A good judgement, but a life ruined: Jury clears homeowner who took cop for intruder

A little more to the story: http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/2003-12-18/feature_1.html

It is a lengthy read but fills in some holes. There is more to this as I guessed and the cops did have some reason to be in the back yard. Certainly not the best scenario, but there was some reason to be there. Read the above story and original statements. The copper got shot in the back because when they saw the homeowner inside with the gun they turned to run for cover. The homeowner states himself that his intention was to scare them away and that his shot was for a warning and he had no intention of shooting anyone, let alone a cop. I believe that from reading all of the material but I also believe that he was grossly negligent and is incompetent to own a gun.

Ruger, the entire point is that what if it were not the police? It could just have easily been any number of people being there for a million reasons other than to do harm. He didn't know and shot anyways. It just seems that some people on here think it is OK to look past this guys outrageous use of deadly force because it was a police officer. They can't look past their hate of the police to see this situation for what it is.

Wildcard, of course walking onto an unlocked screened porch that is seperated from the living area by locked doors is entering to you. Blast away. It is an entirely reasonable course of action.
 
At one point Murphy entered a screened porch where French doors led into the home, while Dominguez waited outside it.


Thats entry in the house to me.
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Assuming (and knowing that's dangerous), typical Florida porches consist of aluminium framing and bug screen. To knock on a door or get the attention of someone inside, you have to enter the screened area. These are not the enclosed front porches you see in the colder climates. These just keep that freaking huge Florida bugs away.

I think the guy could very well find himself in trouble with a civil suit from the cop for good reason. I agree with an above post that the DA screwed up by charging him with the more serious crime and not negligence. Based on the stories posted, I believe he was negligent.

I also have some serious questions about the story just posted above. Especially the part where the homeowner shoots, blows out his own window, and then unloads his weapon. WTF? I'm not buying that story at all. Sounds like PR to make him sound like a good guy to the non-gun owning public.
 
Why was this even taken to trial?
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Given the number of people in this thread that do not think it was justified, I'd say it went to trial because several LEO types there didn't think it was justified either.
 
I already stated that I think the homeowner was wrong and should have Id'd his target. I also believe the officer should have walked up and knocked on the front door and said "I believe there is a criminal in your backyard, may I search it?" The police cant just cruise onto our property because they want to. As for them searching for a rapist, what if my wife and I enjoy outdoor activities? This guy sneaks into my backyard at night sees us and puts 2 and 2 together and gets 6 I'm shot! Both were wrong IMO, I was wrong earlier when I said the cop was more wrong. In this situation I'd say the fault was equal. E
 
Bad examples on both sides but NEVER open fire on an unknown target.
A little common sense goes a long way' if someones makeing lots of noise and shineing a flashlight through your door is probably not a burglar.
In the same situation i would have the 12ga in hand and not dirictly in front of the door or window.
Its easy to flip that saftey back on but awful hard to bring the dead back to life.
 
I'll say again both sides were at fault

But, no reasonalble person can say your screened in back porch is a 'normal' place for a stranger to be at 12:30 in the morning. I'm pretty sure a persons front yard and door are reasonable at anytime. Never the back yard. I do service work on people's houses and it is pretty well understood you can walk up and knock on anyones front door. Walking around to the back of someones house is a different matter.
 
There were alot of things going wrong here, thats a given. On both sides.

BUT....UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should it EVER be ok to shoot at an unidentified target, let alone to SHOOT AT A LIGHT "OUTSIDE"......

There exist no factors here to even REMOTELY JUSTIFY pulling the trigger...

That is absolutely rediculous, and the guy needs hit for it.....it was completely irresponsible use of a firearm.....
 
Under no circumstances

Under no circumstances should this homeowner been charged with anything.
It was obvious he thought a home invasion was occuring.
The cops did not say "Police, search warrant" because they did not have one.
They did not follow the law.
An accident occurred.
There was no attempted murder of a policeman, there was an attempt to protect his home, and his family, period.
He was placed under a great deal of trauma on that night, and each and every second of every waking hour, until he was found not guilty.

The charges were filed due to the "Us against them" attitude that apparantly exists in that situation.

I don't know if the guys saying he should not have fired at a flashlight (while they were beating on his door) have seen the advertisements for tactical lights that fit guns lately but I do know that it is entirely possible for a burgler to obtain one. Nobody can say for sure what they would do, or when they would fire in that situation unless you were in it.

So charging him with attempted murder, was simply vengence. The goal should be justice. And justice, was not served by putting him and his family through the horror of criminal charges that could have put him in jail for life.

If I were the Judge or the jury, I would want the DA bringing attempted murder charges under that scenario, charged with making false, or frivilous charges. There was no evidence whatsoever in the information given, to suggest that man was "attempting to murder a police officer" since all the evidence pointed toward attempting to protect his wife and himself against an attempted home invasion.

It is simple. They had no warrant. Therefore, their attempt to enter his home, was "without reason". Their entering his domicile through the back porch, was an invasion of privacy, and he simply thought it was a home invasion, since that was exactly what was happening.
 
Woulda been an interesting court case if the cop had indeed been killed. RULE #1: ALWAYS ID your target before opening fire, period.
 
Barcia approached the door, noticing that one of the men was wearing a yellow shirt
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Yellow Shirt was shaking the French doors that led into the living room with one hand and carrying what looked like a shotgun in the other
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The light was shining in Barcia's face
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No uniform, carrying a shotgun and trying to enter my home without attempting to ID yourself as a cop even after trying to disable me with a bright light in the darkness.

I'm going to shoot and it won't be an off to the right warning shot.


He shot somebody illegally trying to enter his home while in possession of a weapon causing him to fear for his safety and the safety of his family.
Florida law is clear on that, good shoot
 
Joab,

The only problem is that the guy that was shot was in uniform, had no shotgun and was running away when he was shot in the back. Neither of the guys on the proch had on a yellow shirt and Barcia described the second one as having a white shirt. That guy was wearing a black shirt and the uniformed officer was wearing the department issued tan uniform. He was so in fear of his life that he walked up to within inches of the doors, with a blinding light in his face, and opened fire with a warning shot? He was blinded, but was able to say that he "thought" he saw a shotgun and what the guys were wearing? Read the 911 transcript. Barcia's statements are nonsense and so were his actions that night. He was wrong about the shotgun, wrong about what they were wearing, wrong about what their intentions were, but is somehow right about shooting one of them? Barcia didn't know or care who was on that porch. Look at the pictures of the doors in question. The cops were trying to bust in over a period of time but couldn't manage it? They were not trying to break in to the house and if they were they would have easily done so in 2 seconds. It scikens me that any responsible gun owner could say that he was reasonable and that they would do the same thing. It involves the police so you will statd by "your guy" even when it is ridiculous. It makes all gun owners look bad and is outright irresponsible because there are people who read this stuff for guidance and I am sure there are a few that now think that it is OK to blast away at every bump in the night. Disgusting.
 
Yes, I believe that the homeowner is out of line in shooting at a flashlight in his back yard. Where's the imminent threat?

If they would have done that it would have been a slam dunk that my 9 year old could have prosecuted. The jury would have deliberated 30 minutes for a conviction.
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True statement. If it had been a dumb kid looking for his lost dog, there would be a different tune sung. :(

I stand by my initial post. Look, we all have to make split second decisions in a crisis. Decide NOW not to make the wrong one. Don't shoot through your window at a mere flashlight in your back yard. You might beat the rap, but you won't beat the ride. And is it worth it, if you can take cover and observe until there's a real, identified threat?
 
Long Path is right on the money. Those of us who are non-LEO should be viewing this incident as an opportunity to learn, to seriously consider what course of action we should take if in similar circumstances. Laws vary from state to state, and your jury may not be as understanding as his.

As far as needing a search warrant, do you know where that begins in your state? At your property line? At your front door? At your screened porch?

It is also pretty cavalier to state 'I would absolutely do X' without actually being in that situation. Using lethal force can never be viewed as being an easy option. You can take a life, be completely in the right, and still wind up mentally and emotionally screwed up the rest of your life. None of us knows how it will affect us until it happens. Even with training and counciling, there have been LEOs who have had to quit the force, or take a desk job because they were incapable of reconciling the issue with themselves.

We should also refrain from cop bashing, as this only serves to further the 'us and them' mentality. This accomplishes nothing constructive for armed citizens or LEOs.
 
Was it a bad idea to shoot at the guy? probably
Were the cops in the wrong? at least somewhat according to the jury

Two wrongs don't make a right, but they can make for one heck of a trial.


I would definitely answer the door with a gun in my hand if someone is hammering on it in the middle of the night. If I was recently burglarized twice, that gun may even get pointed at the door while I am yelling "WTF are you doing, I have a gun and called 911"..... I'm not going to shoot unless someone enters my house at that point however.


Now this guy, having been twice burgled recently, hears a big hammering on his door in the middle of the night. The only way to get to that to that door is to climb over a 7 foot fence. When he goes to see who or what it is, he has a very bright light shown in his direction, making it hard to see, and thinks he sees 2 armed men, one of which did not have a police uniform. The next thing he does see is a lot of movement from the directon the light came from, and probably a big purple spot. His shooting was not the best idea, but I can easily see why it would happen.

In Florida that is 100% legal based on the new no duty to retreat law. He thought his life was in danger so he shot. In Florida, the BG doesn't have to be inside your house for this to be a legal shoot.

Oh, and because he is in FL, and this was called a good shoot by the jury; he cannot be sued in civil court.
 
It scikens me that any responsible gun owner could say that he was reasonable and that they would do the same thing. It involves the police so you will statd by "your guy" even when it is ridiculous.
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You were starting to make points until this little bit of BS.

It sickens me that so many people will resort to asinine assumptions when others disagree with them. No matter how ridiculous the assumptions are.
You obviously don't know who you are talking to and resorting to that tact tells me all I need to know about you.

The fact remains that two people were illegally on his property and he treated them as such
It was a shaky plan, Wever would admit later in court. Since they didn't really see the rock hit the vehicle, they had no way of knowing its trajectory.
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Mercedes: 'Cause they just woke us up.

Operator: I know.

Mercedes: They were really slamming the door in the back.
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He says that all three announced they were police officers. "Open up! Miami-Dade police," they claim to have repeated. Murphy and Dominguez -- who were still in the back yard -- say they heard the men in front as well. Murphy, however, admitted later that neither he nor Dominguez announced themselves as police officers even as they scoped out the area with their flashlights.
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Lee (neighbor)says he never heard any of the men say they were police officers.
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Several other neighbors told detectives they didn't hear the police announce themselves either. And although there were now four police cars in the area, none of them had their lights flashing and none was parked in front of Barcia's house.
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Mercedes: They're trying to break into our, tapping into our window really hard. It woke us up

Operator: They're trying to break into what?

Mercedes: Through the back sliding glass door
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Mercedes: [unintelligible, talking to someone else; crying] I'm imagining if it would have been a police officer, they would have been knocking on the front door and not on the back door of my house.
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Mercedes: [talking to someone else, "I heard that. They were knocking so hard on the back window ... I was like, they were slamming on the door very hard...]
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Barcia: So, I'm sleeping. I'm just trying to get some sleep, and I hear pounding like they're kicking the back door in.
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Anything else you want me to read?
 
Anything else you want me to read?
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Of course not. It does not fit their idea of what happened. Its funny, one person says:

I find it absolutely incredible that any responsible and reasonable person would advocate shooting at a bright light shining THROUGH your door from the outside. I don't know, but I really thought that one of the cardinal rules of shooting and self defense was to ID your target before pulling the trigger.
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How many times have we heard of SOME LEO's shooting folks, only to find out it was a coke can, cell phone, keys........ But that is ok, an officers life is on the line, its a split second decision. I see the same here, a citizens life, his families lives are on the line, he did it right.

You just don't know and that is why you don't open up because you thought it might be a threat
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LEO's do that all the time, thought it might be a theat, get shot. I direct you to: http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=197891

Take the cop out of the equation and put an innocent person in his place.
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Interesting. Can we do that in the cases of police officers who makes an iffy shoot? You know, take the cop out of the equation, and look at it as if a citizen did the shoot. Then see what would happen?
 
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