Posted on 03/07/2012 5:46:37 AM PST by marktwain
[Click here to listen the 911 call made from a private residence in Springville Utah where a home owner shot and killed an invader.] This series has long argued that there are two parts to armed self-defense. Defending yourself against a lethal threat and defending yourself against prosecution for defending yourself against a lethal threat. Just as the first rule of a gunfight is have a gun, the first rule for staying out of jail and/or losing everything you own due to defensive gun use is STFU (Shut The F Up). That rule starts from the moment you call the cavalry. Here’s the 411 on 911 . . .
1. Make the call as short as possible
911 operators are trained to keep the caller on the line as long as they can, until the first responders make the scene. You are under no legal obligation to remain in contact with the operator.
By the same token, the 911 operators are trained to extract as much information from the caller as possible. You are under no legal obligation to answer any of the operator’s questions.
Never forget that anything you say on a 911 call can and will be used against you in a court of law. Anything. And the way you say it.
Communicate the basic information necessary: the situation (there’s an intruder in my house/there’s been a shooting), your address, a description of yourself and the medical condition of a wounded friendly (if applicable). After that? Nada. What else do the cops need to know? Nothing. Not a damn thing.
2. Either hang up or put the phone down as soon as possible
Once you’ve shared the key info, either hang up or put the phone down. The former is the best strategy if the DGU is done. The latter is the best option if the situation is in progress.
If you throw the phone down—an excellent idea from a strategic/situational awareness point of view—remember that you’re being recorded.
Use that to your advantage. If it’s safe to do so, yell a warning to the intruder. “The police are on their way. I’ve got a gun. Don’t make me me shoot you.” Over-zealous prosecutors hate that stuff. Juries love it.
Again, it’s not just what you say, but how you say it. If you start swearing, laughing (even nervously) or go for some Clint Eastwood-like line before pulling the trigger, that will NOT work out well for you.
3. Do not discuss the 911 call with the cops
Police/detectives arriving on scene will try to extract as much information from you as possible. The cops may try and use information from the 911 call to get you to talk before you lawyer up. Lawyer up. Tell them “My life was in danger” and “I will answer all your questions after I speak with my attorney.” And . . . that’s it. Nothing else.
Don’t be fooled by 911 operators’ good intentions (which are beyond doubt). They are not trying to get you into trouble. But by God they can.
I know it’s difficult not to tell a helpful stranger anything they want to know in a time of grave danger. But give them the basics and STFU. Don’t give law enforcement and the perp’s lawyer the ammunition they need to turn you from an armed self-defender into a victim of the legal system.
I think that he found that 75% of defensive gun use prosecutions came from information on the 911 call.
All good advice and what I was taught in ccw class.
When the police arrive,tell them that you are having trouble breathing.They will have to send you to the hospital,your lawyer can meet you there.
So I guess quoting Samuel Jackson from Pulp Fiction wouldn't be a good idea? /s
I think hanging up after the basic information is relayed is probably best, unless it is a fluid situation.
Good info. Thanks for posting.
Very good advice
If you are a male over 40, ALWAYS tell them you are having trouble breathing and DEMAND an ambulance.
ALWAYS.
Never BE calm and cool after a shooting.
We (former 911) are trained to keep folks on the phone .... primarily to be a liason with the officers responding to the scene so they have some idea of what is going on & where, especially if the situation is going on in a house or building & the police have to make entry. While it is good legal advice to hang up the phone, just be aware that the police are now 'blind', with no source of information as to what is going on and they will be taking measures to protect themselves .... you have a gun, be very careful to identify yourself, make sure they know where the gun is, follow their directions exactly, and don't be surprised if you are secured, searched, & treated like an 'unfriendly' etc. until they have the scene sorted out.
Excellent post, thank you.
Never talk to the police without your attorney present. What you say, and what they say you said, are rarely the same thing.
What I was taught is that if you shoot someone, even an intruder, you will be arrested. Period. What you say and do is as follows: “ I feared for my life. I will say nothing more until I speak with my attorney. I do not feel well, please take me to a hospital.”... at the hospital, have the doctors run a tox screen on your blood. If you have to pay for it yourself, do it. And say NOTHING until you lawyer up!!!
ping
In my ccw class they taught us to say "I want to do everything I can to help you, but my training tells me that I need to speak with a lawyer, first."
So something like “You gotta ask yourself a question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well, do ya, punk?” would earn the ire of a DA?
bfl
Posted on Tuesday, March 06, 2012 10:49:06 AM by marktwain
GASTONIA, N.C. -- Police released the 911 call after a Gaston County woman shot and killed an intruder during a home invasion early Saturday morning.
Kenneth James Cox, 28, broke into a woman’s home in the 4700 block of Chapel Grove Road in Gastonia shortly after 1 a.m., according to the Gaston County Police Department.
Police say Cox and a woman at the home confronted each other the break-in, and the woman shot Cox.
"I'm in my room with the gun pointed at the door," the woman told a 911 operator.
"I just shot him. He tried coming into my bedroom," she said, just moments later.
The woman was not injured, and Cox was pronounced dead on the scene.
"At this time it does not appear that Cox and the female knew each other,” a police report states.
No charges against the woman have been filed, and the case is still under investigation. Read below for the entire 911 call.
TRANSCRIPT
Dispatcher: Gaston County 911...
Caller: Someone is trying to get in my house.
Dispatcher: What is your address?
Caller: 4700 block of Chapel Grove Road
Dispatcher: Do you know who it is, ma'am?
Caller: Why no I don't. It's 1:15 in the morning.
Dispatcher: Did they say anything?
Caller: They're trying to get into my house. I have a gun...I'm in fear of my life.
Dispatcher: Stay on the phone with me ma'am until we send someone there, OK?
Dispatcher: Calm down, where are you in the house?
Caller: I'm in my bedroom.
Dispatcher: Did they say anything or do you just hear them trying to get in?
Caller: No they're just trying to get in. They're almost in my house.
Dispatcher: And you don't know who it is?
Caller: No, no I don't.
Caller: Sounds like they're in the house.
Dispatcher: Just stay on the phone with me. Help is on the way.
Dispatcher: What's going on now?
Caller: I don't know, I'm not out in my house. I'm in my room with the gun pointed at the door.
Dispatcher: OK, did you hearing anything in your house, besides you?
Caller: No, not from what I can tell.
Dispatcher: Is this a one or two level house?
Caller: One.
Caller: I can hear who ever is outside.
Dispatcher: So they're not in the house?
Caller: No.
Dispatcher: OK, hold a minute. They're on the way.
Dispatcher: Have you heard anything else?
Caller: They just busted my glass out. They're coming into my house.
Dispatcher: Just stay inside. Do you have your bedroom door locked?
Caller: Yes.
Dispatcher: Ma'am...ma'am...ma'am.
Caller: What?
Dispatcher: OK, you said someone is in the house?
Caller: Yeah.
Dispatcher: Hello?
Caller: I just shot him. He tried coming into my bedroom.
Dispatcher: You did what? Did you shoot him?
Caller: Yes.
Dispatcher: You said you shot him?
Caller: Yes, hurry up.
Dispatcher: They're on their way.
Dispatcher: You have no idea who it is?
Caller: No I don't.
Dispatcher: Ma'am did you shoot again?
Caller: Yes, he's coming at me.
Caller to intruder: Get out of here.
Dispatcher: Ma'am, how many times have you shot him?
Dispatcher: Ma'am, if you can hear me the police are outside, go outside...
Why does this guy explain the meaning of STFU, but not DGU?
What is a DGU?
I googled and came up with a Korean university and an airport in Africa.
Just a follow up on Joe’s excellent advice. Although in most States it is OK to use “Deadly Force” in your own domain if you feel certain that your/your loved one’s/any innocent person within your domain face certain death or great bodily harm, I would pass on requesting the Tox Screen on the blood if you have been drinking (even a little). Although that should not effect the outcome of self defense investigations, it is highly likely that it will when the prosecutor say’s that you were in no state of mind to correctly assess the situation because your judgement was altered by BOOOOOZE! Let your lawyer make these decisions and last but not least, make sure that you have talked to a couple local attorney’s in advance of the possibility of this kind of thing happening to be confident that he or she understands and promotes your 2nd amendment rights. You can locate these lawyers in the Yellow Pages in most cities over 30k populations. Even have one on a small retainer if you can afford it. Better than life insurance and will allow you to take that thought away from your already adrenaline filled thinking before you “PULL THE TRIGGER”
DGU = Defensive Gun Use
Defensive Gun Use
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