So far as the legal aspect, I would guess that it would be self-evident that if you are or could be in any form of legal jeopardy then you should keep your mouth shut.
Well, it
should be self evident, and I'm confident that it certainly is to you, Peetzakilla, but I'll wager that to many, it isn't.
To wit: a person who, according to Mas Ayoob, was involved in a "good shoot" was nonetheless convicted and sentenced to prison because the prosecution was able to use what he said to the police after the shooting against him in court. Thus, we are advised to not talk to the police after an incident until we have conferred with counsel. There has been a link posted here to a pretty good lecture on the subject.
Similarly, we are advised to not make any statements to the media, and for the same reason.
And so on--any statements that cannot be suppressed as hearsay could be damaging. That could include email or statements in other media.
I'm sure we've all heard those things, but many people
might think that those concerns simply go away when the incident seems to have been resolved without charges having been filed or an indictment having been returned.
But--since there is no statute of limitations for murder, it is my lay understanding that the only sure way to know that a "good shoot" involving a justifiable homicide cannot be re-evaluated upon the emergence of new evidence is a trial and acquittal. I do not know the limits on a case that may have involved a shooting or just the production of a weapon but no death.
Nor do I know the limitations on civil remedies.
I just know to be very careful, and I think that's worth sharing.
I agree with the OP and with Creature that real accounts can be enlightening, and toward that end I read books on the subject. I have also learned from postings here, but none have involved a "shoot-out." I would not want anyone to put himself or herself in danger because of not knowing the pitfalls, however.
Earlier, the OP asked if I would mind relating three incidents I've been involved in. I do not mind.
In 1964, when I was home alone, a man began attempting to break through the kitchen door. The speed and violence were such that calling the police was out of the question. I started to run out through the front but I realized he would have access to my gun rack, which was not properly secured. I grabbed a revolver and tapped on the glass of a small window with it. He took off. My take on lessons learned? (1) Have the weapon readily available (which I did), and (2) call the police immediately (which I stupidly did not).
Four years later, my mother let a woman into the house to use the telephone after her car had run empty. I heard a scuffle downstairs, grabbed a Smith & Wesson 9mm, and slipped down quietly, staying out of sight. A man had followed the woman into the house. After he had knocked both women down (no potential for a hostage situation then) and announced his intention to kill them, I showed the weapon, said some things that changed his mind, and ordered him out. My take on lessons learned? (1) Don't let strangers into the house, and (2) report the incident to the police (I was dissuaded at the time).
Some time after that I was in a cabin in Colorado far from any town. No phone (or pool, or pets
).
You can see Black Angus cattle by starlight up there in the mountains at night, and on this night there was a full moon. I heard someone jimmying the back door with something, and then a side window, and then another window, and then another. I could see his silhouette through the curtains. He finally turned his attention to the front door and gained entry. The bright moonlight through the open door and the windows may have even given him a view of the rifling in my Colt SAA revolver in .45 Colt. Hippie, very stoned, naked except for a peace medallion and a headband--I'll never forget watching him run away toward a moraine. Lesson:
Don't cock a revolver unless you are going to fire! Dumb! I had wanted to make sure I was ready, and did not consider the risks. And maybe I had heard the sound ("C-O-L-T") in too many movies.
Perhaps the overarching lesson is that one should not count SD
shootings as a measure of the effectiveness or value of civilian gun ownership. I never fired a shot, but had I not been armed, these outcomes would not have been reported here!
) and dragged my but down there to raise hell.