Giving chase to attempted car jacker reminds me how out of shape I am

[ilikegunspdx]

No guns were involved in this incident in any way but nevertheless I want to share it.

This morning a man hit another car and rolled his truck near my house. Myself and others were concerned about is the guy o.k.?/is anyone hurt. Driver popped out of the drivers window almost immediately after rolling the truck on it's side. Police on the phone rightfully asked me is he o.k./is there anyone on the passenger side etc. As we are talking on the phone, the driver attempts to steal the car of a person who stopped to see if he was o.k. A scuffle ensued and he ran off. Me and two others gave chase. The guy was about 19-20 years old and I was struck by how quickly I ran out of gas. I let the two of them continue to chase as he turned onto a side street and I went down the other side street to try to cut him off. I flagged down a police car and told them where I last saw him (about 5 min after last seeing him or so -or at least it seemed that long).

According to the other guy who was chasing him (the one who had his car hit) the perp ran out of gas too and tried to hide in someone's back yard. According to the police they caught him in the back yard.

So takeaways for this incident for me are:

1) Portland police can get there in time to make an arrest (my previous two incidents I witnessed they were not there very fast). So kudos to PDX police.

2) It pays to be in shape (I'm not). The guy who had his car hit was in shape and the other one chasing him was a woman who was egging the other guy on (which he said helped). That guy was able to stay with him long enough to point the cops to his whereabouts (my understanding, I did not see that part).

3) Probably the biggest takeaway for me by far is expect the unexpected. When you witness a rollover the first instinct you have is how to help the guy. But that guy panicked and tried to violently steal someone else's car. So the concern went from "is he o.k." to "what the heck is he doing" to "he's trying to steal a car" in the scope of a few seconds. Kind of reminds me of the elaborate pick pocket scams in other countries. The criminals get you to act on your helping instinct but they have the opposite in mind (I'm not saying the perp. was doing some pre-meditated thing, just saying that when you are acting to help someone you can be vulnerable, like the people who's car he was trying to steal). So as we are trying to help we need to be alert for the unexpected.

4) You may need to be armed even close to home where you may not think you need to be. Again no firearms were used (as far as I know, I did not witness the arrest) but the other guy who chased the perp. said the perp had a knife in his coat. So it could have went down differently, especially if it was not in such a visible/(lots of traffic) place.

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[11Charlie]

Thanks for sharing. It is important that you always keep your head on a swivel and be aware of you surroundings. Not sure I would have gave chase since you didn't know if the perp was armed or would have turned on you but good on you and the other guy for stopping to help.

As for being armed even close to home. If I am up right I am armed.

 

[P7M13]

You may need to be armed even close to home where you may not think you need to be.

Absolutely. Even in your home.

 

[Flymph]

I won't stop the help people in some neighborhoods, as I'm too familiar with evil preying upon the good in people.
At least it doesn't sound like anyone was hurt.

 

[Kruel J]

I'd bet the truck he rolled was stolen.

 

[11Charlie]

I think I would always stop unless in a really sketch part of town. But I know my awareness would definitely go up.

 

[titsonritz]

Tweaker

 

[surevaliance]

 

[Mikej]

If emergency help, think car on fire, is needed I could see myself helping. If not an emergency my help would stop at phoning police and/or watching, or following at a distance, someone that should be apprehended. Living and watching this formerly beautiful and very livable city turn to what it is has me jaded.

 

[Flymph]

If emergency help, think car on fire, is needed I could see myself helping. If not an emergency my help would stop at phoning police and/or watching, or following at a distance, someone that should be apprehended. Living and watching this formerly beautiful and very livable city turn to what it is has me jaded.

Fully agree!

 

[ilikegunspdx]

I'd bet the truck he rolled was stolen.

That was my first thought also. Also maybe he had a warrant out for him and no insurance. Probably all of the above ha ha.

To help clarify re some other comments above, he was definitely not a tweaker IMO based on appearance and actions. Re giving chase, I should clarify that my intent on chasing was not to apprehend or anything like that, just to track him so the cops can find him when they get there. I was keeping a safe distance. Re stopping or not, in this case I was already stopped and outside my vehicle when he rolled the truck. The people whose car he tried to steal were directly behind him and the truck was blocking the road.

 

[DB is Here]

It pays to be in shape (I'm not)

So very true. When I was LEO the last guy standing was often the one in the best shape....baring a lucky punch.

 

[DuneHopper]

I'm armed when I mow my Lawn even, out front door almost always armed.
Not saying you should have popped the guy, but as others have said if he was armed
things could have gone sideways.

Reminds me of when I was not armed one time in California, I was in the middle lane on the freeway a guy came up behind me then passed me on the left slows and pointed a gun at me. I was not armed and well I can't out run a bullet in my car, so I change to the right lane he pulled the center, I then pulled back to the left, at the same time he was merging right, resulting in him losing control of his car and spinning out, and I could leave at a very high rate LOL. I only did so because It was only us both, not sure what it was about left my house never saw a soul until saw him. There have been many close calls in my life with a firearm in the hands of others. That ole head on a swivel works, I know its saves me a few times.

 

[Mister Bisley]

I'd bet the truck he rolled was stolen.

That was my first thought.

 

[2506]

I have great auto insurance. Somebody wants to steal my car, they can have it. No need to break a sweat (literally) or risk bodily harm. I've never understood why anyone would risk their life for a car.

 

[MannyGlocks]

D.H.

Spot on.

Whenever I'm outside I'm armed.

 

[11Charlie]

D.H.

Spot on.

Whenever I'm outside I'm armed.

I'm in my house right now. shades closed watching a movie with the wife. I'm armed. extra on the night stand in the bedroom and a shotty in the closet in a shot lock.

 

[surevaliance]

I have great auto insurance. Somebody wants to steal my car, they can have it. No need to break a sweat (literally) or risk bodily harm. I've never understood why anyone would risk their life for a car.

Allowing armed thugs go free, so they will rob an possibly kill someone else?

 

[L84Cabo]

3) Probably the biggest takeaway for me by far is expect the unexpected.

Up to and including the fact that the person you're chasing does, in fact, have a gun. The fact that one is not openly apparent doesn't mean he is not armed. It's a traffic accident with nobody hurt and presumably the guy has insurance. I get wanting to catch the guy. Consider carefully, however, if giving chase is the best course of action...and particularly if you're a bystander with no dog in the fight. Who takes care of your wife and kids if it turns out he does have a gun and decides to use it?

And I'm not saying chasing him was the wrong decision. Only you can decide that. Just make sure you're weighing all the possibilities. Because this could have ended a lot of different ways...some of which could be very bad.

Glad everyone was ok.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Up to and including the fact that the person you're chasing does, in fact, have a gun. The fact that one is not openly apparent doesn't mean he is not armed. It's a traffic accident with nobody hurt and presumably the guy has insurance. I get wanting to catch the guy. Consider carefully, however, if giving chase is the best course of action...and particularly if you're a bystander with no dog in the fight. Who takes care of your wife and kids if it turns out he does have a gun and decides to use it?

And I'm not saying chasing him was the wrong decision. Only you can decide that. Just make sure you're weighing all the possibilities. Because this could have ended a lot of different ways...some of which could be very bad.

Glad everyone was ok.

I disagree with this. First, it's not just a traffic accident. He was forcibly trying to steal someone else's car to try to get away. Second, I would not presume he has insurance, or even a driver's license. Third, what would happen if everyone always just stands around? What if you were not there and your daughter was in the passenger seat or baby seat of the car this guy (who had a knife in his coat) was trying to steal? Should poeple just stand around watching and say, "nothing to worry about, I'm sure insurance will take care of things" as he drives off?

The fact is the guy was unsuccessful in car jacking another car after his wreck because poeple were there to prevent it and he wasn't allowed to just drive off. That was others who did that, not me (I was on 911 call looking for injuries as asked by dispatcher as I'm coming up on scene), so I'm not taking credit for that in any way. But I give tons of credit to those folks that were right there next to that car who stopped him and caused him to run off.