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Strange Encounter

11K views 30 replies 15 participants last post by  Jarubla 
#1 ·
I work graves, and when I was walking out to my car last night to leave, I saw this guy sitting on the grass by the other apartment building. He's sitting indian style, going through a black trash bag. I'd say he was about 5'8", Caucasian, somewhat short brown hair, maybe 180#, late 20's, wearing jeans and a hoodie in a sage/earthtone plaid.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up as soon as I saw him, and my gut says "Hey, he doesn't belong here!" But, it's an apartment complex, so I can never be sure who is a resident or visiting or whatever. At this point, he hasn't seen me yet as he's very interested in his stuff, so I drop my bags in the back of my car, then light him up with my tac light while my right hand is pulling my shirt from over my holstered XD. I'm about 25' out and say "Hey, is everything all right?" At this point, he takes a look at me and bolts.

So, now I'm really weirded out. Where did he go, and what's the junk on the ground? But, I have to go to work, so I called my wife and told her to keep the shotgun handy and call the police to check things out.

The police, as far as either of us know, never showed up, and when I got back from work this morning, the bag is still there. Girls clothes, an empty purse, and a Gamecube disk of The Sims 2 Pets. I'm thinking it was a bag getting ready to go to Goodwill that never made it, but who can say? I took some pics, but other than that, left it alone after the landlord asked me to leave it.

So, did the simple fact I said something scare him off? Was it the tac light and rather obvious pose of my hand over the grip of my sidearm (I never did draw)? Did I do ok? Would you have done differently, like chased him down? I've still got the heebie jeebies from this one, so I guess I'm just tossing this up here because I need to think it through and use you guys as a sounding board.
 
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#3 ·
If you lit him up with your tac light he probably thought you were a cop, because who carries a tac light on them? So based on his reaction I'd guess he is homeless and was scrounging for some stuff to sell for money.
I certainly would not have given chase. No reason to. Plus when people in a poor mental state are riled up, it's best to just stay away.

And I carry a light on me at all times. Most people aren't us. :D
 
#4 ·
gskip33 said:
If you lit him up with your tac light he probably thought you were a cop, because who carries a tac light on them? So based on his reaction I'd guess he is homeless and was scrounging for some stuff to sell for money.
I certainly would not have given chase. No reason to. Plus when people in a poor mental state are riled up, it's best to just stay away.

And I carry a light on me at all times. Most people aren't us. :D
That was kind of my thought. He fled, thereby disengaging and posing no threat at that moment. The fact I didn't know to where he fled is why I called Teresa and told her to keep an eye out and call the UPD. And I always carry this little 500 lumen light. It's part of my EDC rig anyway, but I use it at work all the time, it's great as a makeshift fiber optic tester. I lit him up so I could see what he was doing better and provide a little safety margin for myself.

ETA: And it really is amazing how fast stuff like this happens. Reaction time and time to think things through is pretty much nil.
 
#5 ·
Poor guy. He's gonna have nightmares for a while.

Is it paranoid to think The Man is after you, when in fact, it is not The Man?
 
#9 ·
I recently lost my little Fenix light. This reminded me that I need to get another.
 
#10 ·
OP: I wasjust wondering what light you were carrying. I'm trying to find a small, but bright and powerful light to EDC with. I really like streamlights, I have a Stinger DS, was thinking maybe the Strion, or a Surefire P2X defender. If this is hijacking the thread, I apologize and I'll start a new one.

Sent from my VS840 4G using Tapatalk 4
 
#11 ·
Wrangler_dave9 said:
OP: I wasjust wondering what light you were carrying. I'm trying to find a small, but bright and powerful light to EDC with. I really like streamlights, I have a Stinger DS, was thinking maybe the Strion, or a Surefire P2X defender. If this is hijacking the thread, I apologize and I'll start a new one.

Sent from my VS840 4G using Tapatalk 4
Best EDC light for me is the pelican 1910. Great light, great size, decent lumens.
 
#13 ·
gskip33 said:
Best EDC light for me is the pelican 1910. Great light, great size, decent lumens.
I just looked it up... only 1 hour run time on a battery and under 40 lumens?

I respectfully submit the fenix quark series lights as much better.

I either carry a quark aa^2 (185 lumens iirc) I got 3-4 years ago or lights I got about a year ago made by rocky. the rocky lights take 3 aaa batteries, 110 lumen low. 220 high. and a strobe. (in that sequence). I use my light several times a day and am extremely happy with both. For the money the rocky lights are way better (paid $20 for 2).

My opinion is anything that doesnt take a aa or aaa batteries is a joke unless your going to use rechargeables.
 
#14 ·
Zacharia said:
gskip33 said:
Best EDC light for me is the pelican 1910. Great light, great size, decent lumens.
I just looked it up... only 1 hour run time on a battery and under 40 lumens?

I respectfully submit the fenix quark series lights as much better.

I either carry a quark aa^2 (185 lumens iirc) I got 3-4 years ago or lights I got about a year ago made by rocky. the rocky lights take 3 aaa batteries, 110 lumen low. 220 high. and a strobe. (in that sequence). I use my light several times a day and am extremely happy with both. For the money the rocky lights are way better (paid $20 for 2).

My opinion is anything that doesnt take a aa or aaa batteries is a joke unless your going to use rechargeables.
Im actually looking for a pocket light, Stream lights are way too expensive for me. Can you post a link for the light you use?
 
#15 · (Edited by Moderator)
The Fenix Quark series? Whaaaaa? Those are two different lights. Fenix is one brand, and Quark is made by FourSevens.

I have a Fenix PD20 that has been a great light, but is having a few glitchy issues. I'll probably email them and see if they will fix it. I believe it's 180 lumens on the brightest setting, and has a few lower brightness levels. Small too.

Also have a Fenix PD32 that is great so far.
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1376608193.454112.jpg
 

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#18 ·
Just wanted to toss out that I picked up a Surefire G2X Pro at Walmart for $79 today. 320 lumens high 2.5 hr runtime, 15 lumen low 45 hr runtime (these specs off packaging, not personal experience), on two 123 batteries. Fits perfect in my weak side front pocket. A little more pricey than I wanted, but I'll give it few days to see if it was worth it.

A heads up to those that go looking for one at their Walmart, you will not find this light by the regular flashlights. It is by the shooting supplies and weapon lights.

Just another day in paradise.
 
#19 ·
Personally, I think giving chase in this situation would have been VERY unwise. Even reaching for your sidearm was possibly a little much given the scenario you described. I mean, you said it yourself, you weren't being threatened and you don't really know if the Man had legitimate business there or not. Please understand I am not trying to side against you here; I just want you to think about the fact that if you ever draw your weapon and squeeze that trigger, doing so could quite possibly cost you everything you have... Even if your actions were ultimately determined to be justified later. Since the Zimmerman case I've been thinking a lot about what I would do in different situations where things could easily escalate quickly and I've basically come to the same conclusion as I did before (except with even stronger resolve): My ccw MUST be reserved for use ONLY as a final and/or last resort option at such time when me or mine would most likely not survive the encounter without its introduction and/or use.
 
#20 ·
If I came across the situation you Described, I would have watched him closely as I got I in my car drove off, and if really concerned i might have called dispatch and gave them the details, and would never thought about it, until I saw him again.
I do not want to draw unnecessary attention to myself, I want to see but not been seen. I don't want him to know what car I drive, especially if my wife drives that car as well. I don't want to alarm a potenetionally dangerous person into an action I don't want to deal with.
For example, I picked my kid up from a party last night. We were coming back to our block, and some guy I didn't Recognize was just standing at the corner. My first thought was who is that standing on the corner by himself at 11:30pm on the street corner (not normal behavior for this street corner.) Then I saw this little dog it was taking a leak. I blew it off as a guy walking his lap dog. Perhaps that was his cover and he was checking out the neighborhood, but I didn't "light him up", yet if he had bad intentions I just "made" him and blew his cover. I now had a Description of him and I have obtained the upper hand if it ever was needed. I did not feel the need to call dispatch either in this case. Never once thought about where is my gun.
 
#21 ·
I like to keep around some AAA and AA flashlights just because Duracells are cheap and have a really long shelf life. So for preparedness they have some nice advantages.

But for EDC, I've really fallen in love with UltraFire and similar WF-501b flashlights and 18650 rechargeable batteries. There are lots of options, they are bright, and the batteries have a great shelf and use life for rechargeables. And they're so cheap that if (when?) I lose one, I'll just grab a spare out of the drawer.

On rare occasion you will get a switch or a pill that only lasts a year but, again, for the price, I don't mind. I use mine nearly every day, but I'm not LEO, so trading off price for the likelihood of it getting lost works for me.

More OT, I have scared off dogs at night with my EDC light. It's a lot bigger than a single AAA light, but it's also a lot brighter than my 3x D-Cell Mag-LED.
 
#22 ·
I compare this to the many negative reactions to MWAG calls on an open carrier that we hear about. A big deal seems to be made about how the dispatcher should ask if the MWAG is committing a crime and if not to inform the caller that there is nothing that needs to be done, he's within his rights. Same here. What was the guy doing...? Nothing. A call to the police should have received the same response... 'call us back if he does anything'.
 
#23 ·
Wrangler_dave9 said:
OP: I wasjust wondering what light you were carrying. I'm trying to find a small, but bright and powerful light to EDC with. I really like streamlights, I have a Stinger DS, was thinking maybe the Strion, or a Surefire P2X defender. If this is hijacking the thread, I apologize and I'll start a new one.

Sent from my VS840 4G using Tapatalk 4
I carry an Olight M20-X Warrior Spec Ops edition. And to clarify, I just uncovered the XD and had my hand over the grip, didn't touch it. Sorry if I mis-characterized that. As far as the guy doing nothing, you're right, unless maybe it could be considered trespassing? Not sure since it's an apartment complex. There's only one way in and out of the property, even on foot, so it's not like he was just passing through. We've been having many vehicles broken into in the area lately, so someone sitting in the dark rummaging through something sure caught my eye.

And while I didn't expect this to become a discussion about carry lights, I love the input on what everyone else is carrying and am still receiving comments on the initial topic, so if the mods are good with it, so am I.
 
#24 ·
Update on my Fenix PD20. I cleaned the contact points and it appears to be working better.

I don't think I would have lit the guy up either. But the flashlights I have will do it if needed. All the flashlights I use have low settings, which I use all the time. Occasionally I'll use the bright settings, but mainly for fun. I did have to light up a car that was going mucho fasto through our neighborhood once or twice to get a license plate.
 
#26 ·
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