Sgt Blamo

iTrader: (1)

You wont believe what happened to me on my way home tonight!

I was on my way back from shopping with my son in Jensen Beach, driving the Evo. I had just passed some slower traffic on PSL Blvd, when I looked in my rearview and noticed a mid sized sedan pull around the same pack of cars and come up hard behind me. He swerved around to my left and squeezed right in front of me barely able to fit and jammed the brakes on. I hit my brakes and swerved around him to the left, as I came up along side him he threw a glass container at me, just missing the hood of my car. I swerved back right and pulled behind him. I immediately grabbed my phone and called 911. As I was following him while calling 911, he jammed his brakes so hard that they locked up, tying to cause me to swerve off the road, I backed off and continued to follow while talking to the 911 dispatcher. As I continued to follow him (about 3-4 cars behind) he attempted the same braking maneuver trying to run me off the road again. I followed him for about a ˝ mi and he pulled off the main road onto a side street, I followed about 5-6 cars behind keeping in touch with the 911 dispatch, advising them of the direction we were heading. I followed him as he turned two more times, then he went about a half block onto a side street and stopped, I stopped about 150-200 ft back and advised 911 of my situation. I saw his trunk pop open and then he emerged suddenly from his car and moved quickly to his trunk, I immediately advised 911 that he had stopped & and had gotten out of his car and was reaching into his trunk. At this time I considered the life of myself and my son to be in danger. I immediately dropped my car into reverse, nailed the gas and performed a “J” turn and was out of there faster than you can imagine. As I was heading down another street away from him, I was advising 911 that the subject appeared to have a weapon of some sort and was presumed dangerous. I then went around the block back onto a main road (Arioso Blvd) and waited as I talked with 911. I proceeded out onto the main road (Arioso) and headed north 1 block and looked to my right towards were the subject would’ve been, I saw a car heading down towards my direction, I proceeded down the main road away from were the subject was located as I noticed a car pulling out onto the main road I was on and heading towards my location in what appeared to be a high rate of speed. I informed 911 that I believed subject was attempting pursuit of me and I was preparing to take evasive maneuvers. Within seconds it was apparent that subject was attempting to chase me, at this point I told the 911 operator that I was handing the phone over to my son and would be evading same. I came to my 1st intersection (Thornhill) turning right, following a vehicle in front of me thru the corner, as soon as I could see around the vehicle, I passed it, and as I passed it, the subject passed it too in an attempt to keep up with me. Bare in mind that we are entering into a residential area, two lane road with a posted speed limit of 40 mph, I’m presently going 60 mph and come up on two more cars that I quickly pass, as I do the subject passes too and is in full pursuit. At this point I determine I need to loose him quickly, I floor it hitting 85 mph, and take it to 100 mph, I’m now about 15-20 cars ahead of him, but he is still in pursuit. I’m approaching a “T” intersection(Floresta Blvd) that I’m very familiar with and determine to approach it carrying a lot of speed, brake hard and accelerate right. This pays off, as the subjects car is not equipped to do the same. As I am accelerating hard down the straight, I observe that the subject has not broken off pursuit and is still attempting chase, although at this point the is now a good 500-600 yards behind and loosing ground quickly. I continue about another ˝ mile back to the main intersection of PSL Blvd, but due to vehicles blocking my way am forced to turn down a side street, I slide the car around the corner and down the street, about 2 blocks and slide thru the next corner, I approach the main road (PSL Blvd), slow to confirm a safe entry and proceed sideways thru the corner onto the road, straighten her out, come to the next intersection(Arioso Blvd),turned my hazards on, slow enough to confirm my route and pass 2 cars and slide around them onto the transitioning street. I floor it for two more blocks and slide into the front parking lot of the Port Saint Lucie Police headquarters. We quickly exit the vehicle (still idling) and enter the building. We informed them that we were being perused by a potentially armed assailant, but there’s only one problem, there aren’t any police there, not one! At least there was bullet resistant glass to protect us! I followed up with 911, Then some officers arrived about 15 minutes later.
The conclusion of the matter is as follows: There were no eye witnesses, the subject went home and called police and told them that I was chasing him! The police went to his house and he allowed them to search his vehicle, he confessed to having pulled over and getting out of his vehicle and grabbing a baseball bat, however he stated that he thought I was chasing him and he was afraid, he denied throwing anything, attempting to run me off the road and chasing me, gee, what a surprise!(keep in mind, I didn’t stick around to see what he pulled out of the trunk, could’ve been an AR or SG!) The police said that it’s my word against his, so nothing can be done. I did file a police report, my son and I turned in written accounts of what happened (mine was 3 ˝ pages).

A few important things to consider:
Normally I am armed, as I have carried weapons (firearms of various sorts) for the last 17 years on a daily basis. However, at the time this occurred, I was unarmed as my TN permit had expired and I was waiting for my FL. Permit to arrive. It was the 1st time in years that I was unarmed and boy did I feel vulnerable, of all the times I needed a weapon and here I was, being Mr. dutiful citizen waiting for my permit! (in FL it is a class A felony w/ a mandatory 3 year jail sentence for carrying w/out a permit).
I’m SO glad my Evo is as fast as it is, has a ROBISPEC tuned suspension, that I still had my track pads installed( never changed them out from this past track event) and that I have participated in several track events and had great instructors! It really pays to have high quality tires, brakes & a well tuned suspension!

If I had to do it all over again, I would’ve followed from a much greater distance so as to not let the subject know he was being followed and not put myself at risk. I would NEVER have followed anyone with my wife & kids in the car, and don’t advise anyone else to do so either, it’s not worth it!
Last, but certainly not least, A key verse from Proverbs comes to mind: Proverbs21:31
“The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory belongs to the LORD”

The LORD was watching over us!

IXToes

iTrader: (1)

Dude that's crazy! Glad you're safe.

vegasboy301

iTrader: (9)

wow... i cant believe i read that... i was expecting a crazy ending...

but im glad your okay..

glad all is well

xballsport

iTrader: (2)

And he tried to blame it all on you..? thats crazy. I bet your adrenalin was pumpin when you were driving

R2RS

dam... i was getting nervous just reading this. glad you and your son are ok. its weird, cause if you were the one doing the brake checking, a cop would have been around. whenever you need the police there not there, but when you dont need them they are all over the place

dewood*

iTrader: (1)

good to hear your alright
God speed

Sgt Blamo

iTrader: (1)

When I got out of the car at the police station, my hands didn't stop shaking for about 15 minutes, my adrenalin was so pumped! All the while it was happening, I kept thinking, "this can't be happening to me", but it sure as heck was happening, and all my training & experience kicked right in. The danger for me is that Military Police part of me sort of takes over and I want to go into combat mode.
The main reason I posted this real life situation is, so others can benifit from my experience.
Be safe and have a Merry Christmas!

Fusion7

iTrader: (2)

You should not have pursued him. And on top of that driving C&I to try to run from someone is not the way to do it.

Also as a 911 operator, your not protected from the law just because were on the phoen with you

Also if you have a CCW, you know the laws. You don't draw that unless you plan on shooting someone to kill. You don't want that brandishing charge...

-=SPECTRE=-

iTrader: (4)

What do you mean there were no eyewitnesses? You were an eyewitness and your (probably terrified) child was an eyewitness. That's just the police being lazy and making excuses to not do any real work. Any cop worth his weight in **** would have been able to tell who was lying and who was telling the truth. That's what they do practically all day long. Very disappointing. You also probably were caught on several different traffic cameras throughout your ordeal.

By the way - under Florida's 'imminent threat' law you would have been justified in peacing that guy out with a gun. If the guy in your avatar is you it looks like you're up for the job.

Fusion7

iTrader: (2)

What are the cops going to file charges on? Plus its easy to say they could pull the traffic light footage. This isn't CSI, there not going to pursue a road rage case like this. Im not trying to be a dick but I see this everyday. Is it right? NO. Does it happen...Yes.

Rutt

iTrader: (1)

-=SPECTRE=- When the accused and the accuser blame each other outside witnesses are needed to support their stories.

Sgt Blamo What happened before you passed this idiot? Was he trying to pull out into your lane before you passed him and the slower traffic?

-=SPECTRE=-

iTrader: (4)

Like I said, they probably passed by at least 5-10 traffic cameras throughout the incident. And cops make judgement calls without eyewitness accounts all the time. They're trained to spot lies.

You're right, it's not CSI. It's not 20 minutes over a microscope with techno playing in the background. It's a 5 minute phone call to the DOT requesting they check the traffic cams at x and y intersections because there was a high speed car chase on public roads and based on the OP's account more than one felony was committed. And you know damn well that this wasn't the first or last time a guy that road rages like that has acted in such a way, he's obviously done it before. Next time someone could get seriously hurt or killed. But hey, doing any real legwork cuts into Dunkin Donuts time. So let's not bother. It's not necessarily the job of the police to chase after something like this to protect an individual, but it IS very explicitly their job to protect the public at large. And if what the OP wrote is really what happened then the cops failed pretty badly at both.

x838nwy

Glad you're all okay. I agree with Spectre, the eyewitness thing is just bs. However, putting it in the police's perspective, they probably have quite a number of calls everyday from people who'd been cut up (intentionally or othewise) and then made up a whole load of crap about it. So I guess you can sympathise with them. Not saying that what you reported was made up, but just that they can't do a lot about it, which is a shame.

This sort of crap has happened to me a couple of times and as you implied, puts the case for cars like the evo being 'safer' in these situations because what they can do.

It once happened to me and I was driving a $hitty old pick up and the other guy was in a Honda Accord (~Acura TL). And really I just couldn't get away from the guy. When he sequeezed me about the 10th time, I just let the truck run into the side of his car all the way from rear door to the front fender. Believe it or not, he had his wife and kid in the car too!!! On the other occasion, I was also in the slow car and we both stopped, he got out of the car looking quite drunk with a baseball bat. Fortunately, I had an axe in the car (cf handle too, for that extra agility) so he buggered off. Anyway, not saying anyone should do this (I have now matured away from keeping weaponary in my vehicle) but the moral of the story is that it's better to be in a vehicle that can take you away from a potentially dangerous situation.

The problem is, when anyone sees the pair of you, they are going to instantly think that it's the car with the spoiler and big exhaust that's doing the nasty thing to the other car.

Lately, I have a plan to install a video camera in my car for this reason. I think I might when I have the cash...

Sapperhustler

Yeah, Next time your running for your and your child's life, make sure you obey the speed limit. Plus if you were an MP then you know that you have the inherent right of self defense and you can draw your weapon in defense of yourself or your son. I would have done the same thing in your shoes. Except maybe, like you pointed out, not have followed him so closely. Glad everyone is okay. Hooah.

Fusion7

iTrader: (2)

During all of that no felonies were commited. How do you know the other guy wasn't just as scared as this guy? How do you know that the other party wasn't suffering from a medical condition that caused them to have convultions and slam on the brakes? They might have blacked out for a second then came back aroudn to find some guy chasing them riding there *** and they were scared so they stoped to get a wepon out of the trunk.

You can not assume anything in this situation. The OP should have NEVER pursued the guy. Get a lic number and call the cops don't try to take matter into your own hands.