I cut out the rest because he didn't use deadly force, the code that covers what he did is here. But the part I left is relevant because of the code.
He didn't have to be in fear of serious bodily injury or death. All he needed is a reasonable belief that a unlawful use of force was imminent. Which I feel he had, 3 guys approaching quickly from opposite directions in a dark area, I'd feel the same.
Please don't take this the wrong way, I'm not trying to slam you. Just trying to give you something to think about.
While you may not have a duty to retreat, sometimes its the best thing to do. I'm glad we don't have to retreat. But discretion is the better part of valor, he who fights and runs away lives to fight another day and don't go looking for trouble it just might find you and all that jazz. Depending on the circumstances, my home I'm not fleeing, my family on the line, I'll get them to flee if its safe while I stay behind and provide cover but if its safe to do so and it doesn't endanger other innocents I'm probably(again depending on circumstances) going to be out of there.
ETA I almost forgot, in your OP I think you did good, and were legal while doing so but IANAL, TINLA, YMMV etc.
This is where I begin to disagree.
I am glad the law says there is no duty to retreat - that's the way the law should be. There are many situations where retreating is not a viable option - such as, I am not going to retreat from my home and abandon my kids tto the mercy of home invaders.
However, there are many situations where I do believe that retreating is the most sensible option. If I am presented with such a situation, I am not too proud or too macho to avoid a confrontation if possible. In OPs situation, if I can avoid getting into a shoot out by stepping back into the store, without having to abandon my kid or desert some other pressing obligation, then I'm going to do it.
Even in a completely justified self defense shooting, I am likely to have post incident stress reactions, a real possibility of expensive legal troubles, and who knows if one of the three guys might also have a gun and I get shot too.
For these reasons, I'm not going to get in to a shootout if I can avoid it.
I'm glad the "no duty to retreat" law is in place, but I still will consider whether retreat may be my best option in some confrontations.
I didn't say you did the wrong thing, what you did may possibly be the best thing you could of done, depending on how far you were from the store/car, where they were etc. If they had bad intentions towards you and you went to retreat into the store they might of decided to bum rush you before you got in, by you going towards your car and away from "help" might of made them over confident and easier to deal with. From the sound of it you had very little time to make a decision, you made one and acted on it, better than standing there trying to weigh every possible action. You acted and no one was injured. Except maybe the one guys pride from having to clean his underwear. Its just how you phrased the post I responded too, made it seem that you wouldn't consider retreating period.As i said in my post i think that going into the store may have been the best option, but it wasn't the first thing to cross my mind. This is something that WILL cross my mind now, thanks to chubbs.
I drew a gun on a would be robber at lafayette square mall. You can draw a gun and not shoot so many say if my gun is coming out it is shooting but I didn't and the problem ended peacefully. Like I said earlier better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6.
j706, why do you have a carry permit for over twenty years when you are LEO? Most I know do not need one because they are LEO.
j706,
I'm not here to criticize your opinion. And I'm definitely not trying to make this a cop bashing post. But consider when a cop draws his weapon and points it at, or near a suspect because there may be a chance that his life is going to be threatened. He is only preparing for a situation that he thinks may escalate, even though he is not yet in fear of bodily harm.
Now flip that back to the OPs situation. I think he was only doing the same. And in that situation, inside a vehicle, with the steering wheel etc in the way, its very tough to "draw down" and have the gun away from the person, yet still be prepared that possibly escalation. With somebody that close things can happen in the blink of an eye. I still hold the opinion that in order to be the best prepared for that, with the person as close as he was, the best way was to point the gun in the person direction.
If it would've been me, it would've been pointed in the person's direction but it'd be held below the window (pointing through the door). This way it isn't perceived so much as a threat, but as a warning, yet it is easily deployable.
+1 Thanks for coming back and posting more amid all the criticism.