FL:Armed and Alert Business Owner Stops Crime Spree

An alert and armed business owner made a citizens arrest of the third suspect in a string of over 40 burglaries. Police had distributed email alerts describing the suspect, and Charles Fouche, owner of Beach Pawn Shop was able to get the drop on the suspect, William Hasencamp.

Link to video of the encounter

Mr. Fouche, along with a number of other jewelery and gold dealers had been sent pictures of the suspect, who police believed to be the ringleader of the three man team. The other two suspects had already been arrested. The police had described the suspect as armed and dangerous. That description justified Mr. Fouche's threat of deadly force.

In the video, Fouche circles behind the suspect, then draws what appears to be a short barreled, stainless revolver. It is probably a Smith & Wesson J frame .38 Special five shot, but it could be a clone from Taurus, or a Ruger. Mr. Fouche did well in a dangerous situation, and he deserves thanks from his community. But there are a few points where he could improve his technique, so I will mention them for the benefit of others.

First, his access to his revolver is perilously slow. I do not worship at the alter of quick-draw, but the draw should be smooth and of short duration. In this case it appears to take five seconds from the time the decision is made to access the revolver to the time it is presented.

Second, he is very, very close to the suspect. Getting behind him is good, but using almost anything as a barrier between the suspect and himself would have made a disarm attempt very difficult. Even a chair or stool between Mr. Fouche and the suspect would have provided some protection.

Third, it is a bad idea to extend your gun hand toward the suspect for emphasis. At that point in the video it appears that Mr. Fouche's revolver is perilously close to the suspect, and in danger of being taken away. When you are within five feet, the weapon should be kept close to your body to prevent a disarm attempt. Which brings us to the fourth point.

In the video Mr. Fouche uses a variation of the old FBI technique where the reaction hand is held across the chest. The idea of this was to give some protection to the heart and lungs. The technique is no longer considered valid. A better use for the reaction hand in this circumstance is to have it in front of the body, similar to a basic martial arms stance, so that it can be ready to fend off an attack and to protect against any attempt to reach the weapon hand. If used in this way, it is very hard for a person who is attempting a disarm to avoid being shot.

When the police are taking the suspect, Hasencamp away, he turns to Fouche and thanks him for not shooting him:

Your criticisms are spot on. A few additional notes:

1) I like to point out the huge advantages a cc holder has over an armed assailant, even if the assailant’s gun is leveled at the cc holder and ready to fire. However, like in this case, if *you* are brandishing and holding someone, if *they* have concealed carry (legal or not), a LOT of advantage shifts to them. You must always assume they have concealed carry. You must be very sharp.

2) And as I harp on the value of a knife as being complementary to a gun, if you are brandishing and holding at less than optimal gun distance, you are in grave risk from a knife attack. This creates a problem if they refuse to comply: do you close to them?, or do you keep your distance?

3) If they are smart, as soon as your threat is apparent, they will be looking for cover, if possible, and concealment, if not. marktwain mentioned an aspect of this, that *any* barrier between you two you need to assume works in *their* favor.

4) Another military and police bit is that “if there are two of you, and only one is holding a gun, a smart enemy will try to maneuver so that the one without the gun is between the one with the gun and him.” There are several variations of this, with one good guy and two bad guys; or two good guys and one bad guy. The person in the middle can very effectively conceal a concealed carry being drawn.

If there are two guys with guns, maneuvering this way can at least for a moment, reduce the threat from 2 to 1.

5) Helpful people are often the most unhelpful as they can be. Say you are brandishing and they are complying. Then a third person, who was scared, wants to use the opportunity to beat, or even kill, the person you are holding. A different person might just want to walk in between the two of you, creating scenario #4 above. Others may just sit there, like a bump on a log, instead of doing something actively useful, like calling the police.

Important note: tell at least TWO people to call the police, assuming that one of them will foul it up. Make sure they tell the police that you are armed and holding the person, so they don’t shoot you for brandishing your gun.

6) It ain’t over until it is over. If someone else is there, make sure they secure anything like cash that could be easily stolen, any video recordings of the event, etc. And *you* must be prepared if they have an accomplice(s), and decide to “rescue” who you are holding.

It also means you might as well close down for the day, because you will have to inventory everything, possibly have to contact your insurance company, fill out police reports, notify friends and family so they don’t panic when they see the news. etc.

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