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Good evening, Cheapo,
I have been a LEO, am now a "common" (not sure I like that word) citizen. In some CCW states (VA is one), licensee is permitted only to defend himself or family. As I said earlier, I would violate that restriction if I had to defend an innocent person.
I make a distinction between LEO and citizen because the laws do. I cannot flag down speeders, for example, or stop and frisk a person I suspect of having committed a crime.
My concern is not with someone like you who carries with discretion and control. But some posters seem to be ready to shoot at the slightest excuse, and that could present a problem. Not only could this turn a robbery into worse, but the armed citizen may not have adequate information on which to judge a situation. I cited the example of an armed citizen shooting an FBI agent whose arrest of a suspect may look like an assault.
Those who have read some of my other postings know that I am not in "knee-jerk" defense of LEOs. But citizens who carry guns need to know the law and the limits imposed on their actions. And display the kind of common sense you are discussing.
In the case you mentioned, the citizen had no legal right to kill the would-be hijacker after the BG left. He could not legally shoot the man in the back. That might have made for the best outcome in the long run, but the citizen would have been arrested for murder and would probably have been convicted.
Sorry, Cheapo, that's reality.
Jim
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