When You Pull Your Gun and Nothing Happens

[Harb]

We all know you have to call 911 after shooting someone in self-defense.

FBI statistics show that in the large majority of cases, merely drawing your weapon is sufficient to deter a violent criminal threat. If shots aren't fired and no witnesses are present, do you need to call the cops?

I know there are an infinite amount of variables we could throw into the mix, but just for the sake of brevity, let's not.

[Rem700]

IMO in most situations i would call the police. If things were going south enough for me to pull my gun then someone has done something bad and most likely it is a crime that needs reporting. It gives you some credibility to make first contact. You also dont know if the other person may be doing the same. If they do and you dont then it makes you look guilty of something IMO. But i also believe that in most cases if i have a reason to pull my gun then chances are i have a reason to pull the trigger. Again so many variables that its hard to say one way or another.

[ChopperDoc]

need to? No.

I would still call to report it. For me to draw my weapon I would feel that my life was in danger and the fact that no one got shot would be because something happened in the milliseconds before I pulled the trigger to change my mind.

You are right, every situation is different and we could "what if it" until the cows come home. I would say that generally you should call to report it. You pointing your weapon without justification can be considered some form of assault. If someone got you on camera with a weapon in your hand do you really want someone else to be the first to report that to the police?

[guncrank1]

Call no

[Vividia]

Might be a good question to put to a defense attorney.

Makes sense to me to "get there first" with my story, rather than get served because the bad guy thought they could sue me for something, or to get charged for terroristic threatening because the BG got their story in first.

But, when it comes to the practice of law and the judicial system, often times what makes sense is not what should be done.

[Mike]

I pulled my gun and almost shot yesterday in someone's front yard.

I didn't call the police.

But I don't think the dog was going to call.

Anyways, if it's serious enough to pull your gun it might be serious enough to call. But not always. No straight answer to this.

[ssracer]

I read an article on this recently. The point they made was there are always witnesses...even if it's just you and "the bad guy". If you don't make a report and "the bad guy" decides to call the cops and claim you threatened him with a gun for no good reason it could go badly for you, at least for a short time. So their suggestion was to always report any time you pull your weapon just to CYA.

[Frailer]

What Sean said.

[justang1997]

I'm not calling the cops about anything unless someone is hurt or there is some serious damage to property.

If I used deadly force on someone but not with my gun and they will probably be ok I'm not calling either. Say I bust a dude in the face with a baton cause he was trying to mug me in a dark parking lot. I'm bugging out.

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[Dashammer]

The story told first is the one beleived. If I have to use or brandish something that could be considered use of deadly force then the POPO is going too hear my story up front. No need for a no-knock visit from a SRT team in the middle of the night once they figure out who I am either right or wrong.

[drifter0069]

I would definitely call. It could be considered wanton endangerment, a felony if you point it at anyone. I'd rather play it safe and report it first. A witness would take things out of context and perceive you as the bad guy when they report it.

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[justang1997]

Cops ain't gonna do shit to help you. It's not like old boy is gonna hang around for the cops and say he was mugging you. Cops will show up to a 911 call about a guy with a gun and that guy will be you. It won't matter that you are the one that called. They will probably have you lay face down, disarm you, and cuff you for their safety. I ain't saying shit and it my right not to and no one else should either.

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[RecoilSensitive]

Had a situation kinda close.

Was working in a store and had an enraged customer. tried to talk him down and he got more and more mad. I had lots of people in the stor so i got him on the side of the counter with the counter between me and him still but no people behind him. all behind him was the exit. we had already called police because this guy was going to have to be removed. he did the stupid and tried to come behind the counter at me. i also had 2 other female employees hiding behind me. i did not draw but made the first motion of offhand lifting my shirt for access to my weapon. guy quickly got back. was still carrying on about how i was going to shoot him and all that but with 200 witnesses and him being in a place he didnt need to be i had the upper hand. cops showed up finally and asked what happened. he was sent on his way with a no trespass order and we t back to business. It was a bad day and closer than i ever want to be again to having to use a weapon in defense. This was pretty soon after that hole deal in florida trevon martin thing and one cop was kinda pissed and said you cant defend yourself in this situation I said i certainly have the right to defend myself, my store, my employees from an attack behind the counter of my store. another cop said good job as i showed restrain and simply showed the weapon and that i would have the upper hand and used the threat of force instead of force.

A couple weeks after the incident the man called us and apologized for his behavior and for his actions. he thanked me for my restraint.

[Mike]

The story told first is the one beleived. If I have to use or brandish something that could be considered use of deadly force then the POPO is going too hear my story up front. No need for a no-knock visit from a SRT team in the middle of the night once they figure out who I am either right or wrong.

Incorrect. Sure, it may influence some, but it's not the one automatically believed.

There is always three sides to a story. Your side. Other person's side. And what really happened.

I absolutely HATE showing up to a run and having a person running up to my door so close as to I can't even open the door to get out because they want to tell me their side of the story first.

In some situations it's a good idea to call to simply document what happened through the CAD system. There won't be an official report made, but it will be documented quickly and easily. And if you act like you have some sense and are the caller and have your firearm put away when cops arrive, the odd of being proned out should be zero.

[RecoilSensitive]

Ya i was treated like a human took a statement, name and phone number. that was really it. asked what we wanted to do about the guy and did a no trespass