Gun confiscation after self defense.
- Thread starter HoraceHogsnort
- Start date
Let's use our heads here for a moment, fellas.
Cops at the scene of a homicide need to correlate your statements with the physical evidence, location and any angles they can determine. This gives them a picture of the scene at about the time of the shooting.
If things are consistent with a break-in and self-defense shooting, then you should be fine. However, if police find some kind of serious discrepancy they can't explain, then they will broaden their examination of the situation.
Example: You tell police you awoke to the front door crashing in, grabbed your .357 and looked down the hall to face an intruder holding what looked like a knife. You fired, he disappeared from view. When PD arrived he's face down about 3 feet from the front door with two holes in his upper body. Examination shows your .357 has two empty cases. Blood spoor and other evidence seems to indicate your statements are true.
A good investigator will seize the gun used for ballistic testing. These tests will be used to compare against slugs taken from the deceased. If they match and no other questions arise from the evidence, then they should close the investigation as a "justifiable homicide" in self-defense.
But... for sake of argument, let's suppose something isn't quite right. Using a real-life case that was an example for us during crime-scene class, let's suppose the shooter claims he fired 3 shots from his .380 ACP Beretta pistol. The deceased has 3 holes in him, two in front and one in his right side about kidney high. However, police can only find two (2) empty shell casings. Even a thorough grid search of all the rooms & hallway turn up nothing.
In this case, the question is did the shooter fire 2 or 3 shots? If he only fired 2, where did the 3rd hole come from? If he fired three shots, where is the other shell casing? Adding to this, the right-side kidney shot was curious. An intruder fired upon while facing down the hallway would normally turn towards his escape - in this case to his right (towards the living room). However, for the homeowner to shoot him in the side like that, he must have turned towards his left, away from his escape. Was there a second shooter with a .38 or 9mm revolver? Questions must be answered.
In this case, police would ask if any other weapons are in the house. If so, it is possible that all would be taken for ballistics testing for it is possible that the shooter may be hiding an illegal firearm; an accomplice; covering up an unlawful homicide or even unaware of a 2nd intruder who shot his partner in error.
In the real-life case, police were baffled at the missing .380 casing. On the third search one of the officers positioned himself about where the shooter claimed to have been by the bedroom door. One case was found on the wood floor, not quite under the bed, the other about a foot away from the wall to the shooter's right (possibly bounced off the wood bedframe). Police removed the bedsheets one at a time, then the mattress & boxspring to see if it lodged between them and the frame. Nope. The shooter cooperated and simulated his stance at the door. An officer then decided to search the cuff of the man's pajama leg and found the empty case there.
Forensic examination revealed the issue about the kidney wound. It was, in fact, an exit wound from a round that entered the navel at an angle, probably as the intruder turned. The bullet traversed the muscle/fat layer boundary and exited his side. Police returned to the home to search for the bullet. It was found in the soil of a nearby potted plant.
Cops at the scene of a homicide need to correlate your statements with the physical evidence, location and any angles they can determine. This gives them a picture of the scene at about the time of the shooting.
If things are consistent with a break-in and self-defense shooting, then you should be fine. However, if police find some kind of serious discrepancy they can't explain, then they will broaden their examination of the situation.
Example: You tell police you awoke to the front door crashing in, grabbed your .357 and looked down the hall to face an intruder holding what looked like a knife. You fired, he disappeared from view. When PD arrived he's face down about 3 feet from the front door with two holes in his upper body. Examination shows your .357 has two empty cases. Blood spoor and other evidence seems to indicate your statements are true.
A good investigator will seize the gun used for ballistic testing. These tests will be used to compare against slugs taken from the deceased. If they match and no other questions arise from the evidence, then they should close the investigation as a "justifiable homicide" in self-defense.
But... for sake of argument, let's suppose something isn't quite right. Using a real-life case that was an example for us during crime-scene class, let's suppose the shooter claims he fired 3 shots from his .380 ACP Beretta pistol. The deceased has 3 holes in him, two in front and one in his right side about kidney high. However, police can only find two (2) empty shell casings. Even a thorough grid search of all the rooms & hallway turn up nothing.
In this case, the question is did the shooter fire 2 or 3 shots? If he only fired 2, where did the 3rd hole come from? If he fired three shots, where is the other shell casing? Adding to this, the right-side kidney shot was curious. An intruder fired upon while facing down the hallway would normally turn towards his escape - in this case to his right (towards the living room). However, for the homeowner to shoot him in the side like that, he must have turned towards his left, away from his escape. Was there a second shooter with a .38 or 9mm revolver? Questions must be answered.
In this case, police would ask if any other weapons are in the house. If so, it is possible that all would be taken for ballistics testing for it is possible that the shooter may be hiding an illegal firearm; an accomplice; covering up an unlawful homicide or even unaware of a 2nd intruder who shot his partner in error.
In the real-life case, police were baffled at the missing .380 casing. On the third search one of the officers positioned himself about where the shooter claimed to have been by the bedroom door. One case was found on the wood floor, not quite under the bed, the other about a foot away from the wall to the shooter's right (possibly bounced off the wood bedframe). Police removed the bedsheets one at a time, then the mattress & boxspring to see if it lodged between them and the frame. Nope. The shooter cooperated and simulated his stance at the door. An officer then decided to search the cuff of the man's pajama leg and found the empty case there.
Forensic examination revealed the issue about the kidney wound. It was, in fact, an exit wound from a round that entered the navel at an angle, probably as the intruder turned. The bullet traversed the muscle/fat layer boundary and exited his side. Police returned to the home to search for the bullet. It was found in the soil of a nearby potted plant.
Scott Conklin
New member
Seems folks have forgotten the most important thing here: NEVER talk to the cops. Say nothing. At all. Ever. Don't let them in your home beyond the needs of the scene. Ever. Don't let them have anything and never let them examine anything. Ever, without a warrant. You won't gain any brownie points and any attorney will tell you you WILL say something stupid.
I don't know if this video has been posted before but even if so, it's worth bringing up again. A law professor AND a cop speaking to a classroom full of lawyers to be:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8z7NC5sgik
I don't know if this video has been posted before but even if so, it's worth bringing up again. A law professor AND a cop speaking to a classroom full of lawyers to be:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8z7NC5sgik