Who Says a Punch Isn't A Life Threatening?

[Keith B]

Started as a verbal altercation and quickly escalated to a man in a coma with just back-handed blow to the head

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Groc ... 75621.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[OldCurlyWolf]

It comes up as a bad link.

[Keith B]

Sorry. Fixed the link.

[Jumping Frog]

Wonder if the guy in the coma would reconsider if it was worth it to be the express line police.

How do we spell "de-escalation"?

[rp_photo]

Wonder if the guy in the coma would reconsider if it was worth it to be the express line police.

How do we spell "de-escalation"?

I agree. Choose your battles and be even more choosy should you be carrying.

[thatguy]

I didn't see any escalation on the part of the victim, (it appeared) he was just sticking up for himself. I would think that you can say something or God forbid even disagree with someone with out being assaulted.

[cb1000rider]

Yea, that's a tough one. I've seen faces broken (bones) with a single punch, it certainly can be life threatening... If it's not the punch that kills you, hitting the ground very well might. Darned if you do, darned if you don't.

[TexDotCom]

I didn't see any escalation on the part of the victim, (it appeared) he was just sticking up for himself. I would think that you can say something or God forbid even disagree with someone with out being assaulted.

That was my thought. When is it de-escalation vs. rolling over and being run roughshod over rather than standing on principle? Tough call.

[n5wd]

Wonder if the guy in the coma would reconsider if it was worth it to be the express line police.

Probably not, since he's joined the ranks at the Pearly Gates:

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Man- ... c=obinsite" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ELB]

The victim is no longer in a coma. He died. The backhanded puncher is in custody and facing a murder charge.

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Man- ... c=obinsite" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Another story says when the man was arrested he gave a sworn statement admitting to punching the victim.

[The Annoyed Man]

Yea, that's a tough one. I've seen faces broken (bones) with a single punch, it certainly can be life threatening... If it's not the punch that kills you, hitting the ground very well might. Darned if you do, darned if you don't.

I've seen someone who died from a punch to the temple. It wasn't the fall that killed him, it was the blow to his head.

The thing is, once you've been punched hard enough in the head, you're not going to be able to draw your gun and shoot to protect yourself.....and that presents a timeline conundrum for the guy who's packing. At what point do you draw before he hits you? Too soon, and you might be in legal trouble. Too late, and you might be dead. Worse yet, if you draw too late and go down from a blow to the head, he could take your gun and kill you and as many other people as you have rounds in the mag.

That's why I advise not wasting valuable time trying to figure out if the other guy merely wants to intimidate you or kill you. At the first sign of trouble, the hand should go to the gun. If that doesn't stop the aggression, draw the gun. If that doesn't stop the aggression, raise the gun and take aim. If he keeps coming in, shoot him. Be the first to call 911 and request an ambulance, yada yada yada.

But what I really advise is, don't go where trouble is more likely to find you than not. This doesn't even require an average IQ. It doesn't matter if you have a right to go there. You have a right to try and pickup unsavory women in seedy bars, but if you wake up in a rent-by-the-hour motel room, with a pharmaceutical hangover, your wallet gone, a blooming crabs infestation, and bad need for penecillin, you've got nobody to blame but yourself.

Avoiding places where trouble is more likely to find you may not be 100% possible 100% of the time, but if you make it a discipline, the odds go way down of being randomly punched in the head by an attacker. That means a correspondingly lower chance of having to shoot someone, with all the attendant legal troubles, etc.

[cb1000rider]

That's why I advise not wasting valuable time trying to figure out if the other guy merely wants to intimidate you or kill you. At the first sign of trouble, the hand should go to the gun. If that doesn't stop the aggression, draw the gun. If that doesn't stop the aggression, raise the gun and take aim. If he keeps coming in, shoot him. Be the first to call 911 and request an ambulance, yada yada yada.

The problem is that we've got people who were attacked, hit, and injured that still get put on trial..... I can hear the lawyer now.

I'm not saying it's bad advice... I'm just saying there is no clear way to stay out of trouble other than never be in that situation in the first place.

[thatguy]

Yea, that's a tough one. I've seen faces broken (bones) with a single punch, it certainly can be life threatening... If it's not the punch that kills you, hitting the ground very well might. Darned if you do, darned if you don't.

I've seen someone who died from a punch to the temple. It wasn't the fall that killed him, it was the blow to his head.

The thing is, once you've been punched hard enough in the head, you're not going to be able to draw your gun and shoot to protect yourself.....and that presents a timeline conundrum for the guy who's packing. At what point do you draw before he hits you? Too soon, and you might be in legal trouble. Too late, and you might be dead. Worse yet, if you draw too late and go down from a blow to the head, he could take your gun and kill you and as many other people as you have rounds in the mag.

That's why I advise not wasting valuable time trying to figure out if the other guy merely wants to intimidate you or kill you. At the first sign of trouble, the hand should go to the gun. If that doesn't stop the aggression, draw the gun. If that doesn't stop the aggression, raise the gun and take aim. If he keeps coming in, shoot him. Be the first to call 911 and request an ambulance, yada yada yada.

But what I really advise is, don't go where trouble is more likely to find you than not. This doesn't even require an average IQ. It doesn't matter if you have a right to go there. You have a right to try and pickup unsavory women in seedy bars, but if you wake up in a rent-by-the-hour motel room, with a pharmaceutical hangover, your wallet gone, a blooming crabs infestation, and bad need for penicillin, you've got nobody to blame but yourself.

Avoiding places where trouble is more likely to find you may not be 100% possible 100% of the time, but if you make it a discipline, the odds go way down of being randomly punched in the head by an attacker. That means a correspondingly lower chance of having to shoot someone, with all the attendant legal troubles, etc.

Care to elaborate TAM... never-mind.