Aiding a LEO is a much less complex decision than coming upon, say, a woman being beaten.
Who knows what happened before I arrived? Did she try to rob the other person and what I'm seeing a justified self defense response?
Too many variables to say for sure.
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." - Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Constitution, Draft 1, 1776
I think it would be a non-issue in Mississippi as a person using reasonable force at the direction of and in assistance of a LEO is provided immunity under state law. I believe that the only way a person here would be subject to civil liability in any self defense shooting or a shooting in the defense of others is if they are first found criminally guilty.
Here's a LINK to another article. The good samaritan, the officer, and the state department of natural resources are all named as defendants in the suit.
A big issue is her legal bills even if the jury finds in her favor.Originally Posted by wvincent
Regardless of the jury findings she's going to have to pay legal fees which can run into hundreds of thousands of dollars
My understanding of the law here is that you cannot be sued by a criminal you stop, or the family should the criminal not survive. If it's not like that in your state, work on it.
"Gunfighting is a thinking man's game. So we might want to bring thinking back into it."-MDFA
Beware of my temper, and the dog that I've found...
I know Greg well, and I understand where he’s coming from.
However, we all know that subjects like civil liability/criminal liability and use of force policies vary geographically. Thus, even though the world is largely ate up, you still have to consider the totality of the circumstances in the heat of the moment and hope you choose the right adventure.
I’m lucky I live in a pro-police, pro-self defense region/state. But not everybody does.
civiliandefender.com
FWIW, it sounds like this case is getting attention in the state legislature and clarification of state law may result. You are supposed to be immune to legal jeopardy for a justified defensive shooting right now, but apparently it's only being applied to criminal law.
Sorta around sometimes for some of your shitty mod needs.
I had a slightly different take on Greg's article.
I read it as to think long and hard about using deadly force in defense of a stranger, especially against someone that is un-armed. I'm not so sure he was advocating not coming to the aid of the officer as he concluded with:
You’ve undoubtedly read my advice in other articles I’ve written. I’m constantly advocating that my students learn to become proficient in empty hand fighting skills. I also encourage my students to carry a less-lethal weapon like pepper spray as well. In situations like this, when the bad guy is unarmed, a skilled person could intervene without using deadly force.
Do you think she would be sued if she kicked the criminal in the head as he was rolling around on the ground with the officer? Would she be sued if she incapacitated the criminal with a face full of pepper spray? What if she choked the guy out? All are options here. I would postulate that she wouldn’t be defending herself in court if she used one of these lesser options and helped the officer gain control of the suspect without shooting him.
There’s a reason I am in favor of my students learning both empty handed and less lethal weapons skills. They may keep you out of jail and far away from an expensive civil suit.
Your tactical homework for today is to think hard about who is worth fighting for. Who are you willing to risk lifetime imprisonment or financial destitution to save? Once you’ve figured that out, commit to exercising that discretion in any defensive situations you encounter.
I think you're right but I'm not overly impressed with his article. If that LEO was in danger, I don't think his life hanging on the empty hand skills of middle aged woman who happened by is such a good thing; seeing how much H2H punishment raging BGs can take from multiple LEO's in a scrum. I'm not sure he is advancing the subject all that much by suggesting pepper spray to possibly also disable the LEO too so he/she can't help in return when the PCP dude turns on the good Samaritan.
Shit just "depends". Depends on if the LEO is already bleeding out? BG is working the LEO's gun out of the holster? It just depends. Sometimes, that's all we got. It depends.
Last edited by JHC; 04-20-2018 at 08:18 AM.
“Remember, being healthy is basically just dying as slowly as possible,” Ricky Gervais
Good. The law addressing that is pretty specific here in Georgia, I think. It would be great to see similar legislation enacted in more states.
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