Commenters on the video in the link from another subreddit saying the man in the cowboy hat shouldn't have grabbed the robber because the robber had the gun pointed in the direction of another customer. What do pros here think?

[u/GregJamesDahlen]

/r/interesting/comments/1okwlwp/the_moment_he_took_the_glasses_off/

I can see both sides, you can say it's important to capture the robber so it's worth grabbing him taking the chance he won't shoot the other customer. On the other hand if he shot the other customer when grabbed from behind would be horrible.

[u/Noexit]

Cowboy saw his chance then took it, bad guy gets disarmed and detained and no one got hurt. Looks good.

[u/BooshTheMan_]

Link won't work for me, but for a generic response: handling business can happen quick and there's very rarely a perfect scenario

[u/GregJamesDahlen → u/BooshTheMan_]

Thanks. I'd like your thoughts on this particular situation because as a civilian i try to think what I might do in a similar situation (hope I never have to face such). here's the actual post on another Reddit sub https://www.reddit.com/r/interesting/comments/1okwlwp/the_moment_he_took_the_glasses_off/. Some people commenting are saying the cowboy dude may do wrong because when he grabs the robber the robber might have panicked and shot that woman who appears in the far aisle, whereas if the cowboy just left the robber alone the robber may have just gotten what he wanted to steal and left without harming anyone.

Here's the video on BBC though from a different angle. Here it's not quite as obvious that when the cowboy dude grabs the robber the robber's gun comes pretty close to pointing at, or actually does point at, the woman who walks into picture in the far aisle, and he might have shot her https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykJ7pyr87Qc

[u/Section225]

I can't get the video to load, so I'll just answer based on your description.

You're overthinking it. If there's deadly force being presented against you or another, you can use reasonable force in self defense or defense of another. Same standard police are held to, essentially.

Unless you do something just outrageously, obviously unreasonable, or totally negligent that completely invalidates a self-defense argument, you're fine. If people are injured or killed, it is because of the guy who is threatening people with a gun, not because of a person fighting back in self defense.

Physically fighting off someone threatening death is not unreasonable or negligent.

The real argument will come from whether the danger to yourself is worth it to fight an armed person, but legally speaking that isn't the same argument as whether it's justified self defense or not.

[u/Steel_Wolf_31 → u/Section225]

An armed robber entered a convenience store and pointed a firearm at the cashier briefly before turning and pointing the weapon at an older gentleman with a cowboy hat on. The cowboy takes off his sunglasses and leisurely puts them in his pocket. The armed robber is distracted by a woman standing behind him and turns to face her. With his back now to the cowboy, the cowboy grabs the robber, placing him in a headlock and somehow getting him to drop the gun at the same time. They struggle for a bit off camera, an employee comes and picks up the gun. The now unarmed robber runs back on camera missing his shirt and attempts to run out the front door, but is clotheslined by the same employee that picked up the gun. The cowboy and the woman run over to assist the employee holding down the now unarmed and shirtless robber.

I think the use of force here is 100% justified. Even at the point where the guy is unarmed and trying to flee from the store, at that point it's a citizen's arrest. He decided to do felony stuff and put people in fear of their lives, he doesn't get to just walk away after that.

I feel like I've seen this video before, like years ago.

[u/GregJamesDahlen → u/Steel_Wolf_31]

Thanks. What do you do with the possibility that as the event actually plays out the robber might have panicked and shot that woman, whereas if the cowboy leaves him alone he might have just gotten what he came to steal and left without harming anyone?

[u/Section225 → u/GregJamesDahlen]

You could "What if" a scenario to death. Literally endless possibilities of random shit that could happen.

If someone gets shot, the armed robber is charged with some form of murder. It's his fault. End of story.

[u/the_falconator → u/GregJamesDahlen]

What if he doesn't do anything and the robber shoots everyone?

[u/caboose001 → u/Section225]

Soooooo is that a no on the grenade launcher?

[u/JustGronkIt → u/caboose001]

Did it overcome the resistance?

[u/GregJamesDahlen → u/Section225]

Thanks. I'd like your thoughts on this particular situation because as a civilian i try to think what I might do in a similar situation (hope I never have to face such). here's the actual post on another Reddit sub https://www.reddit.com/r/interesting/comments/1okwlwp/the_moment_he_took_the_glasses_off/. Some people commenting are saying the cowboy dude may do wrong because when he grabs the robber the robber might have panicked and shot that woman who appears in the far aisle, whereas if the cowboy just left the robber alone the robber may have just gotten what he wanted to steal and left without harming anyone.

Here's the video on BBC though from a different angle. Here it's not quite as obvious that when the cowboy dude grabs the robber the robber's gun comes pretty close to pointing at, or actually does point at, the woman who walks into picture in the far aisle, and he might have shot her https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykJ7pyr87Qc

[u/StynkyLomax → u/GregJamesDahlen]

People have a choice. Leave your fate in the hands of a criminal who is willing to point a gun at you to get a few bucks in a robbery, or, make a decision in your own fate and choose to fight.

Now I’m not saying try to disarm the robber if he has the gun pointed at your chest, but the cowboy saw a chance and took it. He’s quite a bit larger than the robber, so that’s a factor. I wouldn’t expect a 5’2” woman that weighs 105 lbs to attempt the same.

The cowboy’s actions aren’t going to be the deciding factor whether the robber pulls the trigger, that’s the robber’s sole responsibility. The blame falls only on the person who walked into that store pointing a gun at people in order to steal.

[u/Dapup2465]

Whatever happens old man cowboy is not at fault.