[Weird Situation] What would you do?

I got the "harder to aim at night" interpretation from an editorial written by a lawyer (prosecutor or defense attorney, can't remember which), in one of the Houston papers (back when there were two) quite a few years ago following a shooting in Houston. If I remember the details of the shooting, a store owner shot a car thief stealing a customers car in day light hours.

The editorial commented on the fact that the car did not belong to the store owner, was in the parking lot of a building he did not own (strip mall where he leased space) and that it was during the day, so did not meet either the criteria of 9.41 with regards using force to defend one's own property nor the provision in 9.42 with regards to theft at night. I think the DA may have declined to press charges anyway, on the grounds that the store owner claimed that the thief was trying to run him over so it was self defence.

The author also gave an analysis of the law and its history, and stated that the reason for the night time provision was because it was harder to accurately aim a firearm and hit your target at night - the assumption being that during the day you could opt for shooting in the leg or such but had to aim COM at night to be assured of a hit. It may be hokey logic, but logic has never held much sway in the Capitol. I have heard much more ridiculous arguments made and actually carry floor votes.
 
I'd be doubtful of ANYTHING printed in a Houston newspaper (or an Austin one, for that matter), but it's as good an explanation as any. I'd always though it was b/c that, at night, you couldn't tell if the perp had a weapon as easily as in the daytime.

Anyhow, in my part of Texas, the local law won't give you much grief if you shoot a thief at any time of day. You might even get a "thank you" card...
 
I believe the "at night" provisions have more to do with the assumption that one must unreasonably expose oneself to greater danger when confronting a burglar, thief or subject damaging property at night.

But in the daytime, if you are justified in shooting, it is still considered deadly force.
 
In Soviet Ohio dog bites you when protecting it.

My jokes suck...

Any who, point is in Ohio I would have the option of cussing at them, shaking my fist, and giving them a very stern look. We dont have the "right" to protect our property with deadly force, we have to "trust" that the CRIMINAL is not breaking additional laws and does not have a weapon or that his 2 buddies wont beat the crap out of me.

So with the victim mentality required by the state I would have to call the police, who would respond with all the determination of stopping a dog thief in a place where the violent crime rate is very high and police budgets are very low that you would expect...

I do not blame the LEOs for this. They are doing the best then can with the tools given them... Oh except for the Ohio State troopers and the Governers office - they have demonstrated they would rather that the citizens of Ohio be victims.
 
Nobody takes my dog. I would do the exact thing your friend did, although if my 12 ga is close I would take that over my handgun.

Cycling that 12 ga would probably make the BG think twice.
 
If it came to that, I think I would do the same thing. However, I have two australian shepards (among others) who are extremely territorial and extremely protective of the family. If they see someone they don't know in the house, they will attack, quietly. (Found this out when my brothers drunk friend came stumbling in late at night. Fortunately for him, I was awake and able to call them off before he got more than a bad scare and a couple of scratches)

:D
 
Why in the world would you lock up a Lab in a cage? THey are great family dogs. I have two and they don't loose the hunting instinct by becoming part of the family. Dogs are social pack animals. Locking them up in solitary confinement is cruel, and you friend shoud not have a dog under those circumstances. Why in the hell have a dog if you are going to chain it to a tree outback or keep it in cage?
 
TEA, you may wish to actually consult an attorney on lethal force use in Texas. You have some interesting views that don't seem to be very well supported by legal code.

MTNTHUNDER, your friend was extremely lucky.

While he did have some tactical advantage, he was lucky because of the tactical blunders he committed. First, he incorrectly assessed the situation and perceived there to be only one bad guy. Next, he grabbed a handgun and flashlight and ran out the front door to his porch. What is wrong there? Simple. He grabbed a pistol and not a long gun. Next, he left the cover of his home, certainly the concealment of his open, and moved himself out into the open.

Where he was really lucky was in that the extra actors were behind the guy with the dog, not out somewhere in front, acting as a lookout/spotter or additional safety. One or both of those two extra guys could have been out on the street, hidden behind foliage, or whatever, and simply shot your friend who was standing out in the open.

In short, your friend showed poor situational awareness and poor use of available cover, thereby exposing himself unnecessarily, and is lucky that it did not cost him his life.
 
It is true that force is different from deadly force, but shooting someone is ALWAYS considered deadly force, even if you shoot to wound. There are no circumstances in which it is permissible to shoot a person if deadly force is not warranted.
 
Dogs and Trucks and Wives.

You can steal my wife if you must, but touching the dog or truck will earn you a bullet :mad:

Seriously though, I would have done nothing different, except maybe not ask more than once.
If he is in my yard, on my property, I have no reason to assume he is not a threat.
I would have spotlighted the guy, asked once, THEN presented the weapon. IF he did not drop the dog and either surrender or run away I would have fired under the presumption that if he is on my property he has more than a dog on his mind, like my wife and two month old son.

Funny, since Aiden was born, I have become much more protective and MUCH less tolerant.
 
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