Posted on 09/11/2010 4:59:22 AM PDT by marktwain
Earlier today, I posted the following statement: “In battle, you do what you gotta do, live, call 911 and deal.” The 911 part of the formula is no small point. All your go-to gun gurus and lawyer friends (oxymoronic as that sounds) agree: you must call the cops immediately after a shooting. That’s the only way you can establish yourself as the victim rather than the aggressor. It’s also critical for guiding the first responders to your 10-40, and pre-identifying yourself so you don’t get yo’ ass capped by the good guys. Only there’s a fly in the cellular ointment. The rabbi sent me a link to a CNN story that raises the alarm about raising the alarm by calling 911 from your cell . . .
Calling 911 from a cell phone will indeed put you in touch with local emergency services. However, they might not be quite as local as you need.
For instance, in Oakland, California, all 911 calls from cell phones are routed to the California Highway Patrol. That’s great if I’m reporting a car accident on the Bay Bridge. But it might not be as efficient if my house is on fire.
In fact, the Oakland Police Department goes so far as to advise: “DO NOT CALL 911 from a cell phone. When you call 911 from a cell phone, the call is routed to the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The CHP then has to reroute the call to your local police or fire dispatcher, losing precious time.”
Apparently, you need to check with your local police to see if punching 911 on your cell puts you in immediate contact with your local police.
Do I need to say this? Don’t call 911 to find out if 911 is the best number to call from your cell after a self-defense shooting. Check the web or ring your local police’s main number during business hours and ask if there’s a special cell number to call for 911 emergencies.
Either that or forget it. What are the odds you’ll dial anything other than 911 when you’ve got more adrenalin in your system than a teenage boy calling a girl for a date? Meanwhile, there’s something you need to remember should you have to call the po-po after a shooting.
When calling 911 from a cell phone, say where you are first.
If you’re unsure of your exact address, at least name the town or neighborhood and glance around quickly to see whether there’s something you can say you’re near (such as the name of a nearby business or street, or a noticeable landmark). Then quickly explain the nature of the emergency.
Before you get into the situation details, give your cell phone number. If you get disconnected, emergency services might not know how to call you back — but with your number, they can either re-establish contact or enlist your wireless carrier’s help in finding you.
Combining that advice with your basic post-shooting cell phone protocol, a call would go something like this:
“My name is XXXX . I was just involved in a self-defense shooting. I’m near the corner of Norfolk and Broad Street. I’m wearing a black ski jacket and glasses. My cell number is XXX XXXX. I had to shoot. My life was in danger.”
Again, don’t farm out this job to someone else. Do not answer any questions from the operator about what happened. Just keep repeating “My life was in danger. I had to shoot.”
Alternatively, once you’ve given the vital info, put your cell down (without hanging up) and do the other things you need to do (tell witnesses not to leave, continue scanning for threats, calm your friends or family down).
A post-shooting call could well be the most important phone call of your life. Get it right.
I don’t understand why more people who shoot intruders don’t just dispose of the body and avoid the hassle.
Think about it. Some guy breaks in. You kill him. You make him disappear. Do you think he told anybody what house in particular he’d be robbing? Nope, so how the Hell is anybody going to know where to look for the person who threw his bullet riddled body off a random bridge a reasonable distance from your house?
Yes, but you should first cut off the hands and smash out the teeth and dispose of them at another location so the body can’t be identified.
I was driving along in unfamiliar territory, in an unfamiliar town and I saw a guy pull out from a liquor store in front of a car going 55mph. I called 911 on my cell phone and could only tell the operator roughly where I was. It taught me to remember the "where am I button" on my GPS. That generally has a local police number and in the future, I'm trying that one first.
The other part: I had to shoot. My life was in danger seems "forced" to me. This will be played back in court. A hysterical "Oh my gawd, he was going to kill me, he was going to kill me!!!!" might be a better :). I would also leave out the "I had to shoot".
Also remember, never speak to the cops. Be polite give them your information and tell them you don't feel comfortable speaking to them without the presence of an attorney. They are not your friend and you're not relating the story to your buddies at the sports bar. You will be taken to task for anything and everything you say that can be misconstrued and used against you. The cops are there to take the report and put someone in jail or the morgue. Keep your mouth shut so the other guy goes to the morgue and you stay out of jail.
Here in Montana, when you call an Enhanced-911 operator, they determine your exact location from the lat/lon your cellphone is transmitting as part of the digital signal. When you call 911, the dispatcher immediately can see your location on a computer screen map in front of them, but they are unable to determine who you are because most cellphones don’t have that bit of info in the CID.
it makes more sense to dig a hole than call 911.
the law is now more dangerous to your life and liberty than any mere psychopath.
Because you're going to get caught. It's not easy nor do most people have the stomach to throw away a human.
Two words: Brittany Zimmerman
Good book on your point is “Call 911 and Die.”
It should have her on the cover
Never go anywhere without a wood chipper.
Of course, if you’re into premeditation, you might want to buy a small pig farm in the country.
I’ve got a bit of bad news. All this assumes that the 911 operator is going to let you control the call. They’re not. They are going to start asking you a lot of questions, and they will not let you give the information you want to give unless you answer their questions. But you (the article) is right that you stand a much better chance of only saying what you want to say if you have something prepared.
You contacted them. I’m sure the District Attorney will be most eager to establish whose voice is on the phone, where the shooting took place, etc.
Just before midnight, I advised a fellow freeper how to tell when his pork was done cooking. Now I’m a little concerned why someone in Wisconsin was cooking pork at midnight.... Hehehe.
>> Hey, wait asecond... there’s a bullet hole in the back!”
>>>> Yup... taste’s like chicken...
So you make him disappear...for a while. Then, he”reappears” with evidence all over him...evidence that tracks back to you. Now instead of self-defense, you will need a lawyer who specializes in murder...all because you tried to cover it up. Remember, this is America, and we don’t do cover-ups very well!
Not that many people keep a pen of hogs anymore...
Everyone knows the real number is 0118 999 881 999 119 725...3
Good points, and something all of us that CCW need to remember. The cops will assume you murdered someone, and you have to prove it was in self defense.
Yes, I know that isn’t how the Constitution says it, but that is reality.
Thanks for that post.
Now that was funny.
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