TexasCHLforum.com

Pawpaw wrote:

Soccerdad1995 wrote:

Pawpaw wrote:

maverick2076 wrote:

Soccerdad1995 wrote:According to the report, there were over a dozen motorcyclists. This sounds eerily similar to the incident in New York a couple years ago where the bikers slashed an SUV's tires and ultimately dragged the driver out of his vehicle and badly beat him.

I'll reserve judgment until more facts come out.

You mean after the driver of the SUV had run over one of the bikers and driven off? Big difference...

Way to half tell a story! Bravo!!!

The biker he ran over had slowed him down to a stop in the middle of the freeway (doesn't sound so bloodthirsty that way, though). Then the other bikers surrounded his SUV and were beating on it and trying to pull the doors open. Finally, in a panic, the guy hit the gas and ran over the biker who was dumb enough to still be in front of the SUV.

How many times has it been said on this forum that if you're in your vehicle when trouble develops, your right foot is your best defense?

Having said that and watched the other videos about the current incident, I believe this truck driver was wrong on every level and should not even own a firearm.

I believe they also slashed the SUV's tire before the driver attempted to escape with his family. It may be a big difference from this story, or it may not. But it does show that it is possible to be in mortal danger even though you are in a truck / SUV and your assailants are on motor cycles.

As for this story, given only the info presented by the motorcyclist, it appears that the bikers were the initial aggressors, they then escalated the situation, and it led to the guy in the pickup truck badly over reacting. We have yet to see what happened to initially spark the confrontation and all info is coming from one side here.

Dave09 posted this longer video (still from the biker) back on page 1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=y ... pp=desktop

Shortly after it starts, a link will pop up to this even longer video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8hwsXz ... 2803926203

I can see no evidence of any editing. The bikers were engaging in a little horseplay. While that is probably illegal (traffic violation) I did not see them harass anyone or even really put anyone else at risk, including the Texas truck.

Yes, this is the video I saw. Not sure if there was anything prior to this or not.

Based solely on this evidence from the bikers, they were the initial aggressors. They were riding in an aggressive manner. The whole incident would not have happened absent this initial wrong action. This aggravated the driver of the truck, and possibly others. A biker then escalated the encounter by knocking on the window of the truck. So even the evidence supplied by their side shows that they were at least part of the problem here.

I also said that based on this evidence alone, it appears that the truck driver badly over reacted.

One thing for certain. If no charges are filed, then there is definitely more to the story.

Soccerdad1995 wrote:

Scott in Houston wrote:

stroo wrote:Without seeing a lot more of the context, you have no idea if he had a legitimate reason to believe he was being threatened. You can't make that judgement from that little piece of video.

I disagree. His hands were clearly empty. That particular biker was not doing anything to warrant having a gun pointed at him at that moment.
Had his finger pressed that trigger by accident, it would have been a murder charge regardless of what the rest of the video showed up to that point. He was not an immediate threat.

Do we know where the rest of the group was, and what they were doing?

Let's get the facts and then make a decision. A bit old fashioned, I know.

Right before the guy with the camera pulls up to the passenger side, you can see the bikers on the driver side of the truck. They are probably still there based on the fact that the guy is arguing with someone in that direction when the camera approaches the passenger.

Soccerdad1995 wrote:Yes, this is the video I saw. Not sure if there was anything prior to this or not.

Based solely on this evidence from the bikers, they were the initial aggressors. They were riding in an aggressive manner. The whole incident would not have happened absent this initial wrong action. This aggravated the driver of the truck, and possibly others. A biker then escalated the encounter by knocking on the window of the truck. So even the evidence supplied by their side shows that they were at least part of the problem here.

I also said that based on this evidence alone, it appears that the truck driver badly over reacted.

One thing for certain. If no charges are filed, then there is definitely more to the story.

I agree biker's antics started the whole mess, but the pickup driver didn't HAVE to get so upset about it. This was his bad decision, probably based on a lifetime of anger issues (just a guess). He could have (should have) decided not to stop and give them a "stern talking to" and the event would probably have ended there. Not at all the picture of deescalation we were all taught in CHL class.

Javier730 wrote:Right before the guy with the camera pulls up to the passenger side, you can see the bikers on the driver side of the truck. They are probably still there based on the fact that the guy is arguing with someone in that direction when the camera approaches the passenger.

For a bunch of guys that were "in fear of their lives", they had absolutely no situational awareness. If you feel threatened buy a gang, don't you think your head would be on a swivel?

The guys in the truck were not scared, they were mad.

Pawpaw wrote: Dave09 posted this longer video (still from the biker) back on page 1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=y ... pp=desktop

Shortly after it starts, a link will pop up to this even longer video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8hwsXz ... 2803926203

I can see no evidence of any editing. The bikers were engaging in a little horseplay. While that is probably illegal (traffic violation) I did not see them harass anyone or even really put anyone else at risk, including the Texas truck.

Towards the end of the second video that pawpaw posted the driver says that he carries a gun in this truck. This is before the motorcyclists rides up on his right side. He also tells them to pull over up ahead. To me the driver is just itching for a fight even if the bikers instigated it. He was just completely out of control.

I watched that story on 3 different tv news reports and noticed every journalist reported the person pointing the gun had a "concealed weapons permit" rather than a CHL (or LTC). I wonder if the license he has is actually from Texas at all. If he does have a Texas license, I don't think he was listening when de-escalation was covered...or how one can end up with a deadly conduct charge. At one point in the video, the guys in the truck are all yelling and cussing but the driver is making zero effort to simply turn off on any of the side streets he is passing to avoid these bikers he is claiming were such a problem. If you look at the guys on the bikes, they are hardly the Hells Angels. The driver does not look scared to me, he looks like he just wants to punctuate his sentences with the muzzle of the gun. It was a miracle that he didn't discharge it with all the slinging forward he was doing with it. It was cringeworthy when he firmly proclaimed to one interviewer, "Don't mess with a Texan". Thanks for making such a stellar impression for us all.

Reckon what was in the red cups?

Nevada does not recognize the Texas LTC and is silent on handgun carry in your vehicle, but it must be openly displayed in your vehicle. That was NOT what they mean by 'openly displayed'.

I will bet he gets charged with a class B felony of assault with a deadly weapon http://www.shouselaw.com/nevada/assault ... eapon.html

He is from Texas and says if the situation occurs again he will do exactly the same thing.

A spokesman for the anti's if I ever saw one.

Keith B wrote:Nevada does not recognize the Texas LTC and is silent on handgun carry in your vehicle, but it must be openly displayed in your vehicle. That was NOT what they mean by 'openly displayed'.

I will bet he gets charged with a class B felony of assault with a deadly weapon http://www.shouselaw.com/nevada/assault ... eapon.html

Depending on how ambitious Nevada is on this, this guy could have a nice lesson out of this.
Assault with a Deadly Weapon carries 1-6 years in the Nevada State Prison.

The guy's from Texas....? if he really is CHL/LTC he's a sorry example for the world to see. I fault the biker for knocking on the window to get the driver's attention, but I didn't see him beat on it. Thornton should probably avoid going back to Nevada and get some help and maybe his buddies, too. IMHO.

Wow. As a biker with a LTC, this whole video just makes me cringe. I ride pretty respectfully, but I've still had some people who are just hateful toward me for no apparent reason. This guy just takes it to a whole new level of stupidity though. I hope they throw the book at that idiot. I'm pretty sure we were all taught that when we are carrying, we are not allowed to start fights. We are not allowed to deliberately escalate a situation. We have to be the levelheaded one in any given situation. Can you imagine how that could have gone if one of the other bikers on the left side of the truck had been legally armed? He would have been pretty solidly justified in shooting the truck driver in defense of the life of the biker on the right side of the truck. Well, at least under Texas law; I'm not familiar with Nevada's laws on the subject.

Well let's see...

Unauthorized use or threatened use of deadly force based on unreasonable fear of serious bodily injury or death requiring immediate use of deadly force.

Unholstered display of weapon unjustified by a defense using deadly force.

Guys in the truck all got emotional issues. There is a difference for having a gun at the ready (not displayed) and pointing it at someone with your finger on the trigger.
It is obvious they didn't LIKE how the guys on the motorcycles were driving, but what is clear is that the motorcyclist did not engage in any violent, hostile or life threatening behavior as far as threatening anyone is concerned. The guys in the truck made it very clear that because of the way the motorcyclists were driving they "all" needed to be "shot." When the guy in the truck said the comment about ALL of them being shot it was clear he wasn't threatened...he was angry at them getting the in the way and how they were driving. He would have liked to have shot all of them. I am not using the term "bikers" because I don't think the guys on the motorcycles fall into that category that we usually associate with the term.