|
If the law was always applied equitably, it would be hard to say that a person being fired at was not within his rights to return fire. Whether the BG is moving toward or away from you would hardly seem to matter. Unaimed fire can still make you dead.
"If" can be an awfully big word, though. It is easy to see an over-zealous prosecutor turning a situation like that around. And even being acquitted leaves a big impact on one's finances, reputation, and state of mind.
As far as whether returning fire is tactically valid in this instance, there are too many unanswered questions to take a position. Were there bystanders? Where? How many? Were the surrounding buildings occupied? Did the good guy have a clear shot, and at what distance? What was his backdrop? How much of this information did he have at hand? Complex situation with fractions of seconds to make decisions. It is hard to criticize the outcome, and I would be very hesitant about returning fire in a situation where a BG was already fleeing, but at the same time I can understand a different decision in some circumstances.
|