Another what if...

[DoubleActionCHL]

You don't think the police report would make you look bad in court, shooting someone then not wanting to talk about it. I guess I would call 911 before (if possible), or after the fact. Tell them the jist of it, then let a lawyer handle the rest if charges are filed. IDK, can any LEO's chime in?

Yes, you'll go to jail. No, you don't talk to the police. You cooperate and you'll be polite, but you'll politely decline to answer questions about the event until you've spoken to your attorney. Then, you'll act on his advice.

 

[Old Man of the Mountain]

That's something I'm curious about. If I'm ever in the situation where I had to use deadly force. Lets say for instance, I'm watching tv in the living room and I hear my front door being jimmy'd. I grab my gun and aim, when the perp walks in, I identify him as somebody that shouldnt be there and put him down. Now obviously the first people who are going to want to know what happened will be the police, should I clam up and politely tell them I want a lawyer before I give any details (and propably go to jail while I wait for one) or while feeling confident enough I broke no laws and I was the true victim, tell the police what happened and hope for the best. What would any of you do?

A CHL Instructor told me that unless you give the Police Officer on the scene the basic bare facts, you are going to be handcuffed.

Once the process starts, there is no telling how it will end.

If the Police Officer on the scene is convinced that you are the victim and the dead guy is the cause of the shooting (he needed shooting) then you will avoid all that, but he also recommended communicating the delicate details of the event through a lawyer.

Such as: "He broke down my door, I showed his my firearm, asked him to surrender, he came at me, I had no choice but to defend myself" then everything past that point should go through your lawyer for your protection.

It is a shame that we need defense against both the criminals and the Criminal Justice System (maybe they got that name right).

 

[.45 Delivery]

I would just like to say before this gets too crazy, I would never look for a reason to shoot anyone. I was not speeding. I had just drove across a 4 lane road and was at the speed limit by the time I passed his house which is 3rd or so down from the corner, when he is used to people slowing to a crawl to make the turn onto his street from a perpendicular road. I did safely get away from him without the use of any force(luckily), and my driving habits are slow and steady. My '93 sundance isn't exactly a roadster. The reason for my post in the first place was to get feedback on my interpretation of my right to defend myself by presenting or ultimately firing a handgun. Also when I say deadly force, I do not mean only shooting someone dead. I was under the impression that simply pulling a gun is just as bad as shooting someone with it.

 

[glockrocker]

No, you should double check, but I think Texas law allows you to introduce a firearm to defuse a situation that wouldnt really warrant a fatal shooting, sorry for the semi-thread jack btw.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

No, you should double check, but I think Texas law allows you to introduce a firearm to defuse a situation that wouldnt really warrant a fatal shooting, sorry for the semi-thread jack btw.

If somebody bigger than me had his arms inside my car I would be VERY hesitant to pull out a gun unless I saw no other alternative......seems as if he might easily take it from me. I would make every effort to put as much distance between us as possible.

 

[.45 Delivery]

If somebody bigger than me had his arms inside my car I would be VERY hesitant to pull out a gun unless I saw no other alternative......seems as if he might easily take it from me. I would make every effort to put as much distance between us as possible.

Haha yep. That's exactly what happened. Except there was no gun. This recently happened to me, and up untill now I generally felt safe. Now I need some serious understanding of the laws before I go get my wife and myself a gun.

 

[DoubleActionCHL]

I was under the impression that simply pulling a gun is just as bad as shooting someone with it.

Well, you'll always get this kind of response when you start a question with, "Can I shoot someone if..." Not that you said exactly that, but I'm sure that's how it was received.

Now, to answer your question: The threat of force is justified when the use of force is justified. The threat can exceed the justifiable force. Producing your weapon does not constitute deadly force as long as its purpose is to create an apprehension.

So, simply put, while you might be justified in presenting your weapon when faced with unlawful force (or deadly force), you should never present it simply to scare or intimidate the attacker or potential attacker. This constitutes a significant escalation of force, if deadly force isn't actually justified. You might find yourself forced to fire your weapon when you might have been able to end the conflict using verbalization, disengagement techniques, or intermediate weapons.

 

[.45 Delivery]

...sorry for the semi-thread jack btw.

No worries. Were all here to talk.

 

[.45 Delivery]

Well, you'll always get this kind of response when you start a question with, "Can I shoot someone if..." Not that you said exactly that, but I'm sure that's how it was received.

Now, to answer your question: The threat of force is justified when the use of force is justified. The threat can exceed the justifiable force. Producing your weapon does not constitute deadly force as long as its purpose is to create an apprehension.

So, simply put, while you might be justified in presenting your weapon when faced with unlawful force (or deadly force), you should never present it simply to scare or intimidate the attacker or potential attacker.
This constitutes a significant escalation of force, if deadly force isn't actually justified. You might find yourself forced to fire your weapon when you might have been able to end the conflict using verbalization, disengagement techniques, or intermediate weapons.

Perhaps the hypothetical PoV wasn't the best. I apologize to any who got the wrong message.
Excellent layman's terminology. That is just what I needed. I don't think I'll be skipping any CHL classes though.

 

[40Arpent]

...before I go get my wife and myself a gun.

With a screen name such as the one you chose, I was thinking that you already owned one. LOL

 

[.45 Delivery]

I was thinking of going with ".30 to .45", but it seemed a touch overboard.

 

[40Arpent]

I was thinking of going with ".30 to .45", but it seemed a touch overboard.

 

[.45 Delivery]

In all seriousness though, thank you all for your brainpower, and for helping get my uncertain question across and answered. This is a very informative site. I have work soon enough, so it's bye for now.

 

[Old Man of the Mountain]

This bothers me. You are already giving pretext and knowledge as to why there would be a confrontation.

We have people speed down our street every once in a while. Lots of us have kids and find it offensive that somebody would burn down our residential street at 45mph when it's posted at 30mph. A few of us have confronted individuals, telling them to slow down because they could hit a child. We've never pulled anyone out of their car, though I'd like to sometimes.

Long story short.........you may prefer to change your driving habits rather than look for a way to justify killing somebody you said would be upset at your speed. It's much easier to live with going a little slower in the neighborhoods than having someones death on your conscience.

Surely you can safely get away from a pedestrian when you are in a car.

I hope you are not saying that you would rather shoot somebody than slow down?

If it got to court, that point would likely be raised.

How do you think the Jury would look upon that?

I wound not want to be a defendant in that circumstance.

 

[M. Sage]

That's exactly what I did, but had I run him over/struck him with my car, I'd be in a lot of trouble. He's still a pedestrian with right of way.

Cars have a reverse gear for a reason. Learn how to J-turn.