Court Opinion

ID: 9736214
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 18:47:14.950568+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:27:05.063287
License: Public Domain

TAMILIA, Judge,
dissenting:
The majority has determined that the duty to retreat under the circumstances of this case was not relevant. I do not believe this is the issue presented by appellant. The majority would adopt a view of the facts that under any circumstance, the officer had no right to use deadly force. The failure of the lower court to instruct on the duty of a police officer to retreat or desist from efforts to make a lawful arrest is exacerbated by the court’s determination that the officer’s actions were not pursuant to a lawful arrest. The majority acknowledges the latter was error on the part of the lower court. If the lower court had concluded that the officer was engaged in a lawful arrest, it is obvious that the officer’s duty to retreat or desist becomes a relevant issue under 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 508(a) — Peace officer’s use of force in making arrest. Since the Commonwealth has the burden of disproving justification beyond a reasonable doubt, Commonwealth v. Cropper, 463 Pa. 529, 345 A.2d 645 (1975); Commonwealth v. Zenyuh, 307 Pa.Super. 253, 453 A.2d 338 (1982); Commonwealth v. Rittle, 285 Pa.Super. 522, 428 A.2d 168 (1981) (Commonwealth must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant was not acting in self-defense) and that the defendant did not reasonably believe the use of deadly force was necessary, the court’s initial error precluded a determination in the first instance by the court as to whether the Commonwealth met its burden and perhaps thereafter, by the jury after an appropriate instruction. If a jury could have found that the deceased was actively engaged in life-threatening behavior with a deadly weapon, and despite actions by the police to *114halt his advance under circumstances present at that time including the officer’s reasonable beliefs about the alleged voodoo power of the deceased as he made movements which could be construed to be a continued advance, then a jury could find the police officer was entitled to take additional forceful action. Clearly, the issue of justification in this Commonwealth, when properly raised, is a factual one which must be resolved by the fact finder. Commonwealth v. Berrigan, 325 Pa.Super. 242, 472 A.2d 1099 (1984) (citations omitted). By erroneously holding that the arrest was not a legal arrest, the court denied the defendant an opportunity to have the jury consider the legal implications of that defense and to pass on the facts proposed by the defendant to establish his state of mind and the reasonableness of his actions. Under similar situations, a civilian would be required to retreat or desist if he could do so with safety, whereas a police officer was not. The court’s failure to charge was even more prejudicial to the defendant as the District Attorney, in his brief, acknowledged that the Commonwealth did not attempt to overcome the appellant’s claim of self-defense as it applied to the duty to retreat or desist. By not attempting to disprove the officer’s right to self-defense as to those elements, the District Attorney apparently believes he can control the defense’s theory of the case by making it a non-issue. The Commonwealth’s duty is to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt all elements of the defendant’s claim of justification, not only those he considers relevant. See Rittle, Cropper, supra. The appellant has the right to a charge on justification to the fullest extent permitted by law, not to be controlled by the Commonwealth’s theory, and as Berrigan, supra teaches, not to be limited by the court’s or the Commonwealth’s interpretation of the facts, but those proposed by the defendant and considered by the jury as it is guided by the relevant law. We can only guess as to what a jury would have done if given the requested instruction. For this reason, I would reverse and remand for a new trial.