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shortwave · December 28, 2011, 12:32 PM

Castle Doctrine or not?... Type of weapon used in a SD situation?... doesn't matter.

A perp breaks into your house, house is dimly lit but you've I.D.'d person as a BG. You have no gun but you use a baseball bat on him(or just your fists), beating him till the imminent threat is gone.
COULD there be a potential 'excessive force' claim brought against you.
You bet.

Same as if you're on the street in a SD situation.

You can bet that somewhere in the court proceedings the question will come up, " Why did you feel the need to hit perp 20 times when he went down after the first 2 hits in which he was probably unconscious?... probably being the key word.

You can also bet that if you have shoot someone one time, you'll answer the question as to why you had to.

I'm not an attorney, but as I read through the CD and SD laws as a whole, I don't see anywhere in them condoning shooting one time or ten, using a ball bat or bazooka. What I do see is that we have the right to defend ourselves with whatever means necessary till there is no longer an imminent threat.

There have been cases where people have been shot with a shotguns as well as handguns which have continue'd to fight. Too, people that have died from one shot with both. Or, in the baseball bat scenario above, people have died from one hit to the head and lived with many.

Through this 'continued' thread there have been many scenario's(including mine) and some strong/heated opine's that have been tossed about, but, if (God forbid) a perp breaks into my house in the middle of the night and I have to go on the defensive with a weapon, it will be at a rate that I see fit till I feel the imminent threat is gone.
A single shot, DT, or multiple shots...each one of you will more than likely do the same.

December 28, 2011, 12:32 PM	#22
shortwave Senior Member Join Date: December 17, 2007 Location: SOUTHEAST, OHIO Posts: 5,970	Castle Doctrine or not?... Type of weapon used in a SD situation?... doesn't matter. A perp breaks into your house, house is dimly lit but you've I.D.'d person as a BG. You have no gun but you use a baseball bat on him(or just your fists), beating him till the imminent threat is gone. COULD there be a potential 'excessive force' claim brought against you. You bet. Same as if you're on the street in a SD situation. You can bet that somewhere in the court proceedings the question will come up, " Why did you feel the need to hit perp 20 times when he went down after the first 2 hits in which he was probably unconscious?... probably being the key word. You can also bet that if you have shoot someone one time, you'll answer the question as to why you had to. I'm not an attorney, but as I read through the CD and SD laws as a whole, I don't see anywhere in them condoning shooting one time or ten, using a ball bat or bazooka. What I do see is that we have the right to defend ourselves with whatever means necessary till there is no longer an imminent threat. There have been cases where people have been shot with a shotguns as well as handguns which have continue'd to fight. Too, people that have died from one shot with both. Or, in the baseball bat scenario above, people have died from one hit to the head and lived with many. Through this 'continued' thread there have been many scenario's(including mine) and some strong/heated opine's that have been tossed about, but, if (God forbid) a perp breaks into my house in the middle of the night and I have to go on the defensive with a weapon, it will be at a rate that I see fit till I feel the imminent threat is gone. A single shot, DT, or multiple shots...each one of you will more than likely do the same.