You're attacked in a violent manner that may take your life! You react instinctively and defend yourself with equal force in order to save your own life. Fine motor skills all go out the window and you react naturally with gross motor skills and the muscle memory you've developed at the Gun range...
You had no other alternative and had to defend yourself with deadly force. You were clearly justified in doing what you had to do to stay alive. What's next? This is rarely discussed yet is as important as the very act of justifiably defending yourself with deadly force. There's been too many instances where good people needed to react and quickly decide to use deadly force to stay alive but didn't quite know what to do after the having to use lethal force. Many of these individuals have been accidentally injured or killed by arriving law enforcement officers who weren't very clear about what occurred and who was who at the scene. There's been a number of homeowners who justifiably defended themselves and families inside their very homes against armed intruders and later were accidentally injured or killed by law enforcement officers who didn't know who the homeowner was or what exactly occurred.
Lets place ourselves in the officers shoes that were dispatched to your home for a moment, we arrive at the scene, your home and not knowing what actually transpired inside but we do know a Firearm was discharged. We cautiously approach and enter the home and upon entering the home, we witness a body on the floor bleeding profusely and there's a man standing over the body waiving a firearm. If you were the officer, how would you perceive and react this scenario? This is how many homeowners have been accidentally injured or killed by arriving law enforcement officers.
In the immediate aftermath of defending yourself with deadly force, you will feel fear, elation, anger, empathy and a slew of other emotions all at the same time. It's an emotionally charged and confusing moment. How we deal with such a situation depends on the individual, some people can calmly deal with it and others suffer emotional breakdowns. In such a situation, an emotional breakdown isn't optimal as we need to think as clearly as possible in order to translate what transpired to the 911 operator and law enforcement. Sometimes we just can't control our emotions, however, by having the knowledge and a plan of action in place for critical incidents, we can all be much better prepared to deal with them.
The following is the proper way to deal with such critical incidents and arriving law enforcement officers:
1. Re-holster your Firearm so it's not in your hands yet safely secured on your person.
Wolves travel in packs, the person you had to defend yourself against may not necessarily be on his own, he likely has multiple accomplices that are waiting nearby to assist him. You have no immediate law enforcement assistance available to you therefore, your Firearm is your only friend willing to protect you.
When law enforcement arrives at the scene, YOU DO NOT want to have your Firearm in your hand. You want to immediately demonstrate to the officers, you do not have any weapons in your hands by raising and opening your hands towards the officers.
2. Call 911 and stay on the phone DO NOT HANG UP stay on the phone with the 911 operator.
Everything is being recorded the minute the 911 operator picks up. After the fact incidents are being recorded and may act as an additional witness to the incident.
3. Describe the scene, what happened in as much detail as possible yet calmly to be understood.
Describe what transpired and indicate if you're in a safe area or if you're moving to a safer location.
4. Describe yourself in detail.
What you're wearing, your race, your height, your hair and any other special descriptive features.
5. Describe your assailant in detail.
What he/she is wearing, race, approximate height and weight and any other descriptive features.
6. Declare you have a Firearm SAFELY SECURED on your person to the 911 operator.
This way, the presence of a Firearm on your person will not be a surprise to the officers arriving to the scene and your safety will be maintained.
7. When law enforcement arrives to the scene, tell the 911 operator you see them.
Waive your hand in the air and tell the 911 operator you're doing so, the officers will be able to discern who you are better in the crowd that typically forms at such a scene.
8. Do everything the law enforcement officers instruct you to do at the scene, do not resist anything.
Everything you're told by law enforcement officers at the scene is for your safety and theirs.
Do not attempt to handle your Firearm at any time, keep your hands well away from it and immediately inform the officers of its secured location on your person.
The law enforcement officers at the scene will disarm you and may place you in handcuffs until they've investigated, secured the situation and figured out exactly what transpired. You may get arrested if what transpired isn't all too clear to the officers, do not resist, you're still alive to clarify the situation at a later time.
After the immediate act of defending yourself with deadly force, the following will occur: You will loose the Firearm you used to defend yourself with as evidence in the case, you may or may not get it back and if you don't, what ever the Firearm initially cost you to purchase was well worth the price in saving your life. You will be required to go before a prosecutor and jury in court who will determine your if your decision of using lethal force was an absolutely necessary and justifiable means of defending yourself. Your legal fees will be very expensive, you will need to hire an attorney to represent you in court. You may get arrested if the officers at the scene cannot immediately determine if your actions where in fact justifiable. Your assailant can sue you if he lives, if he dies, the family can sue you - they may not necessarily have a leg to stand on however, they can sue you and it w ill cost you many financial and legal headaches for a long time to come.
I hope this article empowers folks with knowledge and helps them stay safe during and after defending themselves with lethal force in such critical incidents.
In clarification, I'm not an attorney to be giving legal advice, these are situations that commonly occur and this is simply a common sense manner in which to handle such a situation by viewing the matter from outside the box.
Jorge CaroCertified Firearms Instructor
Automatic blog by iAutoblog
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