[The_Blur]

This thread is not a soapbox. Stop talking politics. Get back to the original post. Within a minute, this thread will be edited.

[11BEE]

I am not a police officer, nor am I a lawyer. I will give my 2 cents. Austin is a party town and for Texas has a very liberal stance. Over the years they have had a series of budget problems and in the evening their police force is pulled quite thin, so give the police a break.

I would expect that you are not going to be charged with anything. If they were going to charge you for a felony, trust me you would have been booked. They were most likely trying to teach you a lesson for impersonating a police officer. This is a major no no. There are always people claiming to be police in order to commit crime. Think about what they know 1) a person is claiming alcohol related accident on the phone 2) a person is claiming gang activity in the area 3) a person is impersonating an officer 4) a person is agitated on the 911 call. They have no idea who the parties are, who is drunk or who has a gun. At this point however you are the one agitated and claiming to be the police, so you are GOING to be the prime focus. They have to make sure you are not one of the nuts who actually has a gun. I am very surprised you were not handcuffed.

In Texas you have the Motorist Protection Act which allows you to have a gun in the car for protection if you are over 18. Also at 21 you can apply for a concealed handgun license and be allowed to carry a gun as someone suggested earlier. However with both of these if you had been drinking and discharge a weapon, be prepared to go to jail. The law here is very clear on no drinking and shooting. I would suggest you look up MPA and CHL and make your decision on self protection, but also know the limitations on drinking and 51% establishments.

The police cannot be everywhere and cannot protect everyone. I have many friends who are police and have extreme respect for all those who wear a badge, but your first line of protection is yourself.

Finally, was a front fender really worth your life? I hope not. Make a wise judgement call, and remember that your insurance can handle this after the fact and make them pay so long as you have their plate number. You can get a report later and remain safe. You can also call 911 and report that you were hit by an erratic and most likely drunk driver and give them the plate and where the car is currently driving. That will get a fast response.

[11BEE]

Originally Posted by Bistem

But a Kimber 45ACP usually prevents the war in the first place. True, you could not have the weapon while in the club but as soon as your butt goes back into the seat of your car you can. I carry all of my non-working hours and I hate to think what I would have done in your situation. I am sure that I would have at least unholstered and not been concealed anymore. My next move would have been determined by whether the thugs advanced or retreated.

One thing to remember here, the Best Gun Fight is the Gun Fight Avoided. When facing a group of thugs and you have one gun, you have a lot of input flowing into your brain. How of them are armed? Do I really know all the bad guys or are one of these a good guy? Is this really a deadly situation? Can I shoot each one before any one gets to me? What is behind me?

You need to practice shooting under stress when adrenaline is messing with your muscles. If you have not done this, you loose most of your ability to think clearly. It is very easy to say "I have my friend XXXXX with me, I will just shoot my way out." It is a totally different thing to do. Once the gun is unholstered you have escalated the situation and there is usually no undoing this. The last thing you should ever do is escalate violence. The best gun fight is the one that you never get into.

BTW.... I practice quite a bit on pistol handling and the first time you are up against multiple moving targets your brain blanks and you will have the aim of James Charles. For those of you that carry, go try IDPA shooting. You will see what I mean.

[toesuf94]

By the way: Next time push the ON STAR button, roll the windows DOWN and stay on the line. They will stay with you until help arrives and can make calls for you to the police.

A gun only works if you are willing to use it and are strong enough to ensure it does not get used on you. You sure you want that responsibility?

[badpig]

I'm a police officer. In most staaes its a misdemeanor to impersonate a police officer. Just by saying you were off duty you were impersonating a police officer. They don't have to do a "custodial" arrest. I'm sure they took your information and wrote a report. We forward the report to the prosecutor, he determines if charges will be filed. They could have made a custodial arrest but it sounds like they were a little lazy (count your blessings) to do the report, pc affidavit & information for paperwork. You might want to see the prosecutor, they won't tell you over the phone. They don't want you running. They still had a job to do with the leaving the scene of an accident so I would check with the department to see if they have that report for your insurance.

[Bistem]

Originally Posted by 11BEE

In Texas you have the Motorist Protection Act which allows you to have a gun in the car for protection if you are over 18. Also at 21 you can apply for a concealed handgun license and be allowed to carry a gun as someone suggested earlier. However with both of these if you had been drinking and discharge a weapon, be prepared to go to jail. The law here is very clear on no drinking and shooting. I would suggest you look up MPA and CHL and make your decision on self protection, but also know the limitations on drinking and 51% establishments.

You make a very valid point here and the law in NC is the same reguarding drinking, Once you have a CWL your allowable amount of blood alcohol content while carrying is 0%. I am not arguing this point in any way. I wasnt considering that it may be mis-understood in any way when I said "if I had been in your situation". The truth of the matter is that I never drink except for at home, so I wouldnt be in the nightclub situation. I was mostly referring to "if I was surrounded by agitated thugs". I also agree with your post immediately following this one about practice and motor skills going to pot. I do belong to the local range which is about 3 miles from my house and I practice often. Do I have some lofty opinion of my abilities in a stressful situation, not at all, but I do think I would fare better than most people because as you know, Most people who conceal carry rarely practice.

[mastertypodemon]

Originally Posted by y2k king

i don't even think you need an excuse to shoot someone in texas.

No, just need to shout "He's coming right for us!" before you do it though.

[11BEE]

Originally Posted by mastertypodemon

No, just need to shout "He's coming right for us!" before you do it though.

This is not quite right. Although Texas is pretty open to self defense, I cannot just claim someone is threatening me and open fire. I apologize if this is inappropriate for this forum. I am not being political. I am trying to make sure the correct information is out there. The right to carry and the use of a gun is not something to take lightly.

Below is the law as it stands in Texas. A couple of key points, you can have NO alcohol in your system unless you are in your own residence. This is in another section of the law, but it goes to the right to have the weapon. You cannot have provoked the situation. A hit and run on your car is not a defense here and if you followed them and stopped them you have provoked the situation. In the post above you would not have provoked the gang of thugs, but you would have provoked the driver of the car that hit you (chasing after them and stopping them from driving away) and he would be within his rights to use deadly force if you were threatening him with force. In Texas, you do have a duty to attempt retreat before you can be justified using deadly force.

It is also important to know that these laws do not keep you from getting arrested. They are a defense to prosecution. You will still get to spend the night in jail, hire a lawyer and spend months fighting in court.

Texas Law:

Sec. 9.32. DEADLY FORCE IN DEFENSE OF PERSON. (a) A person is justified in using deadly force against another:

(1) if the actor would be justified in using force against the other under Section 9.31; and

(2) when and to the degree the actor reasonably believes the deadly force is immediately necessary:

(A) to protect the actor against the other's use or attempted use of unlawful deadly force; or

(B) to prevent the other's imminent commission of aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated robbery.

(b) The actor's belief under Subsection (a)(2) that the deadly force was immediately necessary as described by that subdivision is presumed to be reasonable if the actor:

(1) knew or had reason to believe that the person against whom the deadly force was used:

(A) unlawfully and with force entered, or was attempting to enter unlawfully and with force, the actor's occupied habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment;

(B) unlawfully and with force removed, or was attempting to remove unlawfully and with force, the actor from the actor's habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment; or

(C) was committing or attempting to commit an offense described by Subsection (a)(2)(B);

(2) did not provoke the person against whom the force was used; and

(3) was not otherwise engaged in criminal activity, other than a Class C misdemeanor that is a violation of a law or ordinance regulating traffic at the time the force was used.

(c) A person who has a right to be present at the location where the deadly force is used, who has not provoked the person against whom the deadly force is used, and who is not engaged in criminal activity at the time the deadly force is used is not required to retreat before using deadly force as described by this section.

(d) For purposes of Subsection (a)(2), in determining whether an actor described by Subsection (c) reasonably believed that the use of deadly force was necessary, a finder of fact may not consider whether the actor failed to retreat.

[midlife]

LET IT GO YOU ARE LUCK…..

Let get this correct…you were getting your keys, so you were leaving the club. How was your night? Any drinks on your end?

Next you told some one that you were a cop? And could not back it up…. Your very lucky. In addition if these guys were real heavy hitters you would have had more that a bumper to worry about.

The cops….. if both parties, maybe had the hint of alcohol, maybe they did everyone a favor.

Lastly if they responded quickly because they though a cop was in trouble and someone got hurt….. your done.

22 great age…… Find a nice girl on the internet and go to the movies.

All in all you had a very good learning experience.

Media…..never!

[TRC-SS]

Did you even look at the date of this thread before you posted a reply

Last post was October of 2010.....Im sure this has all been resolved since the incident occured well over a year ago

Good work

Originally Posted by midlife

LET IT GO YOU ARE LUCK…..

Let get this correct…you were getting your keys, so you were leaving the club. How was your night? Any drinks on your end?

Next you told some one that you were a cop? And could not back it up…. Your very lucky. In addition if these guys were real heavy hitters you would have had more that a bumper to worry about.

The cops….. if both parties, maybe had the hint of alcohol, maybe they did everyone a favor.

Lastly if they responded quickly because they though a cop was in trouble and someone got hurt….. your done.

22 great age…… Find a nice girl on the internet and go to the movies.

All in all you had a very good learning experience.

Media…..never!

[JoshBobGuptaMarley]

Lmao!

[nasty2ss]

Opps!!

[ColdCamaroSS]

[Harley1]

Your an off duty cop...wtf..