I’ve been an expert witness for the courts in weapons-related cases, mostly shootings, since 1979. Whenever I hear some naïve person on the Internet say, “A good shoot is a good shoot,” I always want to answer, “Yeah, and on Easter, a bunny is gonna come and bring you pretty eggs, too.”
Common Mistakes Following a Good Shoot
Let me share some things I’ve seen get good people in trouble when they legitimately used a gun to defend themselves or others. But they did something stupid afterward—or even before—that got them jammed up badly with the legal system.
Don’t Leave the Scene Unless You Must For Safety
In case one in Washington State, a protest turned into a riot. At that time, a guy on one side pulled a knife on a guy on the other side. The latter’s wife shot the blade-wielder down, and she and her rescued husband fled. When the “perforated perpetrator” ditched his knife and claimed victimhood, the wife was arrested and charged with attempted murder.
A good lawyer and an outstanding expert witness tilted the balance away from the lies, and they ultimately got off. But it was a very expensive ordeal for the couple in question.
Here’s the deal: there’s a principle the jury is usually allowed to consider called “flight equals guilt.”
Remember Proverbs 28:1 from the Bible, which says, “The wicked flee where no man pursueth, but the righteous man stands his ground as bold as a lion”? The presumption is that the righteous person will remain to explain righteous actions, and only a criminal flees the scene out of “consciousness of guilt.” It’s not true, of course.
In cases like this, a person put in deadly danger may feel a compelling need to leave this frightening place. The law doesn’t come from the Bible. However, the “flight equals guilt” concept shows us that the law is based on precepts of human behavior that go back to pre-Biblical times.
If at all possible, remain at the scene.
Be the First to Call 9-1-1!
The most common error defense lawyers call me about is when their client did the right thing, drawing a gun in self-defense, but didn’t call in.
In case two in Florida, the defendant was peacefully walking his rescue dog when an illegally off-the-leash giant breed canine rushed up and sank its jaws into his dog’s neck. He threw an apple and kicked at the attacking animal, whereupon it turned on him and went for his groin.
His Colt Commander .45 put a Glaser Safety Slug into the huge beast’s neck from a retention position at contact distance, killing it instantly. A man ran up to him yelling, and the defendant holstered his pistol and rushed into his nearby house. He did not call the police.
The yelling man was the boyfriend of a rich older woman. He apparently realized that his letting the dog off its leash got it killed, causing the death of the one living thing she loved more than him. He called 9-1-1 and told a tale of “a crazy man with a Rambo gun who shot my dog and pointed the gun at me!”
The defendant was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and cruelty to animals. The case was ultimately thrown out, but not before a great deal of attorney hours and a great deal of angst suffered by the defendant.
After being bonded out, he spent many days at the gym working out and getting ready to defend himself in case he was sent to prison. Had he simply been the first to call 9-1-1, he probably never would have been arrested in the first place.
Never forget: the criminal justice system is geared to the assumption that whoever called the police first was the “victim/complainant,” and whoever didn’t was the suspect.
Don’t Put Macho BS on Social Media
In case three in Texas, an Uber driver found himself caught up in a protest demonstration that looked violent. One protester came up to his car door, holding an AK-47 in a menacing manner. The driver drew his legally-carried S&W J-frame and emptied it into the attacker—fatally. The incident had all the elements of a legitimate self-defense shooting,
Unfortunately, the defendant had posted a bunch of macho BS on social media, indicating that he’d love to have a chance to shoot a rioter. It was presented to the jury. He was convicted of murder and got out of prison only because the Governor of Texas pardoned him. This is something the rest of us cannot count on, and he still went through a hurtful, life-changing ordeal.
Always remember that your life becomes an open book when you are under investigation or criminally charged. The stuff you thought was deleted from your computer…probably wasn’t. Judges routinely sign search warrants for all the suspect’s hard drives and devices.
Posting on an internet forum under the alias of a user name won’t help. A subpoena will be served on whomever owns that forum for anything that came from any of your IPs, and they are legally required to give that up.
If you post statements that are racially biased, bloodthirsty, or of the “kill ‘em all and let God sort ‘em out” genre, they’re going to know it. And they will be able to introduce it as “state of mind” and “intent” evidence against you.
Don’t Put Macho BS On Your Gun, Either
In case four in Arizona, a very drunk young man whom police had been told was wielding a gun made a furtive movement as if reaching for a pistol. He was shot and killed by a responding officer. He also turned out to be unarmed.
This would normally be what is sometimes called an “excusable homicide,” meaning that 20/20 hindsight shows the person should have been shot. However, any reasonable person in the exact same situation would likely have shot him too. Therefore the shooter should be held harmless.
However, in this case, the officer’s privately owned/department-approved AR-15 patrol rifle had a dust cover engraved with the words “You’re F—ed.” When the newspapers got hold of that, the case became a local cause célèbre. The allegation was that the young cop in question must obviously be hungry to kill.
He was taken through a very expensive trial. Ace defense lawyer Michael Piccarreta and top-notch expert witness Emanuel Kapelsohn convinced the jury to return a Not Guilty verdict. It was a terrible ordeal nonetheless.
That dust cover cost $17.50. The defense team managed to keep the dust cover out in a motion in limine. However, there is no guarantee that this could happen in the next such trial there or elsewhere. Merely winning the motion to keep out the dust cover may have cost as much as $20,000 by itself. Do a cost/benefit analysis.
Use Common Sense
The very fact that you keep or carry a gun for self-defense means you recognize there might come a day when you have to actually use it for its intended defensive purpose. Realize that this will mean an interaction with the criminal justice system and perhaps a civil lawsuit as well.
Your freedom and everything you own may be at stake in the aftermath.
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