Ok, I will explain the situations we teach here for the use of deadly force. this will not apply to all places and is NOT meant to start a war, so please if you have disagreements, phrase them in a manner which can be answered in like way.
1. JAM = An acronym for Jeopardy, ability, and Means. Women can get by easier than men unless the man is in bad health and unable to defend himself in any other way.
JAM means the perp has threatened a person who has the mental capability to make a decision about if they fell they are in physical danger by this persons threats or actions. Ie, they feel they are i jeopardy.
Ability means the perp has the ability to do bodily and grave harm to the victim. A woman or a small man in bad health versus a 250 pound doper for example.
Means is just that. The perp has the means to inflict bodily or fatal wounds on a person. A weapon such as a knife, screw driver, brick, or anything that can be used to do so. The accepted distance is around 15 feet if they don't halt before that, then in MOST cases you are allowed to defend yourself.
Do NOT under any circumstances move or tamper with the body if you have had to defend yourself. Tampering with evidence is a major crime here. A good homicide detective can tell within the first 5 minutes if a shooting was justified, but you are going to be hauled down for the 24 hours anyway.
If you have the misfortune of having to defend yourself using deadly force, DO NOT make any statements at all to the police when they arrive. First call 911, report a shooting and that you have defended yourself, describe what you are wearing, put your weapon back in the holster so the arriving police don't see a gun in the open. Remember you could be the perp and lying and they can't take a chance on that. Remember that anything you say is recorded, so keep quite and if you say anything at all, just say I Am To Upset To Talk Now. Know and call a good criminal attorney. Even if you don't need one this could shorten your time in the station.
Also our qualification is done under combat conditions using FBI and other Federal agencies tactics. We have to fire in pitch dark, using flashlights for spot flashing the target, 10 rounds in 10 seconds at two targets with 5 rounds in each clip, and so on. This will vary from place to place and is not meant to start a big fight but just explaining how it is done in our county. Shooting a person in the back is not self defense UNLESS he is shooting at you over his shoulder and you have no place to get out of the line of fire.
Hope I haven't upset any of the law enforcement officers that have to do this on a daily basis, but we do have a right to defend ourselves as long as it is not abused. One last note that won't apply to many places. I live in the center of the major drug capitol of the Western United States and these dopers will not hesitate to shoot anyone including law enforcement that happens to find one of their big pot farms or Meth labs. And one last word. Many of those that carry up here do so because of personal safety and not as an ego trip because I can carry a gun. I personally detest the idea of having to carry a gun to walk down the street after dark. I have carried for around 20 years since leaving the service and have yet to do more than show my weapon on two occasions. Never even had to take it out of the holster.
Ron
