Posted on 06/12/2018 3:30:30 PM PDT by CedarDave
ARTESIA, N.M (KRQE) - A New Mexico mother says she was trying to save her pet. Now, she's facing charges for firing off her gun to scare away a pair of pit bulls that attacked her dog.
On the morning of Monday, April 30, Baeza says she was taking her puppy out to go to the bathroom with her 4-year-old daughter when she looked over to see her dog being mauled to death.
"I went over to my dog and he had a big split down the middle of his chest, I guess from where the dogs were kind of like, tearing him apart kind of," said Baeza.
Baeza then threw a big branch towards the dogs to scare them off, but they didn't leave.
"I went inside and I got my firearm and came back outside. I shot towards the ground," said Baeza.
The dogs ran off. She says she then called the cops.
"I kind of figured I was going to be in a little bit of trouble for firing off a firearm, but I didn't think I was going to be in this kind of trouble,” said Baeza.
They ended up giving her a citation for negligent use of a deadly weapon for firing within the city limits.
"You can't put other people's lives in danger, you can't put the possibility of injuring somebody in the process,” Artesia Police Department Commander Lindell Smith.
"I don't think I should've been punished for that,” said Baeza. “What if they would came and attacked me and my daughter?"
The dogs that killed her pet were never found.
She said she pled not guilty last week. Her trial could be as early as next month.
If found guilty, Baeza faces a possible 90 days in jail.
(Excerpt) Read more at krqe.com ...
I prefer they insult me rather than arrest me.
Since when does firing into the dirt do that? But cops do it all the time, the reckless way they shoot. The old double standard, one for cops, one for the citizen.
Self-defense is a legitimate defense. It doesn't only defend against a murder charge. It is a defense against any criminal charge. But defending her dog is not self-defense, or defense of another. She should have said she was protecting her daughter.
Anyone who has a firearm needs to have read local “use of deadly force laws” and understand what you can and legally can't do.
Usually they involve a “reasonable man” test and usually the most critical thing you do or don't do is talk to the police after firing your weapon.
Statements, like I need to speak to my attorney before I answer any of your questions are the best response to police. Screaming at the top of your lungs just prior to firing your weapon that you are afraid for your life and telling that to your attorney who will relay it to the police is also good. Likewise telling that attorney that you were afraid for your daughters life will work.
NEVER, NEVER fire a weapon in the air, at the ground. If you have a reason to use deadly force, then use deadly force with the intent of saving your life or that of someone else. To fire any kind of warning shot is for the most part an act of negligent discharge. Oh and brandishing a weapons (i.e. pulling it to intimidate without shooting) is also a crime.
Again, if you pull your deadly force weapon, you need to pass the “reasonable man” test and that means you must pull and shoot, nothing halfway.
Look at what the article says she was charged with. This is a teachable moment.
“....They ended up giving her a citation for negligent use of a deadly weapon for firing within the city limits.
“You can't put other people's lives in danger, you can't put the possibility of injuring somebody in the process,” Artesia Police Department Commander Lindell Smith....”
Self defense would be the tactic that I would use in this situation. She did not know if those pits were going to turn and attack her. She feared that she might be grievously injured by the dogs.
Oh, and request a jury trial.
“......Since when does firing into the dirt do that? But cops do it all the time,........”
Firing warning shots and shots into the ground is almost universally against the law. It just depends on if the police officer wants to turn it over to the DA and if the DA wants to go after you. Part of that decision is what you say to the police officer.
Police Officers are absolutely NOT trained to fire warning shots. They are trained to fire only when deadly force is required and to not stop shooting until it is obvious that deadly force is no longer needed. Which is why in so many situations you have a police officer (based on training) putting a dozen rounds or more into a criminal and the uninformed public going nuts about police brutality and executions.
The laws governing the use of firearms have very little to do with common sense or what people have seen in TV or movies.
She shot at the dogs, missed and hit the ground? Then would that be “OK”?
She’s in trouble because by shooing the dogs away the cops didn’t get to shoot them and cops get really mad when they miss a chance to kill a dog.
To deal with the dogs, and maybe the owner, most likely.
“You can’t put other people’s lives in danger, you can’t put the possibility of injuring somebody in the process,” Artesia Police Department Commander Lindell Smith.
A shot into dirt ground does none of this. Lindell Smith should be fired for blatantly demonstrating extremely poor judgement.
After watching “Lone Star Law”, I realize do not admit to anything.
Shoot a hawk killing your chickens? $485.00 fine.
The three S’s.
In text the owner seems KINDA LIKE not very upset about her dog.
That KINDA LIKE ticks me off.
I would have tackled those dogs with my bare hands.
. . . and then there are those illegal criminals that rape, pillage and murder that are not even charged. America is becoming a bastion of the insane.
. “But defending her dog is not self-defense, or defense of another. She should have said she was protecting her daughter”
NM ain’t California. You may indeed fire a shot to protect your dog from a attacking feral dogs in NM. The Artesia cop leadership has a very anti-gun bent, but they will not prevail in this prosecution because it was not negligent under NM law.
In NM a dog is personal property. You may not shoot a person for harming your dog, but you can sure as hell destroy someone else’s personal property that was destroying yours.
The case will be lost by the whelp of a cop, she will walk.
“Again, if you pull your deadly force weapon, you need to pass the “reasonable man” test and that means you must pull and shoot, nothing halfway.”
Idiotic. The old samurai sword must taste blood if it is drawn concept. The majority of defensive uses do not involve a shot being fired at all. You never pull it to run a bluff, but if you are in defense zone and draw, you had better not fire if they drop the knife, turn to run, etc.
Of course, you are so lightning fast that no person could possibly react or stop their attack before your Jerry Miculek act, but for mere mortals, no...drawing is not automatically meaning you must fire.
Conversely, there are more than a few times that having your gun out is completely justified, though firing shot may not yet be.
When you hear an intruder at night, do you holster up before you search the house and then only draw when it’s deadly force time?
You are in a business when an active shooter begins his terror, you and 5 other people seek shelter in the nearest office where you can lock the door. Do you draw and cover the door, or do you remain holstered until you can see the killer at your door?
Bad advice.
“In text the owner seems KINDA LIKE not very upset about her dog.”
Maybe you should watch the video. She choked up in near tears and couldn’t bring herself to even say what had happened to her puppy.
Beware. Western states are liberaltarian no-go zones solely for those who indulge in vices, crime and slavery.
Artesia is scraping bottom.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.