What happens after?

[TexasGun]

OK, while out and about you are confronted by a man wielding a knife yelling I'm going to kill you. You present your weapon he continues his advance and you fire a double-tap center mass. The man hunches over and stops moving. You kick the knife out of his reach and dial 911.

What happens after?
I know the police and ambulance arrive, secure the scene and take a statement.
I am wondering if they just take your statement and let you go home packing. Do they take your weapon in as evidence and take you to the station for a report? I would hate, to have bad enough luck, if the police secure my weapon for ballistics and something happens later that day or the next were you'd need it. Any one share experience or officers share policies please. Mike,

[Glock Fan]

First of all, hope and pray that you never get into this situation. If you do encounter a situation where your only option is "lethal force", here's what I would do:

1) be certain that the "threat" no longer exists
2) call 911 to report the incident, and request medical attention
3) cooperate with the police as much as possible, but be sure that you don't give "too much" information. I would request to get checked out by medical personnel, then have an attorney present before answering any questions. I'd tell the responding officers something like "I'd like to cooperate with you, but I would first like to get checked out by doctor and consult with an attorney."
4) The police will most likely take your firearm because it would be considered "evidence". This is a good reason to own more than one firearm. :icon_wink:

Killing another human being is very emotional experience. You will need medical attention and won't be in any mind set to be giving statements to the police. A good attorney will ensure that you're able to cooperate with authorities, yet preserve your rights and keep you out of jail (if the shooting was justified).

Stay safe, and again, pray that you never get into this situation.



gf

[PascalFleischman]

GF, once in the presence of medical personnel, the police are legally barred from talking to you. I was told that the request for medical attention was just as much of a legal backup as a physical one.

[HK4U]

Not sure about other states but in Texas they will take your weapon.

[Jay]

here's a good article about this............

Defending Self-Defense

[festus]

http://www.alpharubicon.com/leo/shootmath.htm

just my two cents worth.

[toreskha]

Originally Posted by TexasGun

OK, while out and about you are confronted by a man wielding a knife yelling I'm going to kill you. You present your weapon he continues his advance and you fire a double-tap center mass. The man hunches over and stops moving. You kick the knife out of his reach and dial 911.

The first thing that I thought of when I read this was the "Not going anywhere for a while?" commercials for Snickers. Waiting for the ambulance, cops, attorney, etc to arrive...giving a statement...you're going to get hungry. :icon_lol:

[TexasGun]

Some informative articles there, thanks guys. I'll have to read them when I get home.
And I might just have to start packing a snickers ya-know, just in case. lol

[johioss]

Anyone have any advice on choosing a lawyer?

[Glock Fan]

Originally Posted by johioss

Anyone have any advice on choosing a lawyer?

It depends on what you want the attorney for. If it's your every day "general" attorny that can do stuff like wills, business advice, etc, then check your yellow pages. If it's an attorney that will be specific to protecting your rights should you ever be arrested, then I'd consult with friends in the legal community, or check out the local courthouse. The better criminal attorneys will be in court for the bigger cases. They will be the ones you see on the news defending the "really bad" guys. Hourly rates will be kind of high, but you really can't put a price on your freedom. I'd set an appointment with the attorney and explain that you're a responsible firearms owner, and would like to have him/her on retainer. My criminal attorney is on retainer for $1,500. This will cover about 3 hours in court. The guy took my initial retainer and will bill me for the rest should the need arise.

Another thing to consider is the age of the attorney. You don't want an attorney that may be on his/her last leg when you need their services. If you can retain a good attorney in a nice size partnership, then you shouldn't have to worry about continuity should something happen to the primary attorney.



gf