Do the authorities take yours?

[billyscott]

JayC, you brought a question to mind. At what point do you "Lawyer Up"? Do you cooperate with the LEOs fully or just say "I'd like to talk to a Lawyer before I answer any questions"?

[Makiaveli]

JayC, you brought a question to mind. At what point do you "Lawyer Up"? Do you cooperate with the LEOs fully or just say "I'd like to talk to a Lawyer before I answer any questions"?

I was recently told by a LEO to say "I was in fear of my life and/or great bodily harm and I would like to talk to a lawyer." Point being if the officer believes it's a good shoot, he can legitimately say you stated you were in fear of your life. Also, as we understood it, nothing else you said after that point could be used since you asked for a lawyer.

[MikePapa1]

Great advice.

[billyscott]

That's a good answer Makiaveli. You know you've also got to think about the possibility of civil action as well as criminal.

[TMF]

That's a good answer Makiaveli. You know you've also got to think about the possibility of civil action as well as criminal.

Well I think that's gonna happen no matter what. Scumbag criminals usually have scumbag families that are looking for a handout. Who better to steal from then the person who killed their relative who was trying to steal something? In that case I would have no problem countersuing for damage done to my property by that scumbag, such as carpet replacement, mental anguish and cost of rounds put into said scumbag.

The only time I've seen a SD shoot where the family went on the news and said anything worth a crap was after a convenience store shootout in Florida that left the criminal dead. The wife of the dead criminal got on the news and apologized for the trouble caused to the employee and his family for having to shoot her scumbag husband.

[Makiaveli]

That's a good answer Makiaveli. You know you've also got to think about the possibility of civil action as well as criminal.

True, would help with that as well which I hadn't thought about.

[JayC]

JayC, you don't have to accept what you believe to be a sad fact. Should you ever be in situation like we are talking about you can tell the cops to charge you or give you your gun back. You can make it tough for the guys handling the investigation in any way you like.

However, most of us who have actually been though a shooting, the investigation of a shooting, or the trial in a shooting case, are offering advice to help the person not end up at trial.

I tested the system on carrying a gun in Illinois; I lost. I now am absolutely sure that I don't have a 2nd amendment right to carry in Illinois and I don't have one in Tennessee either. I had two attorneys that were smart enough to get me out of it without a conviction, but it cost me a lot. A criminal trial where your freedom is at risk is not a good way to test the law, and even if you win you will still be paying the bills.

Can the Police take a gun as evidence in a shooting if you have not yet been charged? Yes. Can you explain your interpretation of the law to them and ask to keep your gun? Yes, you can do and say anything you are ready to take responsibility for. But doing what you are suggesting would make you the poster child for why attorneys want you to keep your mouth shut until they arrive.

Dave,

You're twisting my words... The sad state I'm referring to isn't that the police will take a handgun used in a self defense shooting, but in the sad situation of our 'justice system'. Trust me given the opportunity to really impact change I would be more than happy to place myself in danger, but I'm not going to go looking for that opportunity...

As I said, the system will have to be changed from external forces and over the course of our life times is not fixable from within.

[JayC]

JayC, you brought a question to mind. At what point do you "Lawyer Up"? Do you cooperate with the LEOs fully or just say "I'd like to talk to a Lawyer before I answer any questions"?

There are a number of articles and books by good lawyers on that subject... How collected will somebody be to remember all of that right after having to shoot somebody or die? I don't know... My hope would be to tell the officer I was in fear for my life, and tell him I'm too upset to give any further statement at that time... and ask if I could be given sometime to collect my thoughts before giving an official statement, then call my lawyer and wait for them to get there.

In my personal case, the attorney I'd be calling (who I know will pick up my call at 3am) isn't an expert in self defense shootings, so I suspect he would be very cautious until he could get ahold of an expert in that area of law and either get some advice or get that attorney at the scene to handle the statement.

I'm just a layperson, but my guess is when and what you tell the police is very fact dependent on the exact circumstances of the shooting you're involved in, and no one size fits all statement is going to work. I have to work with attorney's almost everyday, and while it's fun to have a rigorous debate on TGO about the merits of a certain situation, I know when the rubber meets the road there is a reason you pay good lawyers hundreds of dollars an hour to solve problems... because they can.