Catsle law???

MrShoeBoy · 01-18-2010, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stickman

But a methed out crack head with no weapon means you can't shoot. Then what do you do!

A methed out crack head regardless if they have a weapon is a threat. The drugs dull the sense of pain and reason so they will continue until their body can no longer function. If placed in a suituation where a druged out meth head broke in my house I would shoot to stop the threat. They themselves are a weapon.

AARON

Waffle · 01-18-2010, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrShoeBoy

A methed out crack head regardless if they have a weapon is a threat. The drugs dull the sense of pain and reason so they will continue until their body can no longer function. If placed in a suituation where a druged out meth head broke in my house I would shoot to stop the threat. They themselves are a weapon.

AARON

Then you would probably be charged with a degree of manslaughter! And their family would gain the right to sue you in civil court. You need to think before you act. This is what makes these situations so dangerous. Your required to comprehend the level of danger at that time. If you shoot and a jury decides you acted with unwaranted leathal force, you will be found guilty.

Waffle · 01-18-2010, 09:25 PM

Here is a scenario I like to make. Lets say your lying in bed and you hear some screaming. You get up and grab the gun. Heading toward the front door you hear someone has just gained entry to the rear. Turning around you see a person all of a sudden appear from a hallway. *You fire* In fear of your life. But wait. This guy doesn't have a gun. Lying there motionless on the floor with the pool of blood getting bigger. You lower your weapon and then another person enters from the same area. you proceed to take them down as well.......
Turns out the person you shot was actually fleeing for their lives from another attacker (2nd victim) and hoped to evade them by going in your place. A police investigation reveals that the first victim was an enemy of the second and was simply trying to escape.
Now what happens. No leathel weapon on their person and their dead in your hallway. Guess what.......Your in cuffs with your wife and kids crying and screaming! Not only did your actions affect the lives of the victims in the shooting, but the lives of your family as well.
House and all possessions are sold to afford a good trial attorney. Need I go on? Wild scenario....yes. But a true one!

Waffle · 01-18-2010, 09:29 PM

Some of you might say "OH well".....but the story of you will be written in the paper of the good guy that made 1 bad mistake. That mistake got him 10-15 years.

Waffle · 01-18-2010, 09:38 PM

If an officer has his gun drawn on a man who is also holding a gun but lowered by his side. That officer doesn't have the right to shoot. The other man doesn't pose imminent danger until he raises his firearm. Those same laws apply to you.
Yes there are circumstances that can be argued in court. And jury's can swing either way depending on the argument.
Hmmmm, seems as though this is a touchy subject for me. I guess I just want everyone to gain as much knowledge as possible and a little perspective. I'd hate to see 1 bad mistake ruin the lives of so many close to that person....

blazerbrad · 01-19-2010, 10:30 AM

Law enforcement agents are held to a higher level when it comes to situations as mentioned above, so you can't really compare a cop pulling a gun on an armed person while in the process of committing a felony versus a private citizen pulling a gun on somebody breaking into their house in the middle of the night. But even in the case of a suspect holding a weapon that is not raised I would think that at some point in time a law enforcement agent could justify pulling the trigger if they refused to drop the weapon (I'l try to pose this question to my uncle who is a retired federal agent).

I also understand the point about waiting until someone pulls a weapon on you before shooting them, but you also need to realize that it is often too late once that happens. This isn't Hollywood and warning shots and shooting the gun out of his hand is only practical in the movies. The average gun or other weapon fight inside a building puts the two people within arms length of each other and lasts a matter of seconds......if you wait for the intruder to pull a knife it will probably be sticking out of your chest before you have time to react.

From my experience most people try to use some real world example of a guy that shot an intruder in his house and wound up in jail, but they conveniently leave out the very blatant details as to why the guy went to jail. Kind of like the story about how you shouldn't shovel the snow from the sidewalk in front of your house because that makes you liable if somebody slips and falls then. Did something like that happen....sure, but the guy was pissed he was told to shovel the sidewalk by the city so he sprayed it with water to intentionally coat it with ice afterwards....and that's the real reason he got in trouble.

01-18-2010, 09:25 PM	#3
Waffle Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: . Posts: 75 Images: 10	Here is a scenario I like to make. Lets say your lying in bed and you hear some screaming. You get up and grab the gun. Heading toward the front door you hear someone has just gained entry to the rear. Turning around you see a person all of a sudden appear from a hallway. You fire In fear of your life. But wait. This guy doesn't have a gun. Lying there motionless on the floor with the pool of blood getting bigger. You lower your weapon and then another person enters from the same area. you proceed to take them down as well....... Turns out the person you shot was actually fleeing for their lives from another attacker (2nd victim) and hoped to evade them by going in your place. A police investigation reveals that the first victim was an enemy of the second and was simply trying to escape. Now what happens. No leathel weapon on their person and their dead in your hallway. Guess what.......Your in cuffs with your wife and kids crying and screaming! Not only did your actions affect the lives of the victims in the shooting, but the lives of your family as well. House and all possessions are sold to afford a good trial attorney. Need I go on? Wild scenario....yes. But a true one!

01-18-2010, 09:29 PM	#4
Waffle Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: . Posts: 75 Images: 10	Some of you might say "OH well".....but the story of you will be written in the paper of the good guy that made 1 bad mistake. That mistake got him 10-15 years.

01-18-2010, 09:38 PM	#5
Waffle Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: . Posts: 75 Images: 10	If an officer has his gun drawn on a man who is also holding a gun but lowered by his side. That officer doesn't have the right to shoot. The other man doesn't pose imminent danger until he raises his firearm. Those same laws apply to you. Yes there are circumstances that can be argued in court. And jury's can swing either way depending on the argument. Hmmmm, seems as though this is a touchy subject for me. I guess I just want everyone to gain as much knowledge as possible and a little perspective. I'd hate to see 1 bad mistake ruin the lives of so many close to that person....

01-19-2010, 10:30 AM	#6
blazerbrad - CORE Member - Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 831 Images: 6	Law enforcement agents are held to a higher level when it comes to situations as mentioned above, so you can't really compare a cop pulling a gun on an armed person while in the process of committing a felony versus a private citizen pulling a gun on somebody breaking into their house in the middle of the night. But even in the case of a suspect holding a weapon that is not raised I would think that at some point in time a law enforcement agent could justify pulling the trigger if they refused to drop the weapon (I'l try to pose this question to my uncle who is a retired federal agent). I also understand the point about waiting until someone pulls a weapon on you before shooting them, but you also need to realize that it is often too late once that happens. This isn't Hollywood and warning shots and shooting the gun out of his hand is only practical in the movies. The average gun or other weapon fight inside a building puts the two people within arms length of each other and lasts a matter of seconds......if you wait for the intruder to pull a knife it will probably be sticking out of your chest before you have time to react. From my experience most people try to use some real world example of a guy that shot an intruder in his house and wound up in jail, but they conveniently leave out the very blatant details as to why the guy went to jail. Kind of like the story about how you shouldn't shovel the snow from the sidewalk in front of your house because that makes you liable if somebody slips and falls then. Did something like that happen....sure, but the guy was pissed he was told to shovel the sidewalk by the city so he sprayed it with water to intentionally coat it with ice afterwards....and that's the real reason he got in trouble.