What Can You Do According to Florida Concealed Carry Laws?

What's Up Sheepdogs? Ryan here with Tampa Carry.

In February 2020, Jeff received a notification on his phone that an individual was requesting a ride. Jeff had been an independent driver for Uber for a few months and enjoyed the freedom this new job provided. 

Everything about Jeff’s new passenger seemed normal at first, that rapidly changed as Jeff approached a red light. 

Suddenly and awkwardly the passenger quickly scooted over behind the driver's seat. 

“Excuse me, could you please move back over so that I’m able to see you” Jeff asked his passenger. At that moment the passenger reached up aggressively and placed Jeff in a chokehold. 

What is Jeff legally allowed to do according to Florida Concealed Carry Laws? Let’s ask ourselves the big questions. 

The Big Questions

How Could This Situation Have Been Avoided? 

Personally I don’t believe this situation could’ve been avoided by Jeff. The passenger did not show any red flags prior to getting into Jeff’s vehicle. His Uber rating was high and Jeff had no idea what was about to happen. The only pre-warning that occurred is when the passenger slid behind Jeff’s driver seat. Clearly this is not normal behavior. 

Does This Scenario Fall Under the Justifiable Use of Force statutes?
Florida Statutes 776.012 (2) A person is justified in using or threatening to use deadly force if he or she reasonably believes that using or threatening to use such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony. A person who uses or threatens to use deadly force in accordance with this subsection does not have a duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground if the person using or threatening to use the deadly force is not engaged in a criminal activity and is in a place where he or she has a right to be.

Are you or someone around you going to die within seconds? I personally think it is very possible. When you wrap your arm around a person's neck you are preventing blood from traveling through the carotid arteries. This prevents oxygen from reaching the brain. After a short time, usually 30 seconds or so, the victim will lose consciousness. If the attacker continues to prevent blood flow to the brain the victim would eventually suffer from brain damage or even death. 

Is the use of deadly force reasonable? In my opinion the answer would be yes. If a stranger chokes me until I pass out, what stops the person from continuing to choke me until I stop breathing and die? I personally believe any jury member that looks through this situation through Jeff’s eyes would believe that it would be reasonable to believe that Jeff was going to die within seconds as this stranger was choking him. 

Is the use of deadly force necessary? An individual that is being choked only has about 30 seconds before they will lose consciousness. For me I have to do anything and everything necessary to prevent myself from losing consciousness especially due to the fact that I have a firearm concealed on my body. 

I cannot afford to allow a criminal to gain access to my firearm or to choke me to death. For these reasons I believe they use or threaten use of deadly force could be viewed as necessary in this situation. Remember this is just my opinion and ultimately the jury will need to decide whether your use of deadly force was necessary or not. 

Are you in a place that you have a right to be? Yes,  Jeff is in his own personal vehicle on a public road.

Are you engaged in a criminal activity? No

Where Is The Line In The Sand? 

The line in the sand would be the moment this individual wrapped his arms around my neck and began choking me. However using a firearm in this situation would be extremely dangerous for any by standards that are in the area. Just imagine you’re sitting in busy traffic at a red light with somebody violently choking you. You pull your firearm from the appendix position and raise it up to engage the threat. One of the requirements of being a safe responsible concealed carry permit holder is to always know what is in front of and beyond your target. Unfortunately in this situation there is no way to know where your bullet is going to stop after firing. You could shoot the attacker and have the bullet go through the back window and fatally strike the persons parked behind you. You may be justified in the use of deadly force against the man choking you and convicted of manslaughter for the individual you accidentally shot. This is an important topic to remember just because you can it doesn’t mean you should. 

What Would You Do If? 

Recently Lincoln and I were riding in the backseat of an Uber when I brought up this story with the young woman who is driving. I asked her what she would do if an unruly passenger attempted to choke her. Without even hesitating this young woman lifted her right hand and showed me that she had a knife fully open hidden underneath her leg. “I would stab him” she replied. 

I think this is absolutely amazing. This young woman has clearly played the what would I do if game and she has a strategy for exactly what she’s going to do if she is ever confronted by a violent attacker. 

What would you do if you were violently attacked while inside of your vehicle? Do you carry your firearm 100% of the time you are legally allowed to or do you leave your firearm in the glove box or center console? If you were attacked would you attempt to shoot the attacker and risk injuring other people around you? What would you do?

Conclusion 

Jeff’s passenger has just lost their damn mind and decided to choke Jeff. Jeff did not know what to do. Thankfully the light turned green and Jeff floored it causing the attacker to fall back in his seat. Realizing the opportunity Jeff swerved into a parking lot, slammed on the brakes and jumped out of the vehicle. The attacker quickly exited the vehicle and ran down the road. 

Jeff was very lucky that he was able to get out of this situation with only minor bruises. 

I met Jeff during one of my concealed carry permit courses in Tampa. Unfortunately Jeff is like most people that I meet. He was getting his license because he never thought he would be the victim of a violent attack until someone was choking him to death. 

Please don't make this same mistake. Take action today to keep you and your family members safe by taking the following steps; 

Step 1: Get your Florida concealed weapons permit by visiting www.TampaCarry.com

Step 2: Carry your firearm 100% of the time you are legally allowed to 

Step 3: Develop your skills so that you are able to use your firearm while under extreme stress

Step 4: Play the “What Would I Do If Game” daily

Leave a comment below and tell me what you would have done in this situation.

That's all I have for today. So until next time keep training and stay safe...

Ryan G. Thomas

P.S. You’re one step away from getting your Florida concealed carry permit….FAST & EASY…

And for a limited time you can watch the concealed carry course online for free... Click here to get started...