🚀 go-pugleaf

On 27 May 1999, Karl Rehn wrote:

> In article <3752dcb9.112630497@news.mindspring.com>,  <ReadyTexan> wrote:
> >I once had a Texas cop tell me "if you shoot someone breaking and
> >entering your house and he happens to fall outside please drag him
> >inside before we get there. It reduces our paperwork".
> 
> This couldn't be MORE wrong, and is an old wives tale/gunshop myth.

Uh, well you had better tell my uncle and my cousin the POLICE OFFICERS
for two different departments around here, because they have BOTH
told me the same thing!

> Modifying the crime scene is the act of a guilty person.  Modern forensics
> will be able to determine what really happened.  In the meantime, you
> will have lied to the investigating officers about the incident, which
> will destroy your credibility.  

Yeah, all that "Modern forensics" sure made the difference in the OJ trial
right?

Look, what my relatives the COPS told me was that the tests required to
PROVE or even suggest that a body was moved are not commonly done except
where the circumstances are already highly suspicious.

A total stranger lying dead on your floor with a gun in his hand and
a broken door he came through is simply not suspicious enough to
call out Jack Klugman (Quincy) to investigate the scene!

You DO have to use your brains! If the guy is standing in your door
with a gun and you shoot first and he stumbles across your front
lawn to leave a blood trail out to the sidewalk, oh well, but
if he simply falls back a bit and you can pull him back onto
your floor, then you might think about it.

Personally, I won't worry about it, I am not likely to shoot a guy
at entry anyway, my home does not lend itself to that situation.
More likely I would hear the break-in and be waiting for him (with my
gun) to round the corner of my hall where he would be stopped.
 
> The universally accepted rule is that deadly force is justified in situations
> in which your life, or the life of another person, is in immediate danger.
> Doesn't matter when or where the people involved are located.
> 
> Keep in mind that survival should always be the first priority, not
> looking for an opportunity in which deadly force is "allowed" under a
> particular set of state laws.  Leaving your safe room, or your house,
> for the purpose of confronting a potentially armed criminal simply to recover
> property puts you at a greater risk of being hurt or killed.   

You do seem to be missing the point, nobody argued anything about the
shooting not being legit, simply that IF the bad guy falls right out side
your home, this fact alone can make things a great deal more difficult
for the lawful defender!

> In the Rambo fantasy world a "clean shoot" means a pat on the head from the
> cops and no hassles down the road.

Who said anything like that?????

Even my relatives said it was going to be a major hassle, probably the
worst involvement you will ever have with the cops in your life.

The difference is between a lot of paperwork and discussions with cops
and lawyers OR a prosecution!

Look, you recall that guy who shot the young man in the weird outfit on
his porch? You know, the one looking for the costume party, the guy
who did not speak English? The home owner went through hell for killing
that young man, he was prosecuted, but I don't recall him going to jail
for it either! And that shooting occurred OUTSIDE the house!

Personally, if I wonder if the home owner had backed away from the 
"invader" and the young man had entered the home first, I wonder
if there would have even been a prosecution?

> I'm not aware of any real situations
> that turned out that way, and that comes from personal discussions with
> citizens and law enforcement officers who have "been there, done that".
> Realistically you better assume that using deadly force will cost you $25-50K
> and will be a major disruption in your life, much more than the loss of
> a car stereo or a TV, but much less than dying or losing a loved one.   

That part sounds about right. Maybe the costs a tad inflated, but still
about right on the effects.

MT

> 
> Karl
> rehn@krtraining.com
> http://www.krtraining.com
> 
> 
>  
> 
>