Walking Through an Ambush

[Kirk Freeman]

I know Bob. A loving family man who dresses and grooms as if he just left the Chamber of Commerce board of directors meeting, and yet squared away and dangerous when he needs to be. However, over the weekend Bob related this incident which I found shocking: the man simply walked through an ambush, and then kept walking refusing to participate in the robbery.

What does INGO think?

Skill Set: Problem Solving : The Tactical Wire

 

[BADWOLF]

Ya he got a good result 1 time. In one situation. That he didn't know all the factors in.. I say lady luck was on his side that night & that one night only. But in that story the teenager "had a gun" it didn't say pointed the gun or threatened him with the gun.

Now if the teenager told me to stop or he was going to shoot, I would take that to be a credible threat against my life and would have given him a toe tag & body bag combo, since I don't train to wound "2C,1H".

 

[T.Lex]

I've considered something similar: ne govoryu po-Angliskii.

Feign ignorance of what is being requested and continue with what I was doing.

Now, it wouldn't work in every situation, but a confusing response can get inside the other guy's OODA loop, too.

 

[Dog1]

I dunno...maybe "Bob" should have removed some street goblins from the gene pool, because the next guy or gal might not be so lucky.

 

[cosermann]

Makes me wonder if Bob's subconscious identified the "pistol" as a fake. He may not even be able to articulate it.

Kirk, if you know the guy and ever have a chance to speak with him on the matter, it would be interesting to hear his reflections/own post-incident analysis.

 

[2A_Tom]

Well, It worked. That time.

When I was younger and stupider, I bluffed my way out of sticky situations.

My only problem is I have never been able to turn my back on a possible violent encounter.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Makes me wonder if Bob's subconscious identified the "pistol" as a fake. He may not even be able to articulate it.

Kirk, if you know the guy and ever have a chance to speak with him on the matter, it would be interesting to hear his reflections/own post-incident analysis.

Maybe, subconsciously. But, he told me pistol.

He told me he should have least taken speed off the fast ball by crossing the street. I was shocked when he told me he saw the gee glide ride from 3 blocks away and saw it dart down the alley--SA score 100%

However, EVEN THOUGH he saw the threat, he implemented less than optimal counterambush strategies. I was stunned as he was telling me this. Distance is our friend. As he was relating this in my head I am yelling cross the street, cross the street, walk around the block, walk around and find a place to hide. It was hammered into us, stay out of breath smelling range.

So much for being all ninja if you plunge right into a rugby scrum of mopes. They don't have to be good, they have to be lucky.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

I dunno...maybe "Bob" should have removed some street goblins from the gene pool, because the next guy or gal might not be so lucky.

Bob is man of resources, but those resources should be spent on his family, not lawyers.

 

[MohawkSlim]

I've considered something similar: ne govoryu po-Angliskii.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRIsC764Nn4

 

[Dog1]

Bob is man of resources, but those resources should be spent on his family, not lawyers.

That don't mean squat if you are turning your back on a thug with a gun.

He got lucky this time, if that really happened.

Next time, maybe not.

 

[AndersonIN]

Better reaction?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KvO-8IvoCI

 

[Thor]

Not crossing the street, allowing them behind him...all could be final mistakes. I'm glad he lived to talk about it but repeating those actions in the future could be his last. If he's lucky he just ends up in the hospital.

 

[rooster]

I think the better take away from this is that deadly force ( or threat of) is a last resort. I have been unfortunate enough to encounter several situations in which drawing a firearm would have been justified, however I never have.

It is an ABSOLUTE last option, just because you decide to carry that option does not mean it is always the right one.

 

[DRob]

Certainly Bob was lucky. Everybody, good guy or bad, who walks away from any sort of armed confrontation is lucky. He did what he thought he should do and the best reasoning for most actions is "it seemed like the thing to do at the time". As I read the story, I knew there would be lots of criticism here from guys who not only think they are prepared for such an incident but actually hope they encounter thugs like those in the story. Yeah, I know. You can throw a football better than Andrew Luck and handle the team better than Chuck Pagano, too, but you aren't there. You're a Monday morning QB and I hope you never get in the game.

 

[cosermann]

... However, EVEN THOUGH he saw the threat, he implemented less than optimal counterambush strategies.. .

Did he articulate why?

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Did he articulate why?

No, but I suspect scope lock. What is the term in horses where you never let a horse run back to the barn? Barn Fever? Barn Sour? Is that right?

I imagine it was like that, 20 yards from the complex's gate.

 

[Spear Dane]

I've read of potential victims fending off violence by out crazying the crazies. Saw a video once of a white guy goading black males into a fight on the street only to pull his pants down like he was gonna fight nekkid. In every instance where he was able to do that they immediately turned around, some even ran. Once or twice he annoyed the wrong person and got his ass cold cocked before he could do his spiel. Just goes to show, just as in the OP's post, bad guys expect victim behavior. If you instead give them the totally unexpected, it throws them off pace and can create opportunities.

 

[Thor]

AF terminology...he had his head in the cockpit. You've got to get your head out of the cockpit and look around or someone will sneak up and kill you. The hardest parts of air combat have little to do with flying the plane.

Or, target fixation. You keep engaging the target until you can no longer remain in the magic element of air...you find the lower edge of the performance envelope where planes no longer fly.

 

[T.Lex]

AF terminology...he had his head in the cockpit. You've got to get your head out of the cockpit and look around or someone will sneak up and kill you. The hardest parts of air combat have little to do with flying the plane.

Or, target fixation. You keep engaging the target until you can no longer remain in the magic element of air...you find the lower edge of the performance envelope where planes no longer fly.

I (respectfully) disagree with both of these.

He was "outside the cockpit" enough to have the SA to recognize that he guys turned into the alley where he would be walking. Sounds like he even understood, at some level, the potential threat.

He was not engaging any target, he was trying to get to the entry way. He was fixated, but on his destination.

I'm not sure if there was a name for it, but it more reminds me of stories of bombers returning home to bases under attack. They'd try to land just to get on the ground.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

I'm not sure if there was a name for it, but it more reminds me of stories of bombers returning home to bases under attack. They'd try to land just to get on the ground.

Thus why I believe Barn Sour is the correct analogy.