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Originally Posted by Sharkbite
God save us from the Tuller drill!!!
The 21 foot "rule" isnt a rule at all... Its a guide line....
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And it really isn't even a guideline.
Dennis Tueller developed the exercise to test at what distances an assailant with a contact weapon could be a credible threat. The Tueller data can be helpful to a defender who needs to establish that he was reasonable in concluding that someone making threatening gestures with a club had Ability, Opportunity and put him in Jeopardy even if the "assailant" was 20 feet away.
And regarding the duty to retreat (where it's the law): One would be required to retreat before using lethal force when he could do so
safely. This of course could raise all sorts of questions about whether the defender indeed knew he had a safe way to escape or was reasonable in concluding that he did not. And the defender's decision, which he had to make in an instant under stress, might then be second guessed by members of a jury who have all the time in the world.