Posted on 11/30/2001 7:24:17 AM PST by Gritty
For example, if you fear you run a high risk of being overpowered by an advancing bad guy and shoot to protect yourself, to stay out of jail you may need to say you believed the assailant appeared to be reaching for a gun even if you were not so sure. An alternative to coloring the story is you can keep totally quiet, though that may cost you a ride to jail, and that tactic is unnatural for most people. Another bit of legal advice is never fire a warning shot, and always quickly shoot to kill. If you space out your shots you may get into trouble for not stopping once the assailant backs off, or you may get sued by the assailant for putting him in a wheelchair. All police receive such legal training one way or another. The script appears almost as boilerplate in newspaper accounts of police shootings.
True, you can keep totally quiet and let your lawyer handle it. That's really the best advice, if you can overrule your emotions and keep quiet. That could mean a ride to jail though.
There is a step by step procedure after a shooting and your first responsibility is to gather your witnesses before they leave the scene. If there are no witnesses, tell the officer that you have to talk to a lawyer first because in the excitement of the moment you don't want to say the wrong thing.
From Ayoob's files, there was a older lady who was being terrorized be a ex-boyfriend. When she had shot him she had closed her eyes and some of the rounds were in the guy's back as he had turned to run. It looked like she had gunned him down in ambush. She tried to explain how the relationship had soured and the first thing she said to the officer was, "He kept on taking my cigarettes". She was charged with murder. The fact that he had broken the door on her traier to get in and ripped the phone lines out didn't enter into the investigation until Ayoob became involved during the trial.
Is this correct? My wife and I had been talking about the need to have a firearm in the house for awhile, and on Sept. 11 we went out and bought a Ruger .22-long range semi-automatic carbine. (All I could afford at the time. Also, there are specific reasons that I won't go into as to why we didn't buy a pistol.)
I purchased hollow-point .22 shells to increase the damage factor, but now I'm not sure that is enough.
The article also mentioned mis-feeds when using a clip. When my seven-year old daughter, and I were practicing at the range for the first time, we had two mis-feeds (jams). Easy enough to clear by just racking it a couple of times, but still caused some concern about how it would function in an emergency situation. Was it caused by bad (Winchester) ammo, or is it just the nature of the beast? The gun was brand new, so it was clean. For that matter, so were the shells.
"I purchased hollow-point .22 shells"
Proper useage is not "shells", the term is cartridges. No, it's not enough.
Use the manual to take it apart and oil it. That may be all it needed. Inspect the magazine for wear and quit calling it a clip because that's not what it is.
Buy the book, "Complete Guide To Guns And Shooting" by John Malloy.
Eyewitness testimony is also notoriously inaccurate (if we are to believe the folks who investigated TWA 800).
If the physical evidence supports self defense, or at least does not contradict it, and it is collected and recorded adequately, then witnesses become a potential weakness in a legal defense strategy, being strictly hypothetical.
I've read books and articles advising saying nothing until getting a hopefully good lawyer.
I remember a guy that I had to take business trips with. By the time the week was over, everyone in the hotel, the restaurants and the meeting place knew him as a nice guy. It wouldn't be a bad habit to get into to have dozens of people that you come in contact with to consider you one of the good guys, especialy while we're carrying. You reminded me of something. One time, that guy was being bothered by a troublemaker, and the manager TRIED TO HAND HIM A GUN! He didn't take it and everything worked out alright.
I would think that the truth (the person was advancing aggressively and you were in reasonable fear of loss of your own life or limb) would be sufficient.
An alternative to coloring the story is you can keep totally quiet, though that may cost you a ride to jail, and that tactic is unnatural for most people.
It's very reasonable (and undoubtedly, IMO, the best policy) to simply say that, in light of the seriousness of having had to use lethal force to defend yourself, and in light of the need to communicate accurately what happened, you would prefer not to make a statement prior to calming down and consultation with a good lawyer.
Once words are said, they can't be retrieved.
Another bit of legal advice is never fire a warning shot, and always quickly shoot to kill. If you space out your shots you may get into trouble for not stopping once the assailant backs off, or you may get sued by the assailant for putting him in a wheelchair.
Interesting point. Too bad it comes down to that.
One of the things I noticed in the first article was that carbines (rifles) are not recommended for short range self-defense. Said that the rounds could go right through the assailant without slowing him or her down.
Is this correct? My wife and I had been talking about the need to have a firearm in the house for awhile, and on Sept. 11 we went out and bought a Ruger .22-long range semi-automatic carbine. (All I could afford at the time. Also, there are specific reasons that I won't go into as to why we didn't buy a pistol.)
I purchased hollow-point .22 shells to increase the damage factor, but now I'm not sure that is enough.
It really depends on the ammunition and shot placement. For instance, .223Rem full metal jacket rounds (the ammo used in most AR style rifles like the M-16) are pretty devastating since, from what I've read, the trajectory changes a few inches into the body, making the innards look like they were put through a blender (I understand that .223's don't really tumble like some people say). If you get a rifle chambered for a larger round, you might want to look for soft-point ammunition, also called Dum-Dums, or frangible rounds. Soft points are just like a full metal jacketed round, except for the tip which has exposed lead. It causes greater bullet expansion when it hits a solid object, making for a larger wound. Frangible ammo are rounds that have been designed to split into smaller pieces when it hits a target. That's beneficial in two ways since 1) one round will make more holes in an attacker, and 2) it won't go through walls to possibly strike a family member on the other side. As a caveat, I know of a couple makers of frangible handgun ammo (air marshals use this kind of cartridge, btw), but haven't run across rifle munitions of this type. The previous statement doesn't apply to .22lr ammo since it's not a jacketed round and don't think it comes in frangible rounds either. Personally, I think the .22 is a little small for self-defense since COM (center-of-mass) hits probably won't do much to stop an attacker high on PCP or crystal meth, but as the saying goes: a .22 you have is worth more than a .357 you don't.
You might also want to consider a shotgun. If the recoil from a 12gauge is to much, try a 20gauge or .410. Like the frangible rounds I mentioned above, #7 shot or higher shouldn't pass through walls, and it makes alot more holes in the bad guy.
The article also mentioned mis-feeds when using a clip. When my seven-year old daughter, and I were practicing at the range for the first time, we had two mis-feeds (jams). Easy enough to clear by just racking it a couple of times, but still caused some concern about how it would function in an emergency situation. Was it caused by bad (Winchester) ammo, or is it just the nature of the beast? The gun was brand new, so it was clean. For that matter, so were the shells.
Jams are an inherent risk in using an auto-loading firearm (that's why many people, me included, advocate double action revolvers and/or pump action shotguns for home defense). As far as why you're having jams, bad ammo is a possibility. Winchester, especially white box, tends to be jam-o-matic ammo in my experience. If you can, try different brands of ammo and see which one(s) your rifle will eat. Also, make sure you maintain your rifle. Just because your rifle was new doesn't mean it was "clean". There might be cosmoline (packing grease) in the action that's causing the failures to feed. Also, lead ammo is inherently dirty, imo. If you didn't start getting jams until the 500th round, it might be due to lead build up. Another possibility is the magazines. Are they new? If they're used, they might have weak springs that need replacing, which shouldn't be more than a few dollars.
And for a parting thought, if you haven't taken a safety course, PLEASE TAKE ONE. You'll learn all kinds of nifty stuff, plus you'll make some friends that can help you out with problems one-on-one.
Hope this helps.
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