'Spoils of war'

No, its not war.

In your scenario, you had a felony crime comitted against you. That is officially a crime scene. Furthermore, messing with it would only bring you under suspicion from the police.
 
Not only would taking the gun be theft, tampering with evidence, and possibly more, more importantly you are removing the very evidence that could exonerate you in the shooting! Think about that. It's not only illegal and unethical, it is contrary to your best interests.

Wartime, sure, why not?
Peacetime? No way Jose'!
 
So your question is....... in a civilian crime situation should you behave in a manner that has been unacceptable for military forces for "the last few centuries"? Wow...................
 
First of all, I believe that would make you a thief, and liable to criminal prosecution as such. Furthermore, the "bad guy's" gun itself may have been stolen by someone else before you stole it, and may have been used in a criminal shooting.

As others have noted, you are going to have to have some discussion with police and possibly a prosecuting attorney, judge and jury as to how you came to ventilate this person, and if they have no weapon, I think you are putting yourself in quite a predicament for those proceedings.
 
I would take the gun from the BG - NOT to steal it, but to secure the weapon and turn it over to the police when they show up. You do not want the BG waking up and shooting you because you knocked him out.

Stealing the weapon would make you just as evil and criminal as the person you just defending yourself against. Also - a $500 weapon is certainly not worth a jail term. Think of the consequences.
 
I would make sure Mr BG couldnt reach it and call 911 on the cell. The Police are welcome to it. Its not your property plus as others said it might have been used in a crime that could put the BG away.
 
No, Because if a "Thug" has it in an ally it probably has no serial numbers on it. However I would take the slide so he couldn't use in a later crime. So the slide would be my trophy.
 
I can't believe the negative responses to this intelligent post. If you drop somebody in self defense, I think it's a clear case of "shooters keepers losers weepers".

But why stop at the gun?

The watch I'm wearing ... got it from a mugger I dropped with a head shot in Dallas.

The laptop computer I'm working on is from a road-raging business man who charged me with a tire iron that I put down with a COM shot from my .410 derringer.

The underwear I'm wearing -- from a deranged heroin addict who broke into my house that I took out with my SKS.

I'm still hoping I'll be attacked with lethal force by someone who owns a Porsche ... :D
 
Thanks all for the input. Sorry to ruffle so many feathers. I thought this was a real question, given the military historical pattern of winner-takes-all. I guess it is not.
 
Yes, MILITARY pattern.
A civilian shooting an attacker on the street is not a military operation.
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+1 on that. Laws and morality apply in peacetime - those are not minor considerations. Just because you own a gun doesn't make you a soldier, and it doesn't make your street a warscene.

I have never been in war (and am glad for that), but from what I know from journalistic and historical accounts, normal standards of morality and legality are both often ignored in what is really a crazy and lawless situation. I mean face it, even according to the "rules", murder is the basic tactical goal for the footsoldier in wartime - pretty odd.
 
Laws and morality apply all the time, in war too, at least they're supposed to. If you ask me, stripping a dead enemy soldier of equipment and intelligence is legal and moral.
 
Reminds me of a friend who carries and was mugged once.

"Oh,yeah? You give me your F-ing wallet!"

Taking anything from a crime scene is a no-no, unless there are no witnesses and you are burying the body. :rolleyes:

Otherwise, call the police and don't touch anything. If you have to leave the scene to call, hope the gun is still there when you get back. I've heard stories of guns being picked up by cohorts hiding in the bushes.
 
Don't do it - it sounds like a GREAT way to in up in some very deep brown stinky.

I believe the authorities would call it "murder/robbery." :eek:

I'll pay the $549.00 for the Glock at the gun shop rather than the $75,000 it will cost for an attorney to "try" to keep me out of The Big House.
 
I have a question: Why is it that people like to take a gun/knife/evidence and call it 'securing' it to turn it over to the police??? Kinda like when I leave stuff laying around, come back and its gone. How the hell can an inanimate, stone cold dead, thing with no noticable arms or legs get up and walk away to end up in some one else's possesion across the street?? Or say I leave my glasses on a shelf at the store and they turn up at the register on the other side of said store. How am I supposed to know some one turned them it there??That really aggravates me. I figger that sooner or later, the owner will retrace his/her steps and come looking for the thing lost. If it is where they visited, they will find it by themselves!!! Or in this case, the police man will know how to handle it to save fingerprints needed and he will also not be scared of the idiot waving a 'secured' gun at him. How does he know the samaritan is not the perp? I say: leave the damn gun on the floor. Guns don't kill people by themselves they just lay there. Once again that might be an important piece of evidence. Where it was found and in what position. Was it loaded? Etc.
 
Thank you Duxman!

My only contribution to this discussion would be to echo others by saying that you don't "take" (as in keep for your own) the BG's gun. Rather, in a justifiable shooting scenario, you secure visible weapons at the scene.

This means that the knife the BG used to accost you and any visible weapon that is present should be guarded against tampering. Who would tamper? Lots of folks -- some through negligence, such as a medical person attempting to aid the "poor man" -- some through malice such as a street buddy who distracts you while his accomplice picks up the weapons -- and some through stupidity such as the gawkers who come to look and see an "easy gain" by taking something laying around.

I pray that I'll never have to shoot someone but if it happens I'll want everyone to stay back from the scene unless they are bona fide emergency personnel (and some of them are the worst offenders). Until the police arrive it's in YOUR best interest to take charge of the scene and minimize the number of people who approach you or the BG. Have people call 911. Ask someone to get the names of witnesses for you. Keep an eye on the crime scene so no one comes up to riffle the BG's pockets or take evidence.

When the cops arrive you give up control of the crime scene to them, but it's in YOUR best interest to point out the weapons you know about and tell them you tried to keep the scene and evidence as it was. If you moved something (e.g. kicked the knife out of reach of the BG) DO tell the cops so that apparent discrepancies (like distance) are accounted for early on.

Note: I'm not a lawyer and this isn't legal advice, but it's just what I'd do to cover my rump.
 
yeah i agree with bill, taking the gun as a trophy is obviously not such a good idea. but im sure its very appealing to certain people within society. but to those who can easily and legally get their hands on a glock, i wouldn't think twice of keeping it because of the ramifications that may occur from doing so.

although, disarming the bg of visible weapons could be and most likely is a good idea. because you should always be thinking of safety first! i would resort to picking it up if i had no other way of moving it, but in the confusion of the momeant.. you might forget that picking something does leave prints and dna.

but on the other hand, taking spoils of wars (within reason) is one of the rights that soldiers should have, like that golden ak..
 
No, that would be a very bad idea.
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Why?
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If I had just gunned down Mr. BadGuy and saw his Glock tucked in his pants and for some reason he didn't pull it. Personally, I'd pull his weapon and make sure it was in his hand before the police arrive.
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:eek: :eek: :eek:

Let me guess, you guys would haul a bad guy who you shot in your yard up to your house and plant your gun in his hand if he had a knife?

I can think of a site with a name that starts with a word that rhymes with barf where you'd be much, much more at home when it comes to advocating dangerous, absurd, and absolutely irresponsible practices.

Why would you want a criminal's weapon anyway?
 
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