into the parking lot at the rented, non-gated, site at around 11:20AM. My wife called me as I was pulling in. I was talking to her as I sat in my truck in the parking lot. I heard a car alarm go off. Didn’t think much of it. And a few seconds later I see someone trying to break into the car parked directly in front of me.

This is where my decision making and my actions following are being questioned.

Here is what I did. I said to my wife, mid-sentence, thar I have to go. Someone is breaking into a car right by me. I threw the phone down (still connected) and ran after the guy. I was so close to getting him but a car was waiting and he hopped in and they peeled off. I never saw the licenses plate and only got a description of the car and the guy but not the get away driver.

Long story short, 6 cars had windows busted and I stoped him mid act on the 7th. Cops came and I gave my statement, talked to security for the business, and was eventually told “the investigators will call you if they need to”. I’m sure I’ll never hear anything.

But, I am now in the doghouse with the wife. She thinks it was extremely reckless and I could have been killed. I see her point but I also know I would do the same thing again. I’m not mad that I chased the guy, I’m mad that I didn’t catch him. I guess my thought is that if no one actually stands up to people like this than nothing will ever change.

I have to agree with your wife. That isn’t worth your life. Also getting a description of the perp was paramount. There are cameras everywhere anymore and pretty sure they could have been caught that way with a description.

Another alternative is you could have shot him. Just kidding

 

[Jer]

If somebody was in physical risk to be harmed, I'd jump in so long as it looked to make sense. If it's just property, I'd be more inclined to video record it on my phone and then call the cops.

 

[Al_4_State]

Guessing he didnt know you were there. If he was going to shoot he would have done it when your door opened or he saw the first signs of you. You were a sitting duck inside the vehicle so getting out and making noise was going to scare them off.

Smash and grabbers are not the likeliest to be armed. They seem to like to hit and run at first issue. What did you wife expect you to do? If you sat there quietly he would have kept smashing windows most likely. Until he came to yours

They're trying to make a quick buck and avoid detection.

If it's a string of robberies on unoccupied cars, the cops aren't going to work that hard to solve it. If it becomes a murder? You can bet your ass they're going to try and solve it, and there's a very high percentage that they do.

 

[Jer]

Best decision would have been to yell at him\call cops\ lay on the horn to scare him off. Most thieves aren't looking to get into violence. They just want a quick, easy score. Once they know they've been detected, they want to get out of there as quick as possible.

You chase the guy, the guy would be decently likely to have a friend around (as this guy did). If you'd caught the guy, then what? Maybe you can take him, but his friend comes out and now you're outnumbered. And now its a violent situation instead of just a property situation, and instead of trying to run, maybe something terrible happens to you because the friend feels like he's defending his friend now.

And for those saying you'd run him down with your vehicle- murder is not a legal action in response to property theft in most places. Especially when it isn't even your own property being defended. Physical force can be used in a self defense situation, but once it was determined this guy was trying to leave, in most places you'd be in some trouble.

Running him down might not be that legal, but you do get 10 points if they have a ski mask and 20 if they have a weapon visible.

 

[CascadeClone]