How many times has your Light saved your life or kept u from becoming a victim.

Or someone else!?

<Inserted Tuesday 7:30am NY time>
(Unlike Surefire, I invite debate..this is a public forum I want to hear some good debating points! Start BLOGGING and remember what BLOG stands for.)

Surefire has a contest where u write in your story and maybe u win 100$ store credit.

Like penthouse forum, I question most of these stories.

also like Playboy or penthouse many stories are Very old...like when cops didnt carry anything but a 3 D maglight , like 4 or 5 yrs ago. ANd the civilian hero had a surefire etc.

SO lets hear some stories from our CURRENT Active membership

tonight, myself:

Well I just came home from going out...so my Jetbeam Mk1 IBS is still around my neck on a lanyard
with 14500 Cell its 225 lumens when i first fire it up!
its the backup for my Still speed holstered
Homemade Surefire 9P made from scratch

2 X 18500 C to C leefbody with Surefire Crenelated bezel. Z59 Clicky GITD o ring for tailcap gap. and a P91 lamp for 320 LUMENS. Measurements goto MDOCOD..is that right his name?

Tonight I decided I have sat home long enough. I was determined to have a good time.

I drove to a familiar GPS poi, parked in front of a bar. A bar next to one of the two fire island ferries, a dead end on maple in bayshore. A pier. it was still early. I was wondering where the ferry to ocean beach was and decided to head that way and get a schedule for next weekend. It was a second, free lot..by another ferry, not the gated lot.

I was walking toward the ferry when one large shirtless drunk bodybuilder grabbed me and he was there with is friend..asked me if I was lost, said they were lost...asked me for money.
I made some space between us and after a short warning and trying to get away, i blasted them in the face with my biggest brightest flashlight....they moved so slow it seemed i couldve pulled anything from my pocket...it wasnt inna holster (I fumbled in my pocket) i was dressed up, trying to look good. one even asked me if I was reaching for a gun. the fact they were drunk made them dangerous but slow to react.

then I saw the ferry pull away, the one I had been looking for......Now that it was away from the pier wall I now could see its running lights clearly about 20 yrds further down.

After being blinded twice they stopped coming and as they wondered aloud what I was doing with a light like that, they started to pickup weapons...as I called 911


then I pulled my Pepper gun, the one that looks like a black tazer ONLY two shots! not good odds if I miss them each just once. (I lost my backup pepper, and decided to leave the one that looks like an orange gun at home)...gave a last warning One designed to sound like an authority figure, Last chance I said. took aim, they slinked away behind a wall, and I waited for police. The police were only about 4 or 5 blocks away I saw them as I entered. Only another few seconds i thought to myself.....

and I waited....

And I waited

then I called again,

I Saw they were waiting for me to pull out the only way out, in my car, which I had taken to hiding behind my back against the water.

I hoped shining that light would put in their minds the fact i could be a cop..(I was an Aux. Cop once upon a time)...and I waited. Only two shots of pepper between me and them...

they asked me to confirm my name, then address..asked for a cross street, gave exact address,

asked me for cross streets.

then no one ever came.

if I hadnt had my light, and my kimber guardian angel id be a victim right now.
even more worrying even tho I hear its very quiet tonight on the police radio..they never came.

they decided to let me face my fate I guess.
isnt it illegal for the police to fail to respond to a 911 call..?

i left after calling them back over half an hour later..to tell them there was no more need for police intervention as I was totally alone at that point, except for the owner of the bar who now was watching me just stand there. I had knocked on his door to let me in a few minutes earlier..but he had closed very early. He would not have unlocked the door to save me Im sure.

Im still high on adrenalin, shaking over 3 hours later..

I pulled out of the lot, it was clear, they got bored and started hassling some women who I was in no position to help.

If I was them Id be pretty sure I had a gun or was gonna have a bad time. I put on a really good show. Pure confidence and adrenalin saved me from two drunk steroid using thugs. (a little help from a police issue light and My guardian angel, the real one, and the one I carry.) I was thinking the whole time if I survive this by shooting them with pepper Id get arrested for assault even tho I would've been in the right.

Wow, sounds like a really bad situation. I would have been infuriated at the behavior of the 911 people and police both.

Was this somewhere in the U.S.???

No. To answer your question, the police are under no legal obligation to assist you. This has been argued in some of teh higher courts and the decision is always the same. They are not required by law to help.

Now obviously, they often do help and for that I am grateful. I am glad they are there, but you are really the only one who can help you.

I think what most people miss is that the police are really there to protect the peace and to protect property. They are often incorrectly called "first responders." In truth, they are the second responders. You by proxy, are the first to respond, as you did by presenting your light and pepper spray.

You might persue some training and education and see if something a little more potent might be a better choice for you. Some people are immune to the effects of pepper spray or mace type products. Depending upon your personal situation and lifestyle, a gun might be a choice that fits, but if headed to a bar you wouldn't have it on you either.

Glad everything worked out for you.

A lot of folks think that the police will always respond when called. That's not the case. Not even in a situation like the one that happened to you.

Glad everything worked out for you.

I was leaning in the passenger side of my buddies car talking to him late one night at Sonic and 5 guys in a Pontiac Grand am had just gotten their food and backed up behind us. They sat there for about 15 seconds while i was trying to ignore them, and the driver smirks off-are you a cop, with the passenger grinning and 3 guys in the back leaning up like their ready to jump out. (I drive a Crown Vic and im not a cop, but i do carry a taser and pepperspray, and of course never leave the house without a light) I immediately stood up while taking out my Dereelight DBS (black edition with the R2) and clicked it on about a foot below his face (trying to be nice) and replied- excuse me, what seems to be the problem? Him and the passenger covered their eyes, and the 3 guys in the back IMMEDIATLY hit the back of their seats sitting down. The driver responded- uh, no problem, uh do you have a card or something? I replied i didn't at the moment, but that i could contact someone that did. He said, no thats ok, thanks anyway. He starts to take off and he turns to his buddy in the passenger seat and says-DAM, THAT THING IS BRIGHT. It was just awsome timing, because it just so happens that the buddy i was talking to was making fun of me just a few days earlier about me spending $145.00 for a flashlight. I walked back to the car laughing my butt off, and he replies- dam, thats the coolest thing i have ever seen, i got to get one of those. Kinda sucks i didn't get spray them, but i have dropped more than 5 before with it and picking them off while trying to get out of the car would be like shooting fish in a barrel, so im happy.

What country allows you to carry a taser and pepper spray? In Australia its illegal to carry guns, pepper spray or tazers if you are just a civilian. This is probably why serious assaults, murders and such are so low because its only fist to fist. Much better then gun to gun.
Anyway, besides that. I light saved me after a break in to my store. Before I entered the store I shined a bright light through the front windows to acted as if I'm a cop and I saw the guy run away. Never chased after him. Cops never helped as well. He got away with thousands of dollars worth of smokes and goods. Insurance handled the rest.

Nothing life saving or threatening yet... knock on wood.

A couple years ago we were at Disneyland. It was dark, the park was closed and 1000s of people were flocking out of the park. It was decently well lit but still dark enough to get separated. I was tending to my 1 Y/O daughter at the time and my wife frieked out... Oh my god wheres Darren!!? My wife turned pale. My 4 Y/O son who is Autistic and suffers ADHD disappeared... just took off and was no where in sight.

I whipped out my Lowes Task Force and after ~10 minutes of searching around we found him a couple-hundred yards away running to the other theme parks. It was the reflective tape on his jacket that I saw beaming back at me through all the other people.

Ya! Task Force:thumbsup:!

I don't know if it saved my life, but it did give some "questionable" people some bright spots.
I lit up an area under a bridge one time. You could hear the people talking, they saw us coming, so I flashed my Streamlight Scorpion in the direction we were walking. Everyone got quite, and we passed undisturbed.

I usually only carry non lethal, less lethal weapons. You know the old saying. If you carry a hammer, after awhile everything looks like a nail.

Hell, I don't know.
Does helping 25 people get out of a completly dark space right after an earthquake count?
I never leave home without a flashlight. It is allways at the ready either for work, or as a lifesaving device. Hell I would use it to help a doctor sew sombody up if necessary. Whatever helps the common good. If I am able I am there.
Yaesumofo

unique said:

What country allows you to carry a taser and pepper spray? In Australia its illegal to carry guns, pepper spray or tazers if you are just a civilian. This is probably why serious assaults, murders and such are so low because its only fist to fist. Much better then gun to gun.

Click to expand...

In some parts of America, you can legally carry a taser or pepper spray. But please don't buy into the myth that every American is a trigger-happy, paranoid freak. Even the news media in America will not cover stories involving legitimate incidents of self-defense with a firearm. And such incidents are not rare. Far from it.

Also, no personal offense intended, but I seriously doubt that violent criminals in Australia actually obey weapons laws. Or only fight fist to fist. Many nations outside the U.S. like to report how small their ratio of gun crime is, compared to America. Ask about their rates of violent crime, and the stats look far less rosey. If a violent criminal has a hard time getting his hands on a gun, he'll get a knife; or a thick dowel that can be cut down to form a concealable club.

Violent criminals love weapons, and they love hurting people.... Two of the few things in this world that truly are, universal.

Jamesmark72 said:

I usually only carry non lethal, less lethal weapons. You know the old saying. If you carry a hammer, after awhile everything looks like a nail.

Click to expand...

A varied "toolbelt" is essential.... Considering that sometimes, you do run into a nail.

Jamesmark72 said:

I was leaning in the passenger side of my buddies car talking to him late one night at Sonic and 5 guys in a Pontiac Grand am had just gotten their food and backed up behind us. They sat there for about 15 seconds while i was trying to ignore them, and the driver smirks off-are you a cop, with the passenger grinning and 3 guys in the back leaning up like their ready to jump out. (I drive a Crown Vic and im not a cop, but i do carry a taser and pepperspray, and of course never leave the house without a light) I immediately stood up while taking out my Dereelight DBS (black edition with the R2) and clicked it on about a foot below his face (trying to be nice) and replied- excuse me, what seems to be the problem? Him and the passenger covered their eyes, and the 3 guys in the back IMMEDIATLY hit the back of their seats sitting down. The driver responded- uh, no problem, uh do you have a card or something? I replied i didn't at the moment, but that i could contact someone that did. He said, no thats ok, thanks anyway. He starts to take off and he turns to his buddy in the passenger seat and says-DAM, THAT THING IS BRIGHT. It was just awsome timing, because it just so happens that the buddy i was talking to was making fun of me just a few days earlier about me spending $145.00 for a flashlight. I walked back to the car laughing my butt off, and he replies- dam, thats the coolest thing i have ever seen, i got to get one of those. Kinda sucks i didn't get spray them, but i have dropped more than 5 before with it and picking them off while trying to get out of the car would be like shooting fish in a barrel, so im happy.

Click to expand...

that is so cool!!

I suppose being an active Emergency Medical Technician is kind of cheating, isn't it.

Har har har.

In other words, too many times to count.

Mercaptan said:

I suppose being an active Emergency Medical Technician is kind of cheating, isn't it.

Har har har.

In other words, too many times to count.

Click to expand...

At least tell us which lights you reply on for work.

I was called to stop a fight between two guys. One guy was walking away, blood in his mouth. The other, shirtless, was yelling smack.

I told him to cool it. When he didn't, I sprayed him with Kimber Lifeact Guardian Angel--two shots from about 6 feet. Both hit him in the temple and had no effect whatsoever. Basically, I missed. And I realized I was too close for the particular spray pattern of the Guardian Angel.

Because of the velocity of the Lifeact, it is probably better for windy conditions than any other spray. It probably works better at longer distance as the pattern opens up, but is poor at close range because the pattern is the size of a coin at six feet.

I bought a new Lifeact, but will only use it under the right circumstances--at $42 each, I hate to waste money, when I get Sabre Red for free.

And I wouldn't worry about being arrested for assault if you can show you are acting in defense of self or others.

unique said:

...In Australia its illegal to carry guns, pepper spray or tazers if you are just a civilian. This is probably why serious assaults, murders and such are so low because its only fist to fist. Much better then gun to gun.
....

Click to expand...

I feel so sorry for you. You have no idea what real freedom is like. I have had Australian friends visit me in the US, and marvel that we're allowed and trusted to have guns and weapons and that we haven't managed to kill each other in some blood lust yet.

Your laws give you a false sense of security that you have no idea if it's putting you in danger or not. Much like most people who assume the police have a duty to assist each individual from criminals - they don't, not here in the US any way.

I work at a Federal prison. I've only had one "Use of Force" involving my Flashlight. I was checking Pipe chases (The areas between cells with all the pipes and crap) around 2300 and had an inmate grab me by the back of my collar. I threw an elbow behind me and smacked him in the face with the crown of My L4 gave him a shove then gave him a good blast in the eyes with my light. That gave another officer enough time to jump in and help me. In the scuffle my light was pretty much drop kicked over most of the pod. It ceased functioning that night. Surefire fixed it for me and had it back in my hand within 2 weeks