A self-defense story:

Last night, after the nightclub I work at had closed but while I was still hanging out, I went out to the parking lot to put my jacket, hat, gloves, radio mic, etc. in my car.  While doing so I heard someone yell.  I looked to my right and saw two men on the corner of the next block.  Making note of  them, but not thinking too much of them otherwise, I continued to my car, opened the door and began to put my stuff away.

As I was doing so I heard someone running behind me.  I turned around and saw a man running down the sidewalk in my general direction.  As he got closer he changed course and actually headed directly at me while yelling, "Hey!  Can you give me a ride?!"

Not wanting to simply take him at his word I assumed, for safeties' sake, that his question could have been a ploy to get me to lower my defenses.  I pulled my flashlight out (kind of a "Frankenstein" light using a SureFire Z2 body with Solarforce crenelated bezel, SureFire click on tailcap, SureFire Combat Ring and an Malkoff Devices M60 drop in bulb assembly, just in case you're wondering ;-), pressed the tailcap button and pointed the light in his face.  He immediately stopped short (about 15-20 feet away), put his left hand up to block the light and said, "Get that fucking light out of my face!"

With the light on him I recognized the man from having been in the club earlier.  I also remembered having had some problems with him that night and the previous night.  Because of this, and because I could tell that he was very drunk, I replied--in an uncharacteristic use of profanity--"NO! BACK THE FUCK UP!"  To this he reiterated, "Get that fucking light out of my face!"  I told him that I would turn the light off once he backed away.  He then actually took a step toward me!  I responded by deploying my baton (an ASP  DuraTec Airweight), with its trademark "SNAP!", and rested it on my right shoulder in a "relaxed-ready" position.

He didn't seem to recognize what I had done and continued to belligerently tell me to get the flashlight out of his face.  We went back and forth about it for what seemed WAY too long until I noticed his buddy walk up behind him.  At this I began to circle to my right to avoid getting stuck between them and my car.  Thankfully his buddy seemed to have his wits about him a little more and said, "Dude, that's a cop. Leave him alone".  He then looked at me and said, "Are you a cop?"  I replied, "No, I'm a bouncer at (the nightclub I work at)."  Guy #2 recognized me at this point and again told his buddy to "leave (me) alone".

About this time a cab drove by and stopped on the next corner. Guy #2 said to guy #1, "Come on, there's a cab!" at which point they both ran away toward the cab, got in and drove away.

I finished putting my stuff away and went back inside the club.

Thus endeth the story.