On vacation and just had a chill run up my spine.

[Miami_JBT]

Short recap of what happened.

Wife and I are on vacation in Tampa for Busch Gardens and their water park. After the park we went to dinner to a local Chinese restaurant. The place was practically empty. A single family and the wife and I eating enjoying our meals.

I always have the habit of carrying and always try to sit so I can have a wall behind me and I can watch the entrance / register area. Well, this shifty looking guy walks in. First thing he does is look in each corner of the ceiling probably looking for security cameras. He is no way dressed to match the environment. Wife and I were not fancy but classy as was the family. The staff was all dressed professionally with shirts and ties. This wasn't your normal chinese joint; this was a fancier place. He was dressed in a pair of ratty blue jeans, dirty white tshirt, and a pair of scuffed up airwalks. He had no bulge in his back pockets that would show a wallet nor did his front pockets. He did have a bulge in his waistband.

He sat down behind us and didn't really order anything. He just told the staff to bring him whatever they thought was a good meal. He didn't eat much but did more of a picking of it all the while he looked at the door and shifted in his seat. I told the wife in spanish "stop eating, we are taking this to go right now". I paid and we left asap.

Before I was married I would have done something. I would have sat, watched, planned, etc... now all that came to my head was "GET OUT!" and "KEEP HER SAFE!". I just can't shake it and my cop senses. Everything just seems not normal with that guy. I'm not in an area I know, off duty, plain clothes, and with my wife. I was in no position to do anything if anything happened so I figured getting myself and her out of there was the best thing I could do. Hell, if I was not there with the wife I would have stayed and ate my meal by simply watching this guy the whole time. But I didn't, instead we paid and left. For all I know the guy was.simply a nutjob and paid after he "ate" but I don't care. I simply feel my wife's safety took priority. This guy just set off.every alarm in my head and sent that chill up my spine. If I was.working a case for someone casing and doing stick up jobs this guy would have been a prime subject due to the he was dressed, acted, looked at things, etc...

Did I do right? Did I overreact? Was I a jerk for thinking "screw you other folks, wife is the VIP here"?

[Ridgerunner665]

Better safe than sorry...

Family first...always!

[Wake27]

You were off duty, so you had no obligation to anyone there but your wife. I would've done exactly what you did. Again, better safe than sorry. No harm came of you leaving, so it was a good decision.

[SteyrAUG]

The only thing I'd have done differently is alerted the staff to the possible "problem" so that they are advised.

Guy was probably meeting his dealer.

But if it feels wrong, there is probably a reason. I'd have vacated as well.

[Mr blasty]

I have a good friend from south Africa who was a colonel during the bush wars and saw some heavy combat. He's a damn smart man and I definitely look up to him. Best advice he ever gave me was always trust your gut. Never second guess it.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Xparent BlueTapatalk 2

[Aries144]

I know exactly what you're talking about and have had the same "change" since getting married, though I'm no cop. "Get her out!" etc.

You listened to your gut. Sounds like you did right. You and your family are safe, so now you can nitpick "coulda shoulda" with yourself. ;)

I've got a question for you though, would a 911 call to report something suspicious have been appropriate? I did it once and felt like a bit of an idiot afterwards. After all, it could have been nothing. Do they really take calls like that seriously?

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

I have a good friend from south Africa who was a colonel during the bush wars and saw some heavy combat. He's a damn smart man and I definitely look up to him. Best advice he ever gave me was always trust your gut. Never second guess it.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Xparent BlueTapatalk 2

I have two smaller kids and you can only go over so many scenarios with them. I teach them that if you think something is wrong, it probably is. We didn't become the apex predators of our planet by accident. Millions of years of evolution have given us the ability to know when people 'aint right'. Listen to that little voice in your head, and when it screams, act decisively.

I thought all Chinese food was to go. Next you'll tell me that you are supposed to cook the cookie dough that comes in those tubes from the grocery store....

[Nightvisionary]

Bulge in his waistband? Are you sure he wasn't the fat kid from SuperBad?

[SteyrAUG]

I know exactly what you're talking about and have had the same "change" since getting married, though I'm no cop. "Get her out!" etc.

You listened to your gut. Sounds like you did right. You and your family are safe, so now you can nitpick "coulda shoulda" with yourself. ;)

I've got a question for you though, would a 911 call to report something suspicious have been appropriate? I did it once and felt like a bit of an idiot afterwards. After all, it could have been nothing. Do they really take calls like that seriously?

Varies by zip code and location.

As a for example I once had a gf who was a manager for a clothing store. She was who the security company would call if the burglar alarm went off at night and she'd have to go check out the store. On her way she called the PD and requested to have an officer meet her. He arrived when she did and he told her to wait outside and he completely searched the store for intruders or signs of forced entry. Turned out to be a false alarm but outstanding effort on the part of the officer.

Later we moved to an area of downtown Ft. Lauderdale. She worked for the same company in the same capacity but managing a new location that is fine during the day but pretty dicey at night. When she had a late night alarm she called Ft. Lauderdale PD and requested to have an officer meet her. The 911 dispatcher told her to just call them back if she gets there and actually has any problems.

[Honu]

getting older and having family truly changes your reactions and what you do or has for me and all my friends
best to just blend away and or get away in those situations
I have called LEO on a few rare occasions often the non emergency number and just told em what I saw for heads up

[Tzed250]

Ideal response. Remove yourself and those you care about from the threat. If the guy was up to no good then at least you are here to tell about it instead of being at a hospital or in an attorney's office.

[Eurodriver]

What restaurant were you at? Tampa has some seedy places. Especially up near BG

[Miami_JBT]

What restaurant were you at? Tampa has some seedy places. Especially up near BG

I believe it was off Fowler and was a Hong Kong restaurant. I'm used to shady places having grown up and worked in Miami so simply being in a shady area isn't 100% oh shit for me but last night raised the hair on the back on my neck.

Thanks guys... I informed Tampa PD right after we got out and swung by the station near Busch Gardens. The patrol Sgt was QRU and 10-4. He informed me that there has been a rash of robberies. He said that one should always follow their gut instinct and training. I didn't survive Afghanistan and the Road by not doing so.

I also thank God for giving me such a supporting wife. At no point did she question my motives or thought process. When we got out I explained it to her and she was shocked. She said the guy felt sketchy to her too but she didn't know how to bring it up and figured it was simply because she was tired from the day's activities at the park. But her gut instinct kicked in. She's no country hayseed or booksmart only nerd. She grew up in PR and it wasn't the rich beach areas. My wife has one hell of a head on her shoulders and is very street smart.

[montanadave]

Before I was married I would have done something. I would have sat, watched, planned, etc... now all that came to my head was "GET OUT!" and "KEEP HER SAFE!".

Ah, I get it. Newlywed, eh?

:D

ETA: All kidding aside, sounds like you handled it just right.

[Army Chief]

I'm more impressed by the situational awareness and level of detail that you took in than I am inclined to render judgment on whatever you did or did not decide to do by way of response. At some point, I do think we have to be honest about the fact that it is not really our place to intervene in these kinds of situations, just because they happen to trigger our spidey senses. Some people are just "out there," whether they mean any real harm or not. Interjecting ourselves into a situation that goes bad -- and which was otherwise preventable -- reflects poorly on us, regardless of noble intent.

I've had similar things happen when folks obviously high on drugs showed up at a restaurant, wandering all over the place and making a nuisance of themselves. Did they start flipping tables or shaking folks down? No. Was there potential for just about anything to happen? Yes. A quick mention to the staff that they might want to ask for a cruiser to pass by will often suffice, but I wouldn't hang around waiting for something to happen, either. There is a difference between being prepared and looking for trouble, and in the current legal environment, I don't want to get anywhere close to the latter.

AC

[SteveS]

You went with you feelings, you did good.

[Safetyhit]

If you felt you had to leave that bad because this guy was so ominous then it's hard to imagine why you wouldn't have pulled a member of the staff quietly to the side and simply told them briefly, to the point of your concerns before exiting.

[Apricotshot]

OP was this Yummy House Bistro?

[skydivr]

Well played sir. I can only hope that I have your 'spidey sense' in a similar situation in time to get my wife and child to safety. Yep, once you marry and/or have a child, your life belongs to them more than it does to you...

[William B.]

Bulge in his waistband? Are you sure he wasn't the fat kid from SuperBad?

Or... http://www.intothemangrove.com/2012/06/19/into-the-mangrove/

:jester:

OP, you did the right thing. As a husband and father your #1 obligation is to your family. Also, good awareness. I've only had one moment like this and I basically did the same as you - got my wife into the truck and got the hell out of Dodge before trouble started.

[Irish]

Always trust your Spidey sense! You and your wife are safe, so, job well done.

[Nightvisionary]

Or... http://www.intothemangrove.com/2012/06/19/into-the-mangrove/

:jester:



:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

[Whiskey_Bravo]

I thought maybe you misspoke when you said spine and actually had a chill run up your leg....... After hearing the Obama speech the other night. Chris Mathews... Is that you?

[HES]

You did right. You had your wife and her first duty was to her. As for any place on Fowler, yeah I try to avoid that and Fletcher Ave.

[Miami_JBT]

I thought maybe you misspoke when you said spine and actually had a chill run up your leg....... After hearing the Obama speech the other night. Chris Mathews... Is that you?
First off; stating that I like Obama let alone that I am sexually aroused by him is an insult of the highest order.

Secondly; stating that I am Chris Matthews is fighting words and the interent version of slapping me in the face and challenging me to a duel.

I accept and choose thermonuclear weapons at 20 paces sir!

:big_boss:



:lol:

[1911-A1]

Reminds me of the dude I saw walk into the bank a few weeks back. He was wearing a hoodie with the hood up, dark sunglasses and a ball cap, with both hands in the front pocket. You might say he had my attention.