Police say: "Cannot use gun in self defense"

This is not news to me. The law makes sense to me regarding store employees vs. the owner.

Did I say in the line of their duty? Why so defesive? The artcile was about a 911 operator giving legal advice, not a cop on the beat. Stay with the program, here. I hope you are not a cop with that thin skin!

If the police let you start defending yourself, what would you need them for? It's called job security.

Definitely not meant as a defensive post. Just hurried. No cop, either! BTW, where I come from dispatchers are cops on duty.

Most smaller cities and counties, dispatchers are employees but not law enforcement. My sister started as a dispatcher and is now a deputy. There is also a diff between officers on patrol and others. The patrol officers have usually four months, or so, extra training. The others are detention or administrative officers.

Howdy, The story I'm about to tell is the absolute truth.

About two years ago I just got home from a "helping my friend" three day chore. I own a small home on ten acres in El Dorado County, California. It's a beautiful place about ten miles east of Placerville. I arrived home to find my long time live in girlfriend entertaining a friend. I chatted with them about two hours, excused myself, and went to bed about 4 pm. The month was March.

At about 5 pm, the sun was setting, Mary awoke me, she was visibly upset. "Rick, there are people on the ditch with one of those bad dogs." The ditch is on our property, about ten feet from my shop. Mary went on to say she told the people they were trespassing and to exit the property the way they entered. The man, aproximately 40 years, told her to fu**off. He had the right to walk on the utility easement. The man, his teen age daughter and their large, trained, Doberman continued on after Mary's rather terse warning. Enter me.

Knowing the trespassers had to return the way they came, I waited. My pickup was backed up to the ditch as always. Since Mary described the man and his dog as very adversarial I grabbed my double barrel 12 gauge, tossed it in the back of my pickup. In a few minutes, here they come. You are trespassing and have been warned. The man then explained he had the right to trespass on my land and that my mother was a female dog. I proceded, with my Black Labrador, to block the path. About 15 feet behind the man was his teen daughter and this regal looking doberman. The man turns away from me toward his daughter and dog, yelling, My dog will kill your dog. At this point I grab the 12 gauge. I will vaporize your Fu**ing dog! It is at this point that he realizes the gravity of his rather weak position.

He left, my dog was not attacked, end of story.

Not quite. The man calls the police, explains the crazed maniac. The police, in full military regalia, attack our house. I come out, as well as Mary, respond to the police by hitting the ground. They search us, the house, we are then handcuffed and questioned. I was placed under arrest, 30 minutes later Mary was released. The police took my 12 gauge, and other legal weapons they found.

About three months later we went to court. I recieved a jury trial, after two days I was deemed to be not guilty. If you wish more info contact me. Thanks for your time.

California Penal code

197. Homicide is also justifiable when committed by any person in any of the following cases:

1. When resisting any attempt to murder any person, or to commit a felony, or to do some great bodily injury upon any person; or,
2. When committed in defense of habitation, property, or person, against one who manifestly intends or endeavors, by violence or surprise, to commit a felony, or against one who manifestly intends and endeavors, in a violent, riotous or tumultuous manner, to enter the habitation of another for the purpose of offering violence to any person therein; or,
3. When committed in the lawful defense of such person, or of a wife or husband, parent, child, master, mistress, or servant of such person, when there is reasonable ground to apprehend a design to commit a felony or to do some great bodily injury, and imminent danger of such design being accomplished; but such person, or the person in whose behalf the defense was made, if he was the assailant or engaged in mutual combat, must really and in good faith have endeavored to decline any further struggle before the homicide was committed; or,
4. When necessarily committed in attempting, by lawful ways and means, to apprehend any person for any felony committed, or in lawfully suppressing any riot, or in lawfully keeping and preserving the peace.

198. A bare fear of the commission of any of the offenses mentioned in subdivisions 2 and 3 of Section 197, to prevent which homicide may be lawfully committed, is not sufficient to justify it. But the circumstances must be sufficient to excite the fears of a reasonable person, and the party killing must have acted under the influence of such fears alone.

198.5. Any person using force intended or likely to cause death or great bodily injury within his or her residence shall be presumed to have held a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily injury to self, family, or a member of the household when that force is used against another person, not a member of the family or household, who unlawfully and forcibly enters or has unlawfully and forcibly entered the residence and the person using the force knew or had reason to believe that an unlawful and forcible entry occurred. As used in this section, great bodily injury means a significant or substantial physical injury.

199. The homicide appearing to be justifiable or excusable, the person indicted must, upon his trial, be fully acquitted and discharged.

Thanks.