Hmmm...I'm not sure, but a person reaching into his jacket, to assume that he's reaching for a gun...is a bit presumtive isn't it? I get what you're saying...but...maybe while on the phone he's reaching for a pen to jot down a phone number from whomever he's talking to? "Don't move..." Last time I checked that doesn't have much to do with a Terroristic Threat...good luck prosecuting that one...

I'm on the permit holder's team here, but sometimes a person can walk the line of paranoid verus prepared...thoughts?

I'd say that it wasn't just his reaching into his jacket. “he stepped towards the middle with his hand inside his jacket and loudly commanded, "Don't Move!" I’d say this was a good reason to expect an attack. I don’t think ruffelo was overreacting.

I've been struggling over how to humbly ask this question, but fear my attempt has fallen short. So here it is. If your hand and arm are extended out between you and a possible adversary, how do you avoid shooting your own hand should you have to draw and fire?

They asked for my ID but never asked for my Permit to Carry, which I had told them about. They seemed supportive of my choice to carry a handgun and the one comment they made was something like this: "You handled this well, but as a Permit holder we hope you know that if you have to pull the trigger, you should consider it a $1,000,000 decision."

I've been struggling over how to humbly ask this question, but fear my attempt has fallen short. So here it is. If your hand and arm are extended out between you and a possible adversary, how do you avoid shooting your own hand should you have to draw and fire?

Among other possibilities, you draw back your extended hand to take a two-handed grip on your handgun. If your hand is occupied physically fending off somebody, you've got serious problems that probably aren't going to be solved with a gun in your other hand. (This is why many people carry another tool, in addition to a handgun.)

We saw him again:

So the lovely lady and myself were once again walking, yes...in the skyway, and as we turned a corner saw the man who accosted us in the exact same clothing. I might add that it was not man who I wrote about earlier with the particular walk. We quickly turned back around the corner and decided to take the opportunity to call him in.

To tell the truth, I have been regretting the decision not to stick around and try to make a police report. So I called, talked, and the dispatcher found my call record and dispatched the police. He remained at this particular skyway for most of the phone call, but then disappeared into the Baker Center. The dispatcher asked if I still wanted to talk to the police, and so I asked if there was a purpose to doing so and that I wished I had stuck around on Tuesday. She replied that I could still make a police report now when they arrived.

So this time we waited. The police arrived at the TCF building and (dangit, just realized I didn't grab their cards, usually remember that!) told them the events from Tuesday. They were polite, but their initial reaction was kinda: yeah...and...what can we do for you.....? I replied that I didn't want to waste their time, that I knew this was likely a "soft approach holdup" (thanks Dick Unger) but I thought it was prudent to do what I could to make this less likely to reoccur and that the dispatcher had advised me to stick around if I could. They warmed up a bit and kinda said thanks.

They asked for my ID but never asked for my Permit to Carry, which I had told them about. They seemed supportive of my choice to carry a handgun and the one comment they made was something like this: "You handled this well, but as a Permit holder we hope you know that if you have to pull the trigger, you should consider it a $1,000,000 decision."

I said I did understand that and that I took the responsibility very seriously and also that I was very happy that the event had not been more life-changing.

Weak hand extended with the strong hand already on the gun, obviously given the time, the intent is that they meet somewhere, hopefully behind the muzzle. Waiting for your weak hand to touch your stomach before drawing seems like a lot to ask under pressure. The closer to the holster your forced to fire, the trickier it gets. Sticking your hand out is natural, perhaps even unavoidable, but should we be training to do it? Course I have a few carpenter buddies that do just fine with a few missing fingers.

how do you avoid shooting your own hand should you have to draw and fire?

I've been struggling over how to humbly ask this question, but fear my attempt has fallen short. So here it is. If your hand and arm are extended out between you and a possible adversary, how do you avoid shooting your own hand should you have to draw and fire?