After getting home and running in to brush my teeth Sunday night, I went back out to my car and saw someone rummaging through it.
At first I thought it was my roommate, Tanner, so I called out. When I realized it was two women I didn’t recognize, I called out again to my roommate loudly for help.
I approached the two women and demanded to know why they were in my car. After one of them responded, “don’t worry about it,” we got into a short physical altercation. I used my keys as a weapon.
After a few minutes, I realized that these women didn’t have my laptop, the only valuable item in my car at the moment. I also looked back to see that Tanner had heard me yell and was coming out of our apartment to see what was wrong.
The two women began fleeing the scene, and Tanner and I pursued them on foot while calling the police. The police responded in less than five minutes and were both helpful and respectful. The suspects are still out there.
A few things worth noting here:
- I’m glad that neither the women nor I were armed. In the moment when I first discovered a stranger going through my car I felt the adrenaline activate immediately. In a way that I’m sure only a man would think to do, I escalated the conflict via physical force. Had either of us been armed and had cooler, clearer heads not prevailed, we could both have been very seriously injured. It is moments like these that tend to make more guns lead to more death, not less.
- I can’t help but notice that I’m believed. As you read this, as I recount this story to my friends, folks aren’t thinking to themselves all the ways in which I could be lying. Because I’m a man, and because this isn’t sexual assault, you believe me when I tell you I was violated. If you have no issue believing me, but you do have an issue believing the credible claims of survivors, ask yourself why.
- The local police were helpful and professional. They took down my statement and checked my car for fingerprints. When they arrived, I do what I always do when I interact with the police. I called my parents and put them on speaker. This is what my parents taught me to do as a survival tactic during our “talk” when I was in middle school. But as I was giving my statement I couldn’t help but to worry whether calling the police was not the right thing to do. As far as I could tell, these women were unarmed, did not steal anything, chose my car because it was unlocked and were black. Would I have been able to forgive myself if their interaction with the police last night resulted in one of them being shot?
My roommate and I are both fine and safe, just a little shaken up. But folks, please remember to lock your cars.
Andrew Brennen
