Securing Concealed Carry Firearm and Avoiding Confrontations

[not-fishing]

[TrappedinCalifornia]

Well, we knew this was coming...

Protesters demand action after Portland State University police shoot, kill Navy veteran

Dozens of protesters marched through the streets of Portland, Oregon, on Sunday, demanding action after Portland State University police shot and killed a Navy veteran. Cellphone video captured the early Friday incident when, witnesses say, Jason Washington was trying to break up a fight...

This isn't the first time tensions have risen at the university over armed campus safety officers.

Students have been strongly opposed since the policy began in 2015. One protester said she feared that it was only a matter of time before someone got killed...

"He was a veteran who fought for our country," said Mohammed Tuffa, who says he was involved in the fight. He said police didn't need to use deadly force. "Pepper spray could have broken everybody out. Everybody would have been on the ground crying."...

On Sunday more than 100 protesters marched to Portland State University wearing black and carrying signs demanding justice in the campus police shooting of Washington...

Hardesty said many people here have been speaking out against arming campus security officers ever since it began three years ago. "We knew then that somebody would die, and here we are. I had to be here because we knew it would happen – we just didn't know when."

The university said this is the first officer-involved shooting for its campus police force...

There is an image included in the article, evidently showing his method of carry...



So... We're back to...

• He went to a bar to 'celebrate,' carrying...
• He used an inside the pocket holster; the holster having limited, if any, retention, with the grip exposed...
• He got in the middle of a physical confrontation not involving him directly; one which had not risen to 'lethal' or potentially so...
• He dropped his firearm...
• He tried to pick-up the firearm even though Campus Police ordered him not to...

In other words, he 'broke' at least five or six, long-standing 'rules' regarding concealed carry. Yet, because people have a problem with arming Campus Police with anything except 'nonlethal' options, this is 'evidence' that doing so will result in the deaths of many 'innocents.'

Um....

[Mark in Eureka]

I was trained that when carrying a firearm I could not allow myself to become involved in an altercation. That I must at all time be aware of surroundings and protect my firearm at all cost.

[Cokebottle]

I was trained that when carrying a firearm I could not allow myself to become involved in an altercation. That I must at all time be aware of surroundings and protect my firearm at all cost.

Bingo.
It's all about situational awareness, avoidance, and if something happens, deescalation.

[gaberaynes]

Honestly from watching the vid that was not conceal carry or if was it ws a bad attempt at it and poor holster choice.

[TrappedinCalifornia]

There is a massive amount of responsibility that comes with carrying a firearm in public —especially if you are not wearing a uniform that clearly authorizes you to do so. That means you need to behave and react differently than a person without a firearm in many situations...

The entire time, despite being on fire in public, did anyone know I was carrying a firearm. When carrying, you gotta keep your cool, keep your wits about you, respond prudently and when to act, act deliberately. And finally, you have to be prepared to deal with the unexpected and respond appropriately. In all of my training, from private training, military training, or LEO training, did I ever think I’d find myself on fire while carrying concealed in front of 50-60 people watching every move I made.

Truth be told, at one time or another, many/most of us have committed an 'error' in terms of the 'rules' involved with concealed carry. Fortunately, most of those 'errors' fall under the heading of "no harm, no foul." In this instance, however, the errors involved were compounded and the timing/situation exacerbated the compounded errors.

Your situation, though 'extreme' in some respects, highlights the mental attitude one should have and the reality that there is no substitute for taking full responsibility. From paying attention to the 'rules' to proper training and/or practice to keeping your 'cool,' these are all elements, not just in carrying concealed, but in effectively and appropriately using what you're carrying.

When I first obtained a concealed carry permit (long before required classes), the rules were fairly straightforward...

• Never put yourself in a situation that 'compromises' your safety or that of others; which includes your ability to carry safely.
• Never get involved in a physical confrontation, regardless of provocation. (While this may seem to fall under 'compromised safety,' it was emphasized by the Sheriff's deputy doing the 'interview'/paperwork.)
• IF... you're going to drink, don't carry... you are taking medications which could impact your driving, don't carry... you're going some place that doesn't allow concealed carry, don't carry or don't go.
• Always carry securely; i.e., you should always be in control of your firearm, even if it's not in your hand.
• Always practice situational awareness.
• Concealed carry means CONCEALED; i.e., the normal person shouldn't be able to tell and even trained professionals should have difficulty in determining you are.
• Never draw your firearm unless you intend to shoot because, if you don't have a reason to shoot, you don't have a reason to show, let alone draw, your firearm.

I know things have been added. Laws offer further exposition. Opinions and situations vary. However, those were the 'rules' when I got started and they have served me well over the decades.

[xxINKxx]

I stay out of other peoples fights/drama. Their problems are not my problems to go get involved in or get shot/beat up for them.

I worry about my own life/family.

[OCEquestrian]

I never CCW with a friction holster of any kind. I always have a retention strap that keeps the gun securely in the holster until I defeat it when drawing..

[CBR_rider]

I think retention is something a lot of folks don’t really think about. I know enough LEO’s who don’t think about it and I know plenty of non LEO’s who are only concerned with comfort and conceal ability in regards to holster/weapon choices. If you are CCW-ing, you must remember that any altercation you get/are forced into now has at least one weapon in it.

I recommend anyone who plans to use a particular weapon/holster combo make their weapons safe and practice (to the best of their health/ability) some wrestling/falling/fighting/tumbling/have someone try to take the firearm/etc while wearing their weapon in the holster. The firearm should remain holstered except perhaps under the most strenuous tests.

[phlebitis]

Solve all these problems by simply not carrying a gun.

[RustyIron]

What say you?

The joker wasn't so much "breaking up a fight" as he was "fighting." And with the coppers showed up, he continued to fight. He was a dummy. Sometimes becoming dead is the price you pay for being a dummy.

[Oldmandan]

Solve all these problems by simply not carrying a gun.

Troll....

[Lonestargrizzly]

Solve all these problems by simply not carrying a gun.

How about simply not drinking?
Troll.

[Arrieta578]

Quality holsters have pleanty of retention without a retention strap or stirrup.

Can you say kydex?

[tuna quesadilla]

What a stupid comment.

The video doesn’t show much, but you hear the officer shout “drop the gun” several times before firing. That doesn’t equal “panic fire” as you claim.

This is sad, but it doesn’t mean the cops were wrong, nor does it prove they were right.

If you’re going to a bar, drinking or not, think carefully about carrying a firearm. More often than not, it’s a bad idea.

I agree with this post; however, I would like to add one additional idea.

I think that when the CCWer heard the officer shout "drop the gun," it didn't click with him that the officer was yelling at HIM.

In his mind, the CCWer had done nothing wrong; in fact, he was trying to be the good samaritan and help the situation. He had to have thought that the officers saw him as a good guy.

When he heard the officer shouting to drop the gun, I'll bet that he thought one of the guys in the fight had pulled a gun, and so he rushed to pick up his own fallen gun.

Sad for both the CCWer and the cop who had to shoot him.