My Job Is So Cool

There’s been a big news story for the past several days about a home invasion where the victim shot and killed two men who allegedly kicked in his door. These men were found down the street, shot to death in a white SUV. The crime scene was a mad house with people crawling all over it and I think some of our CSTs briefly made the news while they were processing the car outside.

You can read about it here:
http://www.wdaftv4.com/fullstory.asp?ID=13145

http://www.wdaftv4.com/fullstory.asp?ID=13158

http://www.kctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4684995

News video:
http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/video/8299976/detail.html


I got to see the crime scene photos of this case today. How cool is my job?

Some details of the case are most likely misrepresented by the media, but sadly, I can’t really elaborate on it. Of course, I probably know more than the media does, so I don’t blame them for only reporting what they can gather as the investigation continues.

I guess this is something I’ll come across a lot in the years to come. I can see even the news starting to annoy me soon.

However, aside from all of this, the case initially caught my interest when it was reported Sunday because the shooter is claiming self defense. Um… dude, the guys were driving away in an SUV when you stood on your porch and shot at them. How can you be in any danger at that point?

In my opinion, this is no longer self defense. They’re not in your home. They were fleeing the scene. And from what I gathered in law class… you could be in big trouble, Mister. The only way you'll come out rosey in this is if they were firing at you while they were driving away. And that... I don't know.

And now, your Law Lesson from a girl who hated law class:
You can only use self defense as an excuse to a crime: "If a reasonable person would think that s/he is about to be physically attacked, s/he has the right to strike first and prevent the attack. But s/he cannot use more force than is reasonable - if s/he does, s/he may be guilty of a crime.”

Sure, the intruders had guns, so the use of deadly force was justified. But, the key here is that they were fleeing the scene and no longer a threat. Some states even require that for you to use self defense, that you must have tried to flee from the scene to safety first yourself and been unsuccessful.

Makes me wonder what the Missouri state laws are about self defense, since they vary state to state. Now, if this were Texas… it’s very possible that he could have gotten away with what he did, but I’m not so sure about Missouri.

Thankfully, I don't make those kinds of decisions about court and charges and get to stay out of the whole big mess. I still wonder why in the world they made me take those law classes, anyway. Should be interesting to see what happens.

End Blog.