I came across this story over on survival blog. It got me to thinking. This guy, ex military, was standing on the corner in his neighborhood, rifle in hand, after a natural disaster, detering looters. A deputy came along eventually, and in the words of the author*, told him, "shoot the next looters you see." Apparently, he didn't see any, but what if he did? And what if he shot them? He was acting on verbal orders from a LEO, issued during a state of emergency, so what would the legal ramifications have been? That just blows my mind. I really don't think the deputy thought through what could actually happen to this guy if he took his advice. *Assuming a correct account, etc, etc.
So, if a 22 y.o. LEO says it's alright, would you use that as a basis for it being alright? How about a 55 y.o. grizzled, mega-experienced LEO? If it's the right thing, or legal thing, it stands all on it's own.
"Shoot the next looters you see." Some years ago there was a hurricane that hit a state and the local CLEO for the town got on tv and basically told the people that the police cant handle the amount of looters. He stated that he got with the local DA and PA and pretty much said that if anyone has looters come, they could shoot them and the LE would come and take a report, no charges would be filed. Lootung stopped. I will see if i can dig up the story later.
I dunno about scotch Brite, but in college I learned a trick with a cardboard paper towel core and tin foil. Ahhh.. Those were the days.
Back in September, when we had all that flooding. I loaned a friend a shotgun to protect him, his family and his belongings. He lives in Powder Springs and is the first house on his street. When a Cobb County Deputy seen him sitting on his front porch with that shot gun, he told my friend, that LEO's didn't have to worry about patrolling this street that he had it all under control and thanked him for being vigilant in his duties. The word got out and he never seen another LEO for a few weeks in his area. He run off several would be looters as well.
LEO telling you to do something illegal doesn't make it legal, and LEO not filing charges doesn't mean you didn't commit a crime. Thats just the way I see it.
Re: Sounds good, however if you shot one of the CLEOs or DAs friends or family, or a political figure........ your going to jail.
Re: Re: I don't care if they are looting, you shoot the CLEOs son or something such as that, your going to jail. You must remember, they to have the great excuse of........ He/She was a good child, going to school...............
This. Just because a LEO tells you to do something, you do it, you don't get charged and convicted, does not mean that you did not commit a crime. I could never kill someone that was not directly threaten my life. My conscience would never allow it, even if I did get away with it. If you kill someone in cold blood, I think you're still a murderer, whether you are charged and convicted or not. I never want to kill anyone, and I certainly do not want to ever be a murderer, no matter what a LEO tells me to do. Don't take legal advice from a LEO.
How about this: EVEN IF everyone agrees that the cop DID tell you to shoot the next looter you see, you can STILL be prosecuted for murder if the killing was not authorized by that state's laws on the use of deadly force. The fact that a cop gave you his permission is irrelevant. That's like saying that you asked a cop for legal advice before doing a certain thing, and the cop said what you proposed to do was not a crime. Could be the cop was wrong, and you wrongly relied on that bad advice, and you CAN be prosecuted and convicted for it. Mistake of law, like ignorance of the law, is no excuse! Now if the prosecutor (District Attorney) of that jurisdiction promises you, in writing, that a certain action is not a crime and will not be prosecuted, then you can generally proceed. Then you'll have a defense to bring up in court. But a cop is not the same as the chief prosecutor in that jurisdiction.
steel wool and a 9 volt battery can be used to make a fire. Paper clips can be bent into any shape to aid in almost anything. The need probably isn't to use the paper clip for its manufactured purpose. also, scotch brite pads have a cleaner on them. useful for washing dishes.