On Tuesday afternoon of August 20, 2024, a “road rage” incident happened in Fort St. Lucie, reportedly at about 4:30 p.m. A married couple, in their car, recorded another man, reported as Paul Slane, 63, coming toward them with a pistol in his hand. The video is damning.
Slane approaches the couple’s car and shouts profanities. His car is blocking Briarwood Drive, about 400 yards from Slane’s possible residence. A little internet investigation shows that Paul T. Slane, 63, is listed as the owner of a house in the gated community.
The location of house records shows the arrow pointing to one owned by Paul T. Slane, 63. It may not be the same as Paul Slane, 63, who was arrested. The victim’s location is based on the video and analysis of the homes and trees from satellite images.
The married couple is reported as saying they stopped their car in front of their home, so the location shown in the video is used to measure the distance from the house associated with Paul T. Slane, 63. That house is about three blocks from where the video occurred. It has not been confirmed Paul T. Slane, 63, is the same Paul Slane, 63, in the video. All three parties may live in the upscale gated community; this has not been confirmed. Using Slane’s steps as a measure, the vehicles appear to be about 40 feet apart when the video was recorded.
The wife of the couple video-recorded the incident on a phone. Slane appears to be ignorant of this as he approaches the truck. Slane does not appear to know the husband has a semi-automatic pistol in his hand, in his lap. The driver’s side window on the couple’s truck is open. The couple waits and records Slane as he approaches. The husband asks the wife if he should shoot Slane.
Slane approaches the car. He yells at the husband. He reaches through the window and hits/slaps the husband. Slane does not like being videoed. He reaches through the window and grabs at/hits the wife. He demands the cell phone. The wife asks him, rather heatedly, if he knows if Slane will be arrested. Slane turns and goes back to his car.
A police spokesman says he does not know what caused Slane to act in such an illegal and inappropriate way.
Because of the possible proximity of the homes, an obvious question is: Did the parties know each other before this incident? There may be more than has been reported. The Husband says, at one point: You started it. This suggests more has been going on than Slane’s bad behavior at the point of the Video.
Slane has been charged with multiple felonies: Two counts of aggravated assault with a weapon and attempted armed robbery (the phone). The husband seems to have been remarkably calm during the encounter.
Slane has likely lawyered up, which would be smart. The couple reported the incident to police, but Slane did not, making Paul Slane the obvious aggressor. If Slane had reported the incident, he would be in a better legal position.
Even if there is more to this than first appears, there were very bad, tactically terrible moves on the part of Paul Slane. Slane should have just driven away. He would likely lose in a confrontation between his vehicle and a truck. He could have been shot as he approached the car, and the husband would likely have been found to be justified.
Paul appears to have been the aggressor in the video. The husband’s remark seems to indicate there was some sort of ongoing action between them.
Slane should never have allowed his temper to get the best of him, place him in a bad tactical situation, and commit, very plausibly, three felonies in the space of a minute or so.
The couple in the truck did not have to wait for Slane to come up to them with a gun in his hand. If they are at their home (as stated), they were still in the street and could have fled in the truck. Slane was out of his vehicle. It would have taken some time for him to follow them. They could have called the police to get help on the way.
Perhaps the husband thought he could reason with Slane. Maybe this is why he had his window open. If the couple did not know Slane, leaving the area would prevent him from knowing where they lived.
As of this date, no reason for Slane’s aggressive behavior is known.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
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