Thank you, Steve.srothstein wrote:OK, the real and unvarnished truth, as best as I can from my experience, training, and knowledge. There is no set answer as to what will happen if you are involved in a shooting. Too much depends on the attitudes of the police, DA, and you when it happens, as well as the specific facts of the case.
There are three separate factors mentioned in your post. 1. What is the law on defensive shooting? 2. When is a shooting personally justified? and 3. What will happen if I am involved in a shooting.
The answer to number 1 is covered in Penal Code chapter 9. The law says (in a simplified manner) that you may shoot someone if they enter your home (and a few other places) without permission and by using force. It says you may only shoot to recover stolen property if there is no other way to recover the property. It also gives you the right to defend your life in other cases. Read chapter 9 and you can make your own interpretation of exactly what it says. Feel free to ask more specific questions about any section you need clarified.
The answer to number 2 is all your own decision. You have to decide what you are willing to kill over. Some people on the board think most property is not worth killing a suspect over since they have insurance that will replace the item. Others feel that the person is actually stealing time from my life (the time I worked to get the money to buy the item and the time I use to get the insurance to cover it). And still a few others feel that the suspect deserves being shot just for stealing to begin with. I have my opinions but you need to make your own mind up. Believe me, taking someone's life is a very personal decision as to what justifies it.
The answer to number 3 is also very varied. If you are involved in a shooting that the law clearly says is justified (as opposed to a gray area), some police officers will arrest you anyway and you will need a lawyer and will pay the expenses involved with defending yourself in court. In some cases, the police will ask if you need more target practice since it took two shots instead of one. You may know your area and if the police and prosecutor are liberal, conservative, support and support or dislike people defending themselves. And if the media gets involved, the police attitudes could change either way.
So, we all speculate on cases and make statements based on our area and situation, but no one else can say exactly what will happen to you. As proof of this, I will show the case of a friend of mine on SAPD. He shot a car burglary suspect who lunged at him and ended up going through very hard times, including a grand jury at the state level, a state civil trial, and a federal civil trial. The media got involved and made it look like the officer had made a mistake and had an accidental shooting. And I was involved in a shooting of an armed robbery suspect. The media got involved and made it look like the suspect had been in a crime spree all night, shooting up half of San Antonio, and the whole department had been hunting for him for hours. I had never heard of him until a robbery call about 15 minutes before the shooting and the whole story happened in about two minutes in a school parking lot. I has given one night off and then my regular days off and was back on duty in three days with nothing else to worry about. I was never charged or sued. No one can tell what will happen in any specific case until it happens.
Long story short, if you shoot somebody, it is very likely to draw a large and expensive crowd. Pick your battles wisely.