From: forda@gtephx.UUCP (Andrew Ford @ AGCS, Phoenix, Arizona)
Newsgroups: rec.guns
Subject: Re: Hand-loads for defens
Date: 9 Sep 92 03:16:21 GMT
Organization: gte

In article <1992Sep5.161058.17770@ke4zv.uucp>, ke4zv!gary@gatech.edu (Gary Coffman) writes:
# In article <tmi.714982020@well.sf.ca.us> tmi@well.sf.ca.us (Peter Kasler) writes:
# #
# #	My best advice is to learn what to do and what to avoid doing
# #prior to, during, and following a deadly confrontation, and
# #incorporate those things into you lifestyle with extreme diligence. Do
# #not make statements, generally and specifically never to the police in
# #connection with such an incident until you have first consulted a
# #lawyer knowledgeable in both criminal and weapons law.
# 
# Sound advice. However, (sigh) the local chief of police advises that
# immediately demanding a lawyer always looks suspicious to investigators
# and frequently causes them to dig deeper into what they otherwise might
# accept as an open and shut case of justified homicide. Shootings here
# don't automatically go to trial. He advises privately that after you have 
# determined that the perp is dead, call the police. When the officer arrives, 
# say only that the perp had a crazed look in his eyes, advanced toward you 
# screaming "I'm going to kill you!", and that you fired until he *stopped*,
# don't say until he was dead. *I* don't advocate saying this, unless it's 
# true, but that's the way the *local* police operate.  Naturally that wouldn't 
# be a good idea if the victim had 15 or 16 rounds in the back while lying 
# halfway inside the jimmied door of your car in the parking lot of Kmart. 1/2:-)
# You're likely going to jail for a long time in that case.
# 
# Homicide, justified or not, is always extremely serious. Don't lie,
# or at least don't get caught in a stupid lie, don't volunteer extraneous 
# information, and most of all be sure you know what's happening. A seemingly 
# innocent off the cuff remark could land you in prison, or in Georgia, in 
# the electric chair. Understand how your local police operate, it varies much 
# more widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction than the law does.  Talking 
# openly to the investigating officer may be exactly the right thing to do in 
# some places and some cases. In others it may be really dumb. I'd advise 
# consulting a good *local* criminal lawyer *before* you even think about 
# *using* deadly force. That could be the smartest investment you ever make.

A very good post!  Let me add one thing: a better way to "not talk to the
officers at the scene" is to have a prepared statement (prepared today,
before you face the threat) to the effect of "I'm sorry, but I'm too
shook up to talk right now -- all I know is that it was either he killed
[me/her/him/...] or I killed him.  Can we talk more in the morning?"

While this obviously won't work if you are in complete control, most
folks are not calm and collected after a defense shooting, so the
story "fits" and you can call your lawyer before talking to the
police without arousing suspicion.  

(One word of caution -- make sure your "prepared statement" is prepared
in *your*naturally* spoken English.  "I am sorry, but I am too emotionally
traumitized to offer a coherent statement" will sound obviously prepared
if you turn around and say "Woman, I ain't gonna tell ya agin, shut them
kids up!"  -- officers can ususally detect such subtleties (sp?) as not
using contractions ("I am" or "cannot" instead of "I'm" or "can't"), using
too sophisticated or too simple words, etc.  [This is why lying is not 
a good idea -- you think about your wording and end up not talking in 
your normal dialect.  Try to have a memorized plain talk sentence that 
conveys " I can't talk cuz I'm upset, he was going to kill (whoever), 
and can we talk tomorrow.]

-- 
"25 States allow anyone to buy a gun, strap it on, and walk down the street with
no permit of any kind: some say it's crazy.  However, 4 out of 5 US murders are 
committed in the other half of the country: so who is crazy?"   -  Andrew Ford
gtephx!forda@enuucp.eas.asu.edu  OR  !uunet!samsung!romed!enuucp!gtephx!forda