Posted on 09/25/2013 9:00:35 AM PDT by catnipman
Heh, yep. Nicest thing about Boulder is how close it is to Colorado.
My partner on the police force shot a .357 behind my head when we were looking for a rabid coon, which we found in a graveyard. I was driving and he said “There it is’. He drew and fired inside the car, right behind my head. I sincerely thought he shot my head off. I’m still deaf in my right ear and Ohio WC wouldn’t recompense for it.
“But I tried to fire a warning shot...He stepped in the way!!!!”
That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it......
Agreed that they're a bad idea, but the OP claimed they were illegal everywhere. Calling BS until I see a source that says otherwise.
Yes. Inside the house is piercing a fatal barrier. You are correct to assume if someone is in your house they mean to do you great bodily harm. Fire away...make the first shot count, no sloppiness!
As for the statement from the DA office, I disagree and if I were the homeowner I’d be lawyered up yesterday because it sure as heck *does* look like they’re looking for something to mollify the bad people in the community. Discharging a firearm inside the city limits is a serious crime.
Yeah, I’d like to see the source as well. That language doesn’t sound very “official.”
I am in complete agreement with that. Regardless of how the DA acted, I would get a lawyer and speak only through him from the get go.
did you guys stay partners?
Inside the car had to just about bust an ear drum.
Let me revise my thought on the intention of the DA based on his statement.
Even if the homeowner violated some law against a warning shot, or some other esoteric law, the DA has the discretion not to charge him.
Rereading the statement with that in mind, yes it does sound like the DA is looking for some way to stick it to the homeowner. Since the *victim* (homeowner) is obviously not a danger to the community, the only purpose for doing so would be to make an example of him to deter others from defending their homes.
This is why DH always says for ME to get the .357 or shotgun. As a small female with precious children (and animals) it would be far harder to prosecute.
“Officer, he was IN the house and said he was going to kill and rape me, my daughter, my son and our dogs. What else could I do?”
Besides, that, I am a better shot...
Well, I never wanted to ride with the SOB again and I couldn’t tell the hospital EXACTLY how this happened, without turning the bastard in. So the medico’s looked at me, said it was not job related and gave me something for pain. My regular partner ( he was off that night) knew something was wrong, but I wouldn’t take time off because he would have been alone. All in all, I screwed up, had a hell of a headache for two weeks and missed out on disability payments
In my home town, when I was a lad, we had an officer get into big trouble once when he was shooting at a cat. He wouldn’t have gotten caught except he blew one of the bubble-gum machines off the roof of his car....
“The homeowner pointed the gun at Carter and told him to “hit the ground” several times, police reported. Carter instead attempted to back out of the house and made it out the back door onto the patio, but the homeowner again demanded that he lie down and fired a single shot into the ground.”
This was the homeowner’s mistake. If the burglar is in the home (not on the patio), the homeowner is probably justified is using deadly force under Colorado’s Make my Day Law. As soon as the burglar is out of the home, then standard self-defense law applies. To shoot, the homeowner needs a reasonable belief that his or another’s life or limb is in imminent danger. With the burglar backing out of the house, he probably cannot prove that.
There is no provision in Colorado law authorizing warning shots.
PC BS. If there is no law against warning shots, they shouldn’t be able to charge him with anything. If I was on his jury, I would vote not guilty, and give him a medal.
In the AF in 1971, we had 2 or three get in the wire. I tried to corral them in an area of the bomb dump, when Major B. came riding up with his M-16 in a staff car sedan. We searched the area, got a couple bursts off at them but they got back over the wire. He yelled at our Sgt. “You F’d up! We had them right here!!” He threw the rifle into the back seat of his car, fully charged with safety off and in ‘auto’ mode and it went off blowing two holes in the roof. I calmly turned and said “No Sir. You just F’ed up.” He WAS PISSED.
If this was inside City Limits, there very likely *is* a law against "discharging a firearm." "Warning shots" would be "discharging a firearm." The discharge law is there because there are idiots who shoot up in the air, and there is a risk of injury to some unknown person blocks away when the bullet returns to earth.
Remember this is Longmont, in Boulder County, which is a bit bigger than 5 square miles. So Boulder city insanity concentrated in county power impacts much more conservative communities like Lafayette, Erie, Longmont.
Firing warning shots is an indication of misuse of deadly force. If you truly fear for your life, you shoot to kill, not wound, maim or warn.
Also, firing your gun at anything other than your intended target (the intruder) can be considered reckless endangerment.
Those are the laws here in this great state...you can look them up for your state if you want.
Possibly, but it is still PC BS, and I still wouldn’t find him guilty in this context. I’d just consider it a citizen’s arrest.LOL
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