As Americans, we have the right to use deadly force when faced with an imminent, credible threat of death or great bodily harm. Yes, Virginia, this even applies in deep blue jurisdictions with Team Soros prosecutors who are openly antagonistic to gun owners and the right to armed self-defense. Fortunately, after this past election, there are fewer Team Soros types in office, but it’s still a problem in dozens of jurisdictions.
The unfortunate truth is, however, that even if their local prosecutor celebrates the righteous use of force in self-defense situations, good guys can still screw things up. It’s not difficult in the heat of the moment with adrenaline pumping. Some of that involves tactics, but most of of it involves the aftermath of the use of force relating to interactions with local police and prosecutors.
Sadly, sometimes those mistakes cost armed good guys their lives. Other times it costs them their life savings. Or a big chunk of their lives spent in prison rather that with their family.
We own and carry guns to make us harder to kill. Using decent tactics will help keep us alive and well. Moreover, the prudent person will understand the laws around armed self-defense so they’re harder to charge and convict afterwards.
While the laws vary to some degree by state (for example, a few states still have a “duty to retreat” requirement if you can do so safely), here are some common ways good guys can and do run afoul of the law — or even end up dead — in use of force incidents.
1. Chasing/pursuing/shooting at fleeing bad guys
This one is hard for many people. Once the immediate threat to you and other innocents ends and the bad guy(s) retreats, stop shooting. Your justification for using deadly force has ended. Don’t make the mistake of the guy in Florida who continued to shoot at fleeing bad guys, killing one. He’ll spend decades in prison for his trouble.
And don’t pursue the bad guys either. What happens if you’re successful in chasing down the perp in a new location, trying to get your stuff back or worse, attempting to hold them for police? To witnesses at the new location, you’ll look like the aggressor, not the victim. The law often feels the same.
A case just like this in recent months in Peoria, Illinois has resulted in the original robbery victim now sitting in jail until trial. He chased his robber, a new confrontation occurred at a new location, and the original perp was shot. Sure, the original robbery victim may gain an acquittal, but he’s still in jail for now because of Illinois’ no cash bail law provisions.
Then there’s the chance that one of the bystanders at the new location will have their own gun and employ deadly force against the person they perceive as the aggressor. In short: Don’t pursue fleeing bad guys. Let them go. Say it out loud: “Let them go!”
2. Forgetting about ‘Imminence’
Is the bad guy incapacitated? Stop shooting. Don’t be the pharmacist in Oklahoma.
Mr. Pharmacist took the time to walk back behind the counter, reload his revolver and then shoot Mr. Robber one last time. With that final shot, our good guy went from victim to murderer in the eyes of the law. As such, he’s now in prison instead of in retirement.
The same goes for a homeowner in Minnesota. He shot two wounded burglars “with a good, clean finishing shot” to put them out of their misery after an initial volley of shots left them writhing on the ground.
3. Thinking your home is your castle
Just because someone is on your property doesn’t give you the right to brandish your gun or make threats with it. In fact, confronting trespassers can escalate a situation quickly, to say nothing of confronting them with a gun can lead to real criminal charges (as in felonies) against you absent the trespasser wielding weapons with malicious intent.
Remember the best way to win a gun battle? Don’t get into one.
Inside your home, you have a lot more latitude to use deadly force against an uninvited “guest.” However, just because you have an intruder or someone who’s not particularly welcome (like an ex-spouse), that doesn’t automatically mean you can punch their ticket.
Ability, opportunity, and jeopardy must all be present in the mind of a reasonable person. You must be able to articulate that you or a family member faced an imminent risk of death of great bodily injury. Translation: going back to imminence, if you find a strange man passed out drunk on your couch, you better not follow Kamala’s plan of “If someone breaks into my house, they’re gettin’ shot.”
And just because you can use deadly force doesn’t mean it’s the best course of action. There are a lot of negative consequences and fallout from pulling a trigger, to say nothing of the expensive legal fees that will surely follow. Don’t believe it? Just ask George Zimmerman. He’s still being chased by angry people who blame him for Trayvon Martin’s untimely death. Or Kyle Rittenhouse.
4. Using deadly force to defend property
Along those lines, good rule of thumb is…don’t do it. Yes, states like Illinois, Texas, and a few others allow for the use of deadly force to prevent a burglary or forcible felony. At least that’s the law as written. But whether you realize it or not, the courts have scaled back on that in many cases.
Illinois law, for instance, allows the use of deadly force against someone who’s breaking into your car or shed. While your local prosecutor may decline to prosecute if you shoot, the feds can charge you for violating that person’s civil rights. More likely in this day and age, you’ll face criminal charges, especially if the burglar was “unarmed.”
Putting that aside, how will the situation look to a jury composed of members of your community? Remember, not everyone has an affinity for firearms ownership and the right of self-defense. Some people are downright antagonistic toward guns and people who use them to defend themselves. There will be people in your community who don’t think using force against another person is justified even in a clear case of self-defense. On top of all that, you have to worry about potential racial or “social justice” angles.
Let me put it more succinctly. You confront a young scholar in your unattached garage who was stealing your lawn mower. During the confrontation, the young man decided that bum rushing you was the best of his bad options and you shoot him and he dies.
The local prosecutor takes the case to trial, claiming it was murder because the kid was unarmed and it happened in an outbuilding. In closing arguments, the prosecutor tells the jury that you killed this young man who had a promising life ahead of him because he was trying to steal your ancient Craftsman mower. Maybe the prosecutor will show the jury the “I don’t dial 911” sign that was hanging on on your back door and allege racial animosity for why the kid’s dead.
That’s not going to go well for you. It’s far better to call the police, wait discretely inside your home and let the cops take care of it. Nothing in your shed is worth your life or the time and expense involved in justifying the shot you fired.
Not only that, but an attorney friend of mine once told me, “No state’s attorney is going to risk re-election for you.” That goes double if you shoot one of his constituents. A DA may move forward with a prosecution just to save face with his or her voting base.
As far as confronting bad guys attempting to break into cars, just a few weeks ago in Peoria, Clay Megan, 22, took his long gun out onto his apartment balcony to yell at a quartet of young scholars who were breaking into cars in the parking lot of his apartment complex. The yoots, seeing an armed man yelling and telling them to cease and desist, piled into their car and drove away in haste. Unfortunately for them, they drove to the back of the complex. Seeing the dead end, they turned around and drove out.
Megan saw them and fired a warning shot (another really bad idea) from his porch to further motivate the young thugs not to return. At least one of the thugs fired back, and in the world’s luckiest shot, Mr. Megan was struck in the throat, killing him dead right there.
If it hadn’t been for Megan’s wife or girlfriend inside with their two children, cops would have zero suspect information about the killers or the circumstances of his death.
God bless Clay Megan for having the heart of a lion and confronting bad guys doing bad things. Sadly, he didn’t do so from behind some form of cover and died, leaving behind people who loved him. People who counted on him.
Was it worth it? Obviously no.
5. Not keeping the proper mindset
Bad guys exist. Bad guys with true evil in their hearts. Denying the existence of evil has no survival value. Evil people won’t hesitate to hurt you for their own enjoyment or to take something of yours they want.
The best advice is to avoid trouble. Reduce risks to your health and safety by staying away from stupid situations with stupid people at stupid times. Use your situational awareness, avoidance, and de-escalation skills.
At the same time if evil is forced upon you, never give up in a fight.
6. Using force in self-defense if it can be avoided
Lots of bad things happen in the aftermath of using force in a self-defense situation and it doesn’t matter if you’re using your gun as your tool or, for instance, you car. PTSD and nightmares are a thing. So are expenses you didn’t expect, along with a lack of support from people you thought were your friends. If you’re really unfortunate, that might even include your spouse. Ask me how I know.
Then there’s depression, appetite disturbances, drug and alcohol abuse, sexual dysfunction (hey, they’ve got pills for that!) and the list goes on and on.
Sure, there are some good mental health professionals who specialize in helping victims of violent crime, and police who have used deadly force righteously. But again, if you can avoid needing to use those services, you’re way, way ahead of the game.
At the same time, sometimes life gives you a crap sandwich and you just have to take a bite. That happened to a cop named Joe Morelock who shot a home intruder after intervening to stop the man from strangling his girlfriend in front of the cop’s residence a couple days before Christmas. In the aftermath of his defensive gun use in his own home, he had to move to help protect his family from retribution from the dead perp’s pals and family.
That obviously involved expenses in the thousands for moving, selling his current residence at a $40,000+ loss (because who wants to buy a house where a homicide recently occurred?), plus hotels and all the rest. Are you still sure burning down some hoodlum taking your $500 or $1,000 TV is the right call? If so, you’re not thinking rationally.
Here’s the 911 call Morelock made as the situation unfolded (it may not be workplace safe). He handled it in textbook fashion.
7. Not having an attorney present before you answer questions from the police
Even if you feel your actions were completely within the law and that should be clear to any reasonable observer, do not talk with the police until you’ve had a chance to speak with an attorney. As one funny man once said, you have the right to remain silent, but very few people have the ability.
If you own a gun to defend yourself or your family, it’s critical that you know how to interact with responding police after a defensive gun use.
Yes, you can say some things like pointing out the attacker and telling cops you’ll cooperate with his (or her) prosecution. You can point out evidence and witnesses. But then you need to ask for an attorney before answering questions…and then shut up.
Tell the cops you will be happy to make a statement, AFTER you have your attorney at your side. Then shut up. That also goes for ambulance and hospital personnel if you’re transported for treatment. Say nothing. You’re likely to have an officer with a bodycam close by and everyone in this day and age writes reports after incidents.
Most people don’t realize that nothing you say to police can go to proving your innocence. In other words, you literally have no reason to talk with the police without your attorney present. Knowing this, why would you talk with police?
Get your family together and watch this video.
Again, because it’s really important…don’t talk to the police or answer their questions without your defense attorney present. Ever.
7a. Not having legal defense coverage
It really doesn’t matter which provider you get coverage with, have some sort of legal defense coverage. That will give you excellent, up to and including OJ Simpson-level of criminal defense legal representation without paying six-figures for it. You won’t have to rely on an over-worked, under-paid public defender to represent you in the aftermath of a deadly force incident.
These companies can refer some of the best criminal defense attorneys to you if you don’t know one. That will prevent you from bankrupting yourself in an attempt to stay out of prison, trying to survive the criminal justice system after surviving the criminal attack.