What do we do after?

[JamesBell]

YG and MB. You all are right, and I clearly am not doing a good job of showing my concern, so I suppose I should just stop. What MB suggested one say is exactly what I would hope I, and anyone else, would say. But, under the stress of the situation, I fear that many would open their mouth, and then not be able to stop. Being arrested isn't my concern, being charged is. If I have to spend some time in a jail cell, that is OK. Spening years in a prison isn't.

Maybe its just me. But I think that in that situation, if I talked I would say too much. Maybe it is the fact that I trust LEO's too much and may not be thinking about the consequences at that particular moment.

 

[NikatKimber]

ok, I will admit, I am NOT a LEO. But if I look at it from their shoes:
you get a call from a person stating they were involved in a self defense shooting, and need police/medical. They will wait at the scene for police. the Police arive, and the caller is still there, and admits to shooting the wounded person. In my mind, that person has no fear of police, in other words, is probably innocent of crime. He has already painted a friendly face to me. Just a thought.

 

[Glock 'em down]

If and when your friggin' lawyer shows up, the first thing he will do is interrupt your conversation with the LEO and make a statement to the LEO kinda like "my client has nothing more to say to you officer" because let's face it - lawyers that get called out to a crime scene without any background on what has just happened naturally assume the person that requested them there are being accused of a crime...which in a sense YOU ARE! BUT...like MB said, make the short and simple statement that you were in fear of your life and you shot the attacker. DO NOT say "I shot AND killed him/her" because you are not a doctor (unless you ARE a doctor) and you are not qualified to make that call. Hell, me and MB as LEOs are not qualified to make that call...that's why we have to call the M.E. to the scene! Ever heard the old saying "Just the facts?" Answer the LEO's question...do not add to and do not take away.

LEO: "Did you shoot this man?"
YOU: "Yes Officer, I did."
LEO: "Was it self defense?"
YOU: "Yes officer, it was?"
LEO: "Tell me what happened."
YOU: "This man assaulted me and asked for my wallet. I reached behind me to where my wallet AND my Glock 19 (and yes, tell him what you shot the BG with-this helps!) drew my weapon and fired striking the man"

That's what's wrong with this world...NOBODY trusts the police anymore! I'm not out to get anybody and I don't have any axe to grind with anyone...I'm just doing my job!

Like MB said IT'S JUST THAT SIMPLE! Don't do the "shoulda, woulda, coulda" game. JUST THE FACTS!

 

[RDS]

The original post refers to police officers going to the hospital after a shooting, correct?

Police officers using this delay/post incident tactic are probably trying to get a jump on a compelled statement "Catch-22'd" on them by their department's internal policies enforced by the Garrity ruling....(kind of an internal affairs Miranda warning only you don't have the right to remain silent, at least not without consequences..)

The compelled statement is okay(?) because there is not supposed to be any CRIMINAL prosecution as a result of the info provided in the Garrity compelled statement. Civil consequences? Uh....yeah, can be.

So, civilian context, Michael Brown's advice is sound.

 

[JamesBell]

Glock 'em down, I hope you weren't saying that I don't trust LEO's, because that isn't the case. My mom is a retired LEO, I grew up in the police station-- I trust the police officer's fully. It is the DA and the pressure they face that I don't trust. Well, and my ability to keep my mouth shut when it needs to be shut. If I was stressed and a police officer was asking me questions, I would see that person as a "friend" and not be thinking too much. So, if I started talking, I don't know that I would stop then I needed to.

 

[Glock 'em down]

No, i wasn't thinking that. I know EXACTLY what you are saying. You forgot...I deal with DA's almost on a daily basis...I know what kind of horses asses they can be! They are still just a lawyer!

 

[tacmedic]

Let me offer some advice on this from a different perspective. There are quite a few liberal anti gun nuts in medicine and nursing...yes sad but true I'm afraid. I have seen supposed medical professions do some really crappy and unethical things when it comes to being a witness regarding what patients say and or do while in the ER depending upon there own personal biases. And some just love to give statements or be witnesses. So if you do use this tactic it could really bite you in the @$$, be even more careful what you say and do in front of them. You don't want them testifying that you were unremorseful, not distressed, had no acute medical condition, or were high five'n your buddies and yelling F#$K'n-A I wasted that scumbag. Not in a situation like the one discussed here but I've seen more than one patient burned because Nancy Nurse or Dr. Lib couldn't wait to flap their trap. You also don't want to risk a physician documenting that he found nothing wrong with you during you ER visit either. If you need to seek medical care PLEASE BE SURE YOU DO, just be a victim, gun supporters will tell you your a hero, the libs will like you cause they love the whole victim mentality thing.

 

[elshadow001]

I had a sherrif tell me a long time ago, if you ever shoot someone and the authorities question you simply tell them " I don't even remember pulling the trigger I was so scared"

He said never forget that.

 

[tacmedic]

Not sure that's such a good idea...if you don't even remeber pulling the trigger you could open the door for them to question your recollection of anything surrounding the events including your reason for being afraid and pulling a gun. Could open the door to criminal negligence.

I would want to appear simply as someone who took only the necessary action to stop an immenent threat.

Seems to me the best thing is to do what Mike has been saying all along. State simply that you were afraid for you life and you did what you had to to stop the immediate threat. Answer direct questions simply and without embellishment or explaination.

 

[AgentJBOND]

in my SDA class, an attorney taught part of the course. he went through a bunch of hoopla about how nobody should say more to the police than something like "i would like to cooperate, first i must speak to my attorney, please". he insisted that, immediately following the incident, nobody ever seems to know how many shots they fired or exactly what happened (not even the LEOs that he has represented over the years). talking at the scene almost certainly leads to conflicting statements or confusion at the very least.

if you try to talk just enough to prevent arrest... you might be arrested anyway. then you're in big trouble since that statement was made without a clear mind and an attorney (and whatever you said just got you arrested!). if you say nothing, allow yourself to be arrested, and answer questions carefully with your attorney present, the D.A. will have nothing to use against you. also, such an arrest does not put your CCL in jeopardy


here's my question for the LEOs... will a simple "i feared for my life when that man tried to kill me, and i shot him in self defense" prevent an arrest (assuming the evidence suggests that is true)? how could the Stand Your Ground Law change this when it goes into effect?