I am pleased to inform everyone that the Stafford County Sheriff's Office declined to charge me with anything in this incident.
The abridged version of events is as follows...
I was driving home when another vehicle cut me off so I honked my horn at him. The driver then swerved into the right lane, rolled down his window and began swearing at me and flipping me off. I proceeded to pass him and continue on my way. At this point, the driver passed me again and then began brake checking me. At this point, I wanted to remove myself from the situation so I pulled into a vacant business lot along the road and was going to let the driver continue on his way. I was not aware that there was a second entrance to this parking lot and the driver of the other vehicle had entered there and drove back around to where I had parked at. He pulled along side my car with approximately 10 ft. of distance between us and proceeded to yell more profanities...this is when stuff starts to go south. Due to tinted windows, I was not aware that there were other people in the vehicle. Immediately after the driver stopped, a man in his late teens/early twenties exited the passenger seat, ran around the car and towards mine. He then swung at me through my window in an attempt to hit me. I moved my head to the right and all he managed to connect with was my headrest. At this point, I removed my seat belt and drew my Glock 36 .45 and pointed it at him through my window while ordering him to back up, which he did. The driver of the vehicle then exited his car and began to approach which emboldened the first assailant to approach as well. Rather than be restricted in my vehicle, I opened my door so that I could face both without being hindered. I continued to tell them they needed to get back in their vehicle and leave while they continued to yell, swear, spit and instigate me. This continued for 1-2 minutes until the decided they weren't going to bait me into a fight. They got in their car and left. I re-holstered my Glock, got in my car and drove the opposite direction. As far as I was concerned, the incident was over at this point and nothing more was required because I didn't intend to press charges for the assault.
Fast forward about 2 hours and 5 Stafford County officers come knocking on my door. Apparently, the driver and his teenage son (the one who swung on me) got my license plate and called the police. I was told that I was being charged with 3 counts of brandishing a firearm and that they would need to document my Glock and take it for evidence. They asked for my version of events so I provided them with my side of the story and also signed a sworn statement reiterating what I told them. I was told by the officer in charge that he would be the one who files the report and would talk with the magistrate about what to do next.
Received a call this morning telling me that the officer declined to follow up with the charges based on his encounter with me and the different version of events and that I could come pick up my Glock today. I am not one for social bias but based on my encounter with these individuals, they were "rednecks" who likely thought because I drive a nice car and was by myself, they were going to screw around with me and were just looking for a fight. When they determined they lost before they knew it, they decided to try and get even. Anyways, that's the gist of it.
I would like to say some things. First, thanks for everyone's advice to seek out Mr. Hawes who I would like to thank as well. I spoke with him the weekend following this event and he was more than willing to speak with me and provided me with a lot of good advice. Thankfully, I didn't have to retain his services. Second, I am exceedingly happy with the Stafford County Sheriff's Office and the way they handled the situation. When making contact with me at my home, they were polite, nonintrusive, and complied with my request that only one officer was going to come inside my house to retrieve my firearm.
I'll be happy to answer anyone's questions about this.
Thanks,
Brandon