Some of you have seen me mention briefly in previous posts that I recently defended myself against an attacker with my gun. I never went into specifics before, but I can now. You’ll love this story, Dave.

Now that it is all over, I am free to discuss it. Here’s a quote from my statment that explains it best:
“On Tuesday, April 18, 2000, at approximately 5:30pm, a man in a white car stopped me. He pulled his car over in front of mine and we both exited our vehicles. He began yelling at me and was very angry, apparently believing that I had “cut him off”. We argued for a short period of time, and then I attempted to leave. He followed me to my car, continuing to yell at me. When I reached my vehicle and attempted to get inside and leave, he came towards me, threatening me and saying that he was going to “kick my a**”. My 7-year-old daughter was in the vehicle and I became extremely fearful for both her safety and my own. I carry a Ruger .357 (with 38 +P ammunition) for self-defense. The weapon is registered to me and I have a concealed carry permit which is valid through 4/03. At this point, with this man approaching me and threatening me with immediate physical violence, I felt that my only defense was to demonstrate to him that I was armed and would protect myself if necessary. He was yelling and so there was no way to verbally explain this to him, as he was not hearing anything I was trying to say. I pulled my purse towards me onto the drivers seat and removed my Ruger from my purse, setting it sideways on top of the purse. I told him not to threaten me again and to leave. At no time did I point the weapon at him, and at no time was the gun pointed in the direction of any human being. I took great care to make sure that it was simply a visual demonstration of my ability to defend my daughter and myself and was never used in a threatening manner, or used to intimidate him in any way. The man then left, and I continued to my friend’s house and then went home.”

–Sounds simple enough, right? But apparently this guy still needed to win the argument, because he called the police saying that I had threatened him with a gun and had chased him down. So the story continues: (again quoted from my statement)–

“At approximately 8:45 pm, I received a call from Officer **Name Removed** of the Hoquiam Police Department, informing me that the man I had encountered had filed a complaint against me for unlawful display of a weapon. Officer *** and I talked for approximately 45 minutes, while I explained what had happened. He informed me that there was an “attempt to locate” placed on my vehicle and myself, and that I needed to come in and make an official statement. I explained that my daughter was asleep in bed and that I could not come in that evening, but that he was more than welcome to come to my house. As I live outside city limits, this was not a viable option for him. He then suggested that I come in the following day, Wednesday April 19, 2000 after I got off work, at approximately 5:30pm. I agreed to this and he said that he would remove the attempt to locate and would look forward to talking to me.”

–Ok, so far no big deal, right? As I understood it, they just wanted to see the gun and talk to me and get my side of the story. Not a big deal, I thought. But it gets better: (quoted again)–

“On Wednesday, April 19, 2000, at approximately 10:15 am, two investigators from the Hoquiam Police Department arrived at my place of business. They made a public statement that they were there to question me, and searched my purse. This all took place in the front office of my place of employment, and was witnessed by my co-workers, an Architect and an Engineer. I explained to the investigators that I had already talked to an officer at the Hoquiam Police Department and that I had made arrangements to meet with him after work later the same day. They stated that they had no knowledge of this and that they would arrest me if I did not talk to them immediately. I directed them to the conference room in an attempt to reduce the scene that was being played out in the main office. We talked in the conference room for a few minutes. I explained my version of the story as outlined above. They informed me that the charge has been changed from “Unlawful Display of a Weapon” to “2nd Degree Felony Assault with a Deadly Weapon”. They also informed me that I still needed to be present for questioning at 5:00 pm. They left at approximately 10:35 am and I contacted an attorney immediately thereafter.”

–NOW it got ugly. I contacted an attorney which had been reccomended by the NRA. The first thing that the police insisted on was that I turn in my gun. I discussed this with my lawyer and he suggested that I comply with it, understanding that it did not affect my license to carry and that I could carry another weapon. (Which is why I have been carrying Jerry’s Colt 1911). Then it all simply stalled out. I heard nothing until yesterday, more than a month after they stormed into my office. But, thankfully, my lawyer called me at noon yesterday to inform me that no charges will be filed and that I can have my gun back.

I would not have changed anything, except perhaps that hindsight says that maybe I should’nt have stopped the car and talked to the guy. Had I known that he was so angry, I would have driven off immediately. But by the time I realized that I was dealing with a psycho, it was too late.

Oh, and the “cost”? $1000.00. That’s what it cost me to hire that lawyer. Worth it? Every penny.

But it never should have been an issue in the first place. Unfortunately, this is a notoriously anti-gun town. They’ve harassed gun owners before, and tried to arrest Jerry for having his gun in his gym bag rather than “on his person” (although the state laws very clearly state that he was completely legal). The same lawyer defended him, and they dropped it as well. The cost that time? $750.00

Be warned, fellow concealed carriers. You may defend yourself, but you’ll have to answer for it. And they’ll take your gun while they investigate….leaving you unable to defend yourself again, unless you have another gun.

Ah yes, the land of the free……