Grey Eyed Bandit
Master of Arts
I thought I'd take some time out and relay the incident in which I was forced to use my baton for the first time.
It was around 4.30 PM and I noticed a pretty big (though not huge), muscular, bald headed guy stuffing a remote control inside his pants. I proceeded to confront him outside the store, upon which he gave it back to me and continued to walk away. I then told him that we could be a little bit discreet and go back inside and talk about it, or I could call the police right away. He apparently had no problem with me calling the police, and so I called for backup from my uniformed colleagues. Right then he decided to take off running - luckily I was faster and managed to get in front of him and put my arm to his chest telling him to back up.
At that moment he proceeded to grab my jacket and tried to kick me in the groin- luckily I had time to turn enough for his kick to hit just below my right hip instead. I managed to distance myself from him by shoving with my left arm and moving backward ichimonji-stylee, and at the same time I drew my baton which I carry tip up on my right side in a velcro holster. Since he moved in on me again I felt I had no choice but to let him have it, and so proceeded to strike him maybe three or four times about the right arm and both of his thighs. Noticing the look in his eyes as well as his reaction to my pretty solid hits, I for the first time realized he was probably pretty doped up, and he took off running once more, only to stop after a while trying to attack me again, upon which I swung at his thighs about three times more.
This was right outside an open subway station, and he proceeded to walk straight in and walked on the oncoming train. Since I was alone, didn't know whether he was packing or not and with regards to his size, I decided not to try to grapple with him and simply kept my distance with the baton in ready position whilst following him onto the train with a (strangely enough) completely silent crowd watching me from all directions. Right at that point the uniformed guards came running, and seeing as they knew the guy from before he simply stood up and walked back calmly.
Even though the patdown revealed a knife, there had apparently been no need for me to worry about him pulling it - the first hit I scored on his lower arm had caused it to swell incredibly, with the bone poking out at a strange angle from underneath the skin. When the cops showed up however, I quickly found out they weren't really hip to the recent developments in the security business. They asked me what business I had carrying an expandable baton whilss working plainclothes, and so I told them that guards like me have been able to since late 2006, provided they had proper certification and their employer's authorization - which, needless to say, I have. Even so, they decided to seize my baton for the time being while investigating my claims on being legally allowed to carry one, and since I was apparently the primary suspect under investigation for the time being, I wasn't even allowed to report an assault on a public servant, which otherwise is SOP every time we encounter violence.
The perp was starting to look pale from his injured arm, and so they had to rush him to a hospital. Of course I called both my bosses who commended me on a job well done whilst assuring they'd let the police know I had their permission to carry. 90 minutes later however, the same two cops showed up again, handed me back my baton and apologized for their misunderstanding. Right after that they proceeded to let me file the report on the assault, but it still left a sour aftertaste in my mouth that I had been under suspicion just a while earlier. For those who believe I may have erred on the side of excessive force, I have to say that groin kicks and elbows to the head from my side would definitely have been regarded as such - the very reason we carry batons is so that we won't have to hit people with our bare hands and feet.
(Note - there is a common misunderstanting that the ASP baton is designed to break bones cleanly, as opposed to rubber batons which have a tendency to shatter bones and crush tendons and ligaments. The thought behind the ASP is that hitting large muscles with the ball-shaped tip will cut right through them and temporarily shut off the blood supply, causing the arm or leg to lose power and bend under itself. I can now say that I found out the hard way that that isn't always how it works out, at least not on people under influence.)
It was around 4.30 PM and I noticed a pretty big (though not huge), muscular, bald headed guy stuffing a remote control inside his pants. I proceeded to confront him outside the store, upon which he gave it back to me and continued to walk away. I then told him that we could be a little bit discreet and go back inside and talk about it, or I could call the police right away. He apparently had no problem with me calling the police, and so I called for backup from my uniformed colleagues. Right then he decided to take off running - luckily I was faster and managed to get in front of him and put my arm to his chest telling him to back up.
At that moment he proceeded to grab my jacket and tried to kick me in the groin- luckily I had time to turn enough for his kick to hit just below my right hip instead. I managed to distance myself from him by shoving with my left arm and moving backward ichimonji-stylee, and at the same time I drew my baton which I carry tip up on my right side in a velcro holster. Since he moved in on me again I felt I had no choice but to let him have it, and so proceeded to strike him maybe three or four times about the right arm and both of his thighs. Noticing the look in his eyes as well as his reaction to my pretty solid hits, I for the first time realized he was probably pretty doped up, and he took off running once more, only to stop after a while trying to attack me again, upon which I swung at his thighs about three times more.
This was right outside an open subway station, and he proceeded to walk straight in and walked on the oncoming train. Since I was alone, didn't know whether he was packing or not and with regards to his size, I decided not to try to grapple with him and simply kept my distance with the baton in ready position whilst following him onto the train with a (strangely enough) completely silent crowd watching me from all directions. Right at that point the uniformed guards came running, and seeing as they knew the guy from before he simply stood up and walked back calmly.
Even though the patdown revealed a knife, there had apparently been no need for me to worry about him pulling it - the first hit I scored on his lower arm had caused it to swell incredibly, with the bone poking out at a strange angle from underneath the skin. When the cops showed up however, I quickly found out they weren't really hip to the recent developments in the security business. They asked me what business I had carrying an expandable baton whilss working plainclothes, and so I told them that guards like me have been able to since late 2006, provided they had proper certification and their employer's authorization - which, needless to say, I have. Even so, they decided to seize my baton for the time being while investigating my claims on being legally allowed to carry one, and since I was apparently the primary suspect under investigation for the time being, I wasn't even allowed to report an assault on a public servant, which otherwise is SOP every time we encounter violence.
The perp was starting to look pale from his injured arm, and so they had to rush him to a hospital. Of course I called both my bosses who commended me on a job well done whilst assuring they'd let the police know I had their permission to carry. 90 minutes later however, the same two cops showed up again, handed me back my baton and apologized for their misunderstanding. Right after that they proceeded to let me file the report on the assault, but it still left a sour aftertaste in my mouth that I had been under suspicion just a while earlier. For those who believe I may have erred on the side of excessive force, I have to say that groin kicks and elbows to the head from my side would definitely have been regarded as such - the very reason we carry batons is so that we won't have to hit people with our bare hands and feet.
(Note - there is a common misunderstanting that the ASP baton is designed to break bones cleanly, as opposed to rubber batons which have a tendency to shatter bones and crush tendons and ligaments. The thought behind the ASP is that hitting large muscles with the ball-shaped tip will cut right through them and temporarily shut off the blood supply, causing the arm or leg to lose power and bend under itself. I can now say that I found out the hard way that that isn't always how it works out, at least not on people under influence.)
