Nobody said it did. It's important here, and MANY fail to do this, to recognize the difference between "force" and "deadly force." If some are blocking me from walking down the sidewalk, am I justified in using FORCE against them?
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Return to “Two riot situations not yet addressed”
- Sat Aug 08, 2020 10:58 pm
- Forum: General Texas CHL Discussion
- Topic: Two riot situations not yet addressed
- Replies: 25
- Views: 18256
Re: Two riot situations not yet addressed
- Sat Aug 08, 2020 9:16 pm
- Forum: General Texas CHL Discussion
- Topic: Two riot situations not yet addressed
- Replies: 25
- Views: 18256
Two riot situations not yet addressed
The past few months, we've seen some excellent articles from attorneys and legal defense networks about the legal ramifications of responding to being caught in a riot, e.g. having your car surrounded, blocked from moving, etc. Obviously, you can't run over somebody just because they're blocking the street, and obviously, you can use deadly force if somebody's trying to drag you out of your car.
But there are two VERY common situations that I have YET to see anybody addressing specifically, and I'd like to see somebody do so.
1. Your car is blocked by a crowd of protestors. Some of them start breaking your car windows, NOT acting as if they wanted to drag you out, but just smashing in your windows. Maybe it's the driver's window, which is inches from your head and may have different implications from smashing, say, a rear or side window. At what point does this clearly warrant a deadly force response? By "clearly" I mean "clearly to a jury," not your personal opinion.
For example, watch the first couple of minutes of this:
2. You're walking down a sidewalk and some Antifas step in front of you and deliberately block your way, maybe holding up a pole or stick as a barrier. Isn't this considered to be an illegal use of force, justifying using force in response, e.g. a club, pepper spray, hitting or kicking? Would you be justified, for example, in whipping out a telescoping baton and whacking him across the teeth? Not trying to be dramatic here, just contemplating where the legal lines are drawn. I would personally have a very hard time peacefully dealing with this one.
One ugly example is the elderly couple attempting to cross a street as they were leaving some event.
Of course, there are variables to consider. For example, if you shoot somebody from your car and you're surrounded by protestors with guns, you're a sitting duck. Same goes if somebody's blocking you on the sidewalk and you attack them and they're surrounded by 200 protestors with clubs. In a couple of seconds, you could be in a very bad situation.
In any case, I have yet to read or hear of either of these scenarios addressed. It's always about "somebody dragging you from your car," etc.
But there are two VERY common situations that I have YET to see anybody addressing specifically, and I'd like to see somebody do so.
1. Your car is blocked by a crowd of protestors. Some of them start breaking your car windows, NOT acting as if they wanted to drag you out, but just smashing in your windows. Maybe it's the driver's window, which is inches from your head and may have different implications from smashing, say, a rear or side window. At what point does this clearly warrant a deadly force response? By "clearly" I mean "clearly to a jury," not your personal opinion.
For example, watch the first couple of minutes of this:
2. You're walking down a sidewalk and some Antifas step in front of you and deliberately block your way, maybe holding up a pole or stick as a barrier. Isn't this considered to be an illegal use of force, justifying using force in response, e.g. a club, pepper spray, hitting or kicking? Would you be justified, for example, in whipping out a telescoping baton and whacking him across the teeth? Not trying to be dramatic here, just contemplating where the legal lines are drawn. I would personally have a very hard time peacefully dealing with this one.
One ugly example is the elderly couple attempting to cross a street as they were leaving some event.
Of course, there are variables to consider. For example, if you shoot somebody from your car and you're surrounded by protestors with guns, you're a sitting duck. Same goes if somebody's blocking you on the sidewalk and you attack them and they're surrounded by 200 protestors with clubs. In a couple of seconds, you could be in a very bad situation.
In any case, I have yet to read or hear of either of these scenarios addressed. It's always about "somebody dragging you from your car," etc.